Editing Shepseskaf (section)

==Reign==
Shepseskaf's reign is difficult to date precisely in absolute terms. An [[Absolute dating|absolute chronology]] referring to dates in the modern Western calendar is [[Chronological dating#Dating methods in archaeology|estimated by Egyptologists]] working backwards by adding reign lengths{{snd}}themselves uncertain and inferred from historical sources and archaeological evidence{{snd}}and, in a few cases, using ancient astronomical observations and [[Radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dates]].{{sfn|Ramsey et al.|2010|p=1554}} These methodologies do not agree perfectly and some uncertainty remains. As a result, Shepseskaf's rule is dated to some time around the late 26th to mid-25th century BC.{{efn|group=note|name=ShepseskafDates}}{{sfn|Ramsey et al.|2010|p=1556}}

===Relative chronology===
[[File:Fragmentary statue head of Menkaura in Boston.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=yellowish head of a man wearing a false beard under the chin and a pleated hair wig|Statue head at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Boston Museum of Fine Arts]] believed to depict either Shepseskaf{{sfn|Hayes|1978|p=108}} or [[Menkaure]]{{sfn|Museum of Fine Arts Boston|2022|loc=catalog number 09.203}}]]

The relative chronological position of Shepseskaf within the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|fourth dynasty]] is not entirely certain. The near contemporary{{efn|group=note|name=Palermo|Although the surviving fragments of the Palermo stone itself probably date to the much later [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|25th dynasty]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 760–656 BC), they were certainly copied or compiled from Old Kingdom sources.{{sfn|Bárta|2017|p=2}} These themselves date to the first half of the fifth dynasty, possibly under Neferirkare's rule, as the annals record no event after that.{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=3}}{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=46}} In addition, Patrick O'Mara has shown that the Old Kingdom source itself used earlier royal annals probably first written in the time span between Menkaure's and Userkaf's reigns, i.e. possibly during Shepseskaf's.{{sfn|O'Mara|1996|pp=207–208}}}} [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|fifth dynasty]] royal annals now known as the [[Palermo stone]] indicates unambiguously{{Efn|This part of the Palermo stone is actually ascribed to the Early Dynastic Period, specifically the transition between Aha and Djer.|name=|group=note}} that he succeeded Menkaure on the throne and was crowned on the 11th day of the fourth month. The identity of his successor is less certain. Archaeological evidence seems to indicate that Shepseskaf was succeeded directly by Userkaf. In particular, no intervening king is mentioned on the tombs of officials who served at the time. For example, an inscription in the tomb of the palace courtier Netjerpunesut gives the following sequence of kings he served under: Djedefre → [[Khafre]] → Menkaure → Shepseskaf → Userkaf → [[Sahure]] → [[Neferirkare Kakai|Neferirkare]].{{sfn|O'Mara|1997|p=51}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=entry 166}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=78}} Similarly, in his Giza tomb prince [[Sekhemkare (vizier)|Sekhemkare]] reports about his career under the kings Khafre, Menkaura, Shepseskaf, Userkaf and Sahure,{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=78}}{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=136|loc=n. 125}} while the high priest{{sfn|Dorman|2002|pp=95–110}} Ptahshepses describes being born under Menkaure, growing up under Shepseskaf and starting his career under Userkaf.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=304}}
Furthermore, Egyptologist Patrick O'Mara underlines that "no names of estates of the period [which are] compounded with royal names make mention of any other kings than these, nor do the names of{{nbsp}}[...] royal grandchildren, who often bore the name of a royal ancestor as a component of their own [name]."{{sfn|O'Mara|1997|p=51}} This reconstruction of late fourth to early fifth dynasty is also in agreement with that given on the [[Abydos king list]] written during the reigns of [[Seti I]] ({{circa}} 1292–1279 BC), where Shepseskaf's [[cartouche]] is on the 25th entry between those of Menkaure and Userkaf.{{sfn|Daressy|1912|p=205}}{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=425}}

Three historical sources go directly or indirectly against this order of succession. The source in direct contradiction is the {{transliteration|grc|[[Manetho#Aegyptiaca|Aegyptiaca]]}} ({{lang|grc|Αἰγυπτιακά}}), a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC during the reign of [[Ptolemy II]] (283–246 BC) by [[Manetho]]. No copies of the Aegyptiaca have survived and it is now known only through later writings by [[Sextus Julius Africanus]] and [[Eusebius]]. According to the Byzantine scholar [[George Syncellus]], Africanus wrote that the {{transliteration|grc|Aegyptiaca}} mentioned the succession "[[Bikheris|Bicheris]] → Sebercherês → Thamphthis" at the end of the fourth dynasty while "Usercherês" is given as the fifth dynasty's first king. Sebercherês (in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], {{lang|grc|Σεβερχέρης}}) and Usercherês are believed to be the [[Hellenised]] forms for Shepeseskaf and Userkaf, respectively,{{sfn|Waddell|1971|pp=46–51}} while the identities of Bicheris and Thampthis are unknown. They could refer to shadowy figures, perhaps the fourth dynasty prince [[Baka (prince)|Baka]] in the case of Bicheris and Thampthis could originate from the Egyptian name Djedefptah, or they could both be fictitious rulers.{{sfn|von Beckerath|1997|p=158}} That a king might have reigned between Shepseskaf and Userkaf is also indirectly supported by the [[Turin King List|Turin canon]], a king list written during the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th dynasty]] in the early Ramesside era (1292–1189 BC). The canon, written on papyrus is damaged at several spots and thus many royal names are either fragmentary or completely lost in [[Lacuna (manuscripts)|lacuna]]e today. In column III, line 15 King Shepseskaf is listed, line 16 is wholly in a lacuna while the end of Userkaf's name is legible on line 17. The missing line 16 must have originally held the royal name of Shepseskaf's unknown successor.{{sfn|Ryholt|1997|p=17}} The [[Saqqara Tablet]], written under [[Ramses II]] ({{c.|1303–1213 BC}}), also seems to have mentioned an unknown successor for Shepseskaf as it originally listed nine cartouches corresponding to fourth dynasty kings, when only six are otherwise known from archaeological evidence ([[Sneferu]], [[Khufu]], Djedefre, Khafra, Menkaure and Shepseskaf). The five cartouches between those of Khafre and Userkaf are now illegible.{{sfn|Daressy|1912|p=205}}{{sfn|von Beckerath|1997|pp=24 & 216}}

For Egyptologist Nigel Strudwick, the uncertainty regarding Shepseskaf's successor and the presence of further shadowy rulers in historical sources during the late fourth dynasty point to some family instability at the time.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=8}}

===Duration===
The duration of Shepseskaf's rule is uncertain but it is generally taken to have lasted probably four{{sfn|Hayes|1978|p=58}} but perhaps up to seven years. Explicit archaeological evidence on this matter is reduced to six documents. Four of these are inscriptions dated to the year of his accession to the throne, three found in tombs of the [[Giza pyramid complex|Giza necropolis]] and one from the Palermo stone.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=383}} The last two contemporary inscriptions mention his second regnal year,{{efn|group=note|During the Old Kingdom period, the Egyptians did not record time as we do today. Rather, they counted years since the beginning of the reign of the current king. Furthermore these years were referred to by the number of [[Cattle count (Egypt)|cattle count]]s which had taken place since the start of the reign. The cattle count was an important event aimed at evaluating the amount of taxes to be levied on the population. This involved counting cattle, oxen and small livestock.{{sfn|Katary|2001|p=352}} During the first half of the fifth dynasty, this count might have been [[wikt:Special:Search/biennial|biennial]]{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=391}} although it may not always have happened at regular intervals.{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=297}} Following these principles, these inscriptions talk of the year after the first cattle count of Shepseskaf's reign. If the count was indeed biennial, which is uncertain, this would correspond to his second regnal year.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=383}}}} one of which is found on the decree of Shepseskaf concerning Menkaure's pyramid town.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=383|loc=footnotes 182 & 183}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=entry 160}}

Two historical sources report the duration of Shepseskaf's reign. The Turin canon credits him with a reign of four years,{{sfn|Verner|2001a|pp=383 & 416}} while Manetho's {{transliteration|grc|Aegyptiaca}} gives him seven years on the throne.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=383}}{{sfn|Waddell|1971|pp=46–47}} Although this figure is compatible with the Palermo stone which may have had up to seven compartments relating Shepseskaf's reign according to [[Georges Daressy]],{{sfn|Daressy|1912|p=26}} this is considered an overestimate according to modern consensus. Verner points notably to the unfinished state of his [[mastaba]] to conclude Shepseskaf's rule did not exceed the four years attributed to him by the Turin canon.{{efn|group=note|A mastaba takes time to build and the unfinished state of the tomb gives some indication on the reign duration as works on the royal tomb started in the king's first year of reign and either stopped or were interrupted at the death of the king. Depending on the final state of the originally planned tomb one can thus estimate on the maximum duration of the king's reign. Had Shepseskaf reigned longer than four years, his mastaba would have been more advanced at his death than it is, according to Verner.{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}}}}{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=384}} A reappraisal of the Palermo stone by [[Jürgen von Beckerath]] limits the space available on it for Shepseskaf's rule to five or six compartments, corresponding to that many years.{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=484}} Manetho's count may be explained by a conflation of the four full years attributed to Shepseskaf by the Turin king list plus two full years and a significant monthly fraction credited to his anonymous successor on that list. This successor could correspond to Manetho's Thampthis, to whom Manetho gives nine years of reign, although as observed by Verner archaeological evidence for this ruler is nil.{{sfn|O'Mara|1997|p=51}}{{sfn|Verner|2001a|pp=384 & 416}}

===Activities===
Very few activities of Shepseskaf are known. The Palermo stone{{efn|group=note|name=Palermo}} reports that in the year of his accession to the throne he participated in the "going around the Two Lands" and a "festival of the diadem" during which two images of the god [[Wepwawet]] were fashioned and the gods who unite the two lands are said to have followed the king. These events occurred at or close to the coronation of the king.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=79|loc=footnote 9}} The site of Shepseskaf's tomb, said to be a pyramid, was chosen that same year. On that occasion, an enclosure of Lebanese wood may have been set up to surround the perimeter of the part of the Saqqara [[necropolis]] where the tomb was to be constructed.{{sfn|Bogdanov|2020|p=132}} Finally Shepseskaf probably decreed a daily offering of 20 measures of something (what was offered is lost in a lacuna of the stone) to the {{transliteration|egy|senuti}} shrine.{{efn|group=note|{{transliteration|egy|Senuti}} shrine, transliteration {{transliteration|egy|snwt}}.{{sfn|Nuzzolo|Krejčí|2017|p=372}} This might designate a building perhaps marked by snake stelae, possibly at Heliopolis.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=508}}}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=69}}
[[File:Babaef.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|alt=a small white statue of a man striding|[[Alabaster]] statuette of [[Babaef II]], a [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]] of Shepseskaf, from his Giza tomb G5230, now in the [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]], Wien{{sfn|Kunsthistorisches Museum|2022|loc=Inv. 7785}}]]

It was during his second year of rule that Shepseskaf recorded the earliest surviving decree from the Old Kingdom period.{{sfn|Hsu|2012|pp=270 & 273}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=97}} Inscribed on a limestone slab uncovered in Menkaure's mortuary temple, the decree concerns the completion of this temple, records offerings to be made there and protects the estate and staff of the pyramid of Menkaure by exempting them from taxation:{{efn|group=note|The decree, now fragmentary and damaged, is currently housed in the [[Egyptian Museum]] under the temporary number 26.2.21.18.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=97}}}}{{sfn|Katary|2001|p=352}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=§ 101|p=160}}

{{cquote|text=[[Horus]] Shepsesket, the year after the first occasion of the count of cattle and herds{{nbsp}}[...] which was done in the presence of the King himself. The King of Upper and Lower Egypt Shepseskaf. For the king of Upper and Lower Egypt [Menkaure] he set up a monument, a {{transliteration|egy|pekher}} offering{{nbsp}}[...] in the pyramid of Menkaure{{nbsp}}[...] With regard to the {{transliteration|egy|pekher}} offering brought for the king of Upper and Lower Egypt [Menkaure]{{nbsp}}[...] priestly duty [is done] with respect to it for ever.{{nbsp}}[...] [it should never be taken away by someone] in the course of his duty for ever{{nbsp}}[...] the pyramid of Menkaure{{nbsp}}[...]. My majesty does not permit{{nbsp}}[...] servants{{nbsp}}[...] priests{{nbsp}}[...]{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|pp=97–98}}}}

Excavations of Menkaure's mortuary temple confirm that it was probably left unfinished at this pharaoh's death. Originally planned to be made of granite, then altered to be completed of white [[Tura, Egypt|Turah limestone]],{{sfn|Reisner|1931|p=30}} all stone construction ceased and the temple was hastily finished in [[Mudbrick|crude brick]]s during Shepseskaf's rule.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=136}} This material allows for rapid construction.{{sfn|Reisner|1931|p=30}} Shepseskaf's works concerned the causeway and entrance corridors of the temple, its great open court, storerooms and inner temple as well as the exterior walls. All brick constructions were covered in yellow mud then plastered white and left plain, except for the walls of the great open court which were made into a system of niches.{{sfn|Reisner|1931|p=30}} The completed doorways were fitted with wooden doors and the temple floors were of beaten mud on packed limestone chips, while the great court received a stone flooring.{{sfn|Reisner|1931|pp=30–31}}

Further activities are reported in [[Herodotus]]' [[Histories (Herodotus)|account]] of the late fourth dynasty.{{sfn|Godley|1963|loc=Book II.136.1–4}} According to Herodotus, Menkaure was succeeded by a king, whom he calls Asukhis,{{efn|group=note|Also called Aseskaf or Asychis -- Ἄσυχις in Greek.{{sfn|Bérard|1937|p=289}}}} who built an outer court of Hephaestus's (Ptah's) temple, decreed a new law on borrowing to remedy the lack of money in circulation during his reign and built a brick pyramid.{{efn|group=note|Herodotus's account is as follows: "After Mycerinus, the priests said, Asukhis became king of Egypt. He built the eastern outer court of Hephaestus's temple; this is by far the finest and grandest of all the courts, for while all have carved figures and innumerable felicities of architecture, this court has far more than any. As not much money was in circulation during this king's reign, they told me, a law was made for the Egyptians' allowing a man to borrow on the security of his father's corpse; and the law also provided that the lender become master of the entire burial-vault of the borrower, and that the penalty for one giving this security, should he fail to repay the loan, was that he was not to be buried at his death either in that tomb of his fathers or in any other, nor was he to bury any relative of his there. Furthermore, in his desire to excel all who ruled Egypt before him, this king left a pyramid of brick to commemorate his name, on which is this writing, cut on a stone: 'Do not think me less than pyramids of stone; for I excel them as much as Zeus does other gods; for they stuck a pole down into a marsh and collected what mud clung to the pole, made bricks of it, and thus built me.' These were the acts of Asukhis."{{sfn|Godley|1963|loc=Book II.136.1–4}}}}{{sfn|Godley|1963|loc=Book II.136.1–4}} Herodotus's account cannot easily be reconciled with the historical reality and seems to stem from confusion between fourth and [[Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt|24th dynasty]] rulers,{{sfn|Bérard|1937|p=291}} garbled references to legends regarding a [[Second Dynasty of Egypt|second dynasty]] king as lawgiver and [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|12th dynasty]] brick pyramids of [[Dahshur]], such as [[Pyramid of Amenemhat III (Dahshur)|that]] of [[Amenemhat III]].{{sfn|How|Wells|1991|loc=II.136.1–4}} As [[Diodorus Siculus]] makes similar mistakes in reporting the history of the fourth dynasty{{snd}}notably, both he and Herodotus incorrectly believed the fourth dynasty came after the [[Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt|20th]]{{sfn|Bérard|1937|p=289}}{{snd}}it is possible that it was their sources in Egypt which were at fault.{{sfn|Bérard|1937|p=292}}

===Court life===
Some of the officials who served under Shepseskaf are known from the funerary inscriptions they made on their tombs and which mention the king. These are mostly found in Giza and Saqqara. The fact that many of these inscriptions only mention Shepseskaf without further details hints at the short duration of his reign. The court officials who mentioned Shepseskaf include [[Babaef II]], [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]] under Shepseskaf and possibly his cousin;{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|p=56}} Sekhemkare, a son of Khafre, priest of the royal funerary cults;{{efn|group=note|His mastaba, located in Giza and now known as G8154 yielded a list of the kings under whom he served, from Khafre down to Sahure.{{sfn|Lepsius|1859|loc=§ 89|p=109}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=§ 106|p=166}}}} Nisutpunetjer, who was a priest of the royal funerary cults;{{efn|group=note|His mastaba is now known as Giza tomb G8740.{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=§ 107|p=166}}}} Ptahshepses{{nbs}}I who was educated among the royal children in Shepseskaf's palace and harem,{{sfn|Dorman|2002|p=101}} later promoted to the office of priest of Ptah by Userkaf and son-in-law of this pharaoh;{{sfn|Breasted|1906|loc=§ 254–262|pp=115–118}} and Kaunisut, a palace official, priest and director of hairdressers.{{sfn|Digital Giza|2022e}}{{sfn|Hassan|1936|pp=75–85}}

===End of dynasty===
The division of ancient Egyptian kings into dynasties is an invention of Manetho's {{transliteration|egy|Aegyptiaca}}, intended to adhere more closely to the expectations of Manetho's patrons, the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Greek rulers]] of [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]].{{sfn|Redford|2001|pp=336–337}} The historical reality of these dynasties is difficult to appraise and they might not correspond to the modern conception for that term: for example [[Djoser]], the first king of the third dynasty, was the son of [[Khasekhemwy]], final king of the Second dynasty.{{efn|group=note|To quote Stadelmann on the subject: "With Userkaf, Manetho begins a new dynasty. Recent historical research, however, suggests that the delimitation of king lists into dynasties should be viewed with a certain reserve. In any case, the reason for the Manethonian division into dynasties seems to be different from that which modern historians would take as a basis. The sparse, almost exclusively archaeological knowledge of the monuments simply does not allow any clear statements as to the extent to which such dynasties actually do justice to the historical reality of the Old Kingdom."{{sfn|Stadelmann|2000|p=529}}}}{{sfn|Stadelmann|2000|p=530}} Stadelmann and Bárta remark that Shepseskaf (which means "His [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#Ka (vital spark)|Ka]] is noble") and Userkaf have much in common, for example their throne names both follow the same pattern qualifying the Ka of [[Ra]] as "noble" for the former and "strong" for the later{{efn|group=note|name=fatherson}} and they probably belonged to the same family with Userkaf being either Shepseskaf's son{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=140}}{{sfn|Kozloff|1982|p=216}} or his brother.{{sfn|Bárta|2016|p=57|loc=footnote 26}} In addition, the biographies of officials serving at the time show no break in their careers at the juncture of the fourth and fifth dynasties and no traces of religious, political or economic upheavals at the time.{{efn|group=note|For Jéquier though, the very fact that Shepseskaf had a mastaba built for himself rather than a pyramid could be evidence of such troubles.{{sfn|Jéquier|1925|p=256}}}}{{sfn|Stadelmann|2000|pp=535–536}}

Some distinction between the fourth and fifth dynasties may nonetheless have been recognised by the ancient Egyptians, as recorded by a tradition much older{{efn|group=note|This tale dates to the [[Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt|17th]] ({{abbr|fl.|floruit}} {{c.|16th century BC}}) or possibly the 12th dynasty ({{abbr|fl.|floruit}} {{c.|19th century BC}}).{{sfn|Burkard et al.|2003|p=178}}}} than Manetho's{{sfn|Málek|2000|p=98}} and found in the tale of the [[Westcar Papyrus]]. In this story, King Khufu is foretold the demise of his line and the rise of a new dynasty through the accession of three sons of Ra to the throne of Egypt.{{efn|group=note|In the tale the first three kings of the fifth dynasty are said to be brothers but it is now known thanks to archaeological evidences that Userkaf, Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai had father-son relationships with one another.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|pp=68 & 85}}{{sfn|Verner|2007|p=9}}{{sfn|El Awady|2006|pp=192–198 & 208–213}}}}{{sfn|Lichtheim|2006|pp=215–220}}

In modern Egyptology no sharp division is understood to have taken place between the fourth and fifth dynasties.{{sfn|Bárta|2016|p=70}} Yet some transition between them is perceived through the evolution of the Egyptian state at the time, from one where all power and positions of prestige were taken by the royal family, to one where the state-administration was opened to people of non-royal descent. It is in the interval from Menkaure to Userkaf that the royal family began to step back from the highest offices, in particular that of the vizier.{{sfn|Bárta|2016|pp=52, 70–71}} Shepseskaf, Userkaf and their fifth dynasty successors responded to these changes by designing new means of asserting their supremacy and religious influence, through the cult of Ra, the creation of novel offices of state{{sfn|Bárta|2016|pp=70–71}} and changes in the king's role.{{sfn|Goedicke|2000|pp=405–406}} Ra's primacy over the rest of the [[Egyptian pantheon]] and the increased royal devotion given to him made Ra a sort of [[National god|state-god]],{{sfn|Kozloff|1982|p=220}}{{sfn|Málek|2000|pp=98–99}} a novelty in comparison with the earlier fourth dynasty, when more emphasis was put on royal burials.{{sfn|David|David|2001|p=164}}