Editing Userkaf (section)

===Activities in Egypt===
[[File:Seal Userkaf.png|thumb|alt=Drawing of hieroglyphs organised in columns|Cylinder seal of Userkaf reading "Userkaf beloved of the gods, beloved of [[Hathor]]"{{efn|group=note|The seal was in the [[British Museum]] at the end of the 19th century, its current location is unknown.{{sfn|Petrie|1897|p=71}}}}{{sfn|Petrie|1897|p=70}}{{sfn|Petrie|1917|loc=pl. IX}}]]
Beyond the constructions of his mortuary complex and sun temple, little is known of Userkaf.{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} Malek says his short reign may indicate that he was elderly upon becoming pharaoh.{{sfn|Malek|2000a|p=99}} Verner sees Userkaf's reign as significant in that it marks the apex of the sun cult,{{efn|group=note|Egyptologists including Jürgen von Beckerath rather consider Nyuserre's reign as the peak of the solar cult,{{sfn|Beckerath|1982|pp=517–518}} but for Grimal this is exaggerated.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=78}}}} the pharaonic title of "Son of Ra" becoming systematic from his reign onwards.{{sfn|Verner|2002|p=265}}

In [[Upper Egypt]], Userkaf either commissioned{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} or enlarged{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=76}} the temple of [[El-Tod|Montu at Tod]], where he is the earliest attested pharaoh.{{sfn|Arnold|2003|p=86}} Due to structural alterations, in particular during the early [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] and Ptolemaic periods, little of Userkaf's original temple has survived.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2000|p=200}} It was a small mud-brick chapel including a granite pillar,{{sfn|Wilkinson|2000|p=200}} inscribed with the name of the king.{{sfn|Arnold|1996|p=107}}

Further domestic activities may be inferred from the annals of the Old Kingdom, written during Neferirkare's or Nyuserre's reign.{{efn|group=note|The surviving fragments of the annal likely date to the much later [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|25th Dynasty]] ([[Floruit|fl.]] 760–656 BCE), but were certainly copied or compiled from Old Kingdom sources.{{sfn|Bárta|2017|p=2}}}}{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=3}}{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=46}} They record that Userkaf gave endowments for the gods of [[Heliopolis (ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]]{{efn|group=note|More precisely to the "[[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#bꜣ (personality)|''Bas'']] of Heliopolis".{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=69}}}} in the second and sixth years{{efn|group=note|That is, if cattle counts were indeed biennial. The annals state only that the donations happened in the years of the first and third cattle counts.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|pp=69–70}}}} of his reign as well as to the gods of [[Buto]] in his sixth year, both of which may have been destined for building projects on Userkaf's behalf.{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} In the same vein, the annals record a donation of land to Horus during Userkaf's sixth year on the throne, this time explicitly mentioning "building [Horus'] temple".{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=70}}

Other gods honoured by Userkaf include Ra and [[Hathor]], both of whom received land donations recorded in the annals,{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=69}}{{sfn|Daressy|1912|p=172}} as well as [[Nekhbet]], [[Wadjet]], the "gods of the divine palace of Upper Egypt" and the "gods of the estate Djebaty" who received bread, beer and land. Finally, a fragmentary piece of text in the annals suggests that [[Min (god)|Min]] might also have benefited from Userkaf's donations.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=70}} Further evidence for religious activities taking place at the time is given by a royal decree{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=100–106|loc=§ 216–230}} found in the [[mastaba]] of the administration official Nykaankh [[Fraser Tombs|buried at Tihna al-Jabal]] in Middle Egypt.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=75}} By this decree, Userkaf donates and reforms several royal domains for the maintenance of the cult of Hathor{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=100–106|loc=§ 216–230}} and installs Nykaankh as priest of this cult.{{sfn|Breasted|1906|loc=§ 219}}

Excavations of the pyramid temple of [[Amenemhat I]] at [[Lisht]] produced a block decorated with a relief bearing the titulary of Userkaf. The block had been reused as a building material. The relief mentions a journey of the king to the temple of [[Bastet]] in a ship called "''He who controls the subjects [...]''".{{sfn|Jánosi|2016|pp=15–16, pls. 4, 149}}

While Userkaf chose [[Saqqara]] to build his pyramid complex, officials at the time, including the [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]] [[Seshathetep|Seshathotep Heti]], continued to build their tombs in the [[Giza necropolis]].{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}}