Editing Userkaf (section)

===Trade and military activities===
[[File:Userkaf Kythera.png|thumb|alt=Drawing of a broken stone bowl with a few hieroglyphs|upright|Stone vessel from Kythira bearing the name of Userkaf's sun temple{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=588}}]]
Userkaf's reign might have witnessed the birth of direct trade between Egypt and its [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] neighbors as shown by a series of reliefs from his mortuary temple representing ships engaged in what may be a naval expedition.{{sfn|Labrousse|Lauer|2000}}{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=324}} Further evidence for such contacts is a [[Stone vessels in Ancient Egypt|stone vessel]] bearing the name of his sun temple that was uncovered on the Greek island of [[Kythira]].{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=588}} This vase is the earliest evidence of commercial contacts between Egypt and the Aegean world. Finds in [[Anatolia]], dating to the reigns of [[Menkauhor Kaiu]] and [[Djedkare Isesi]], demonstrate that these contacts continued throughout the Fifth Dynasty.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=76}}

South of Egypt,{{sfn|Edwards|2004|pp=2, 90 & 106}} Userkaf launched a military expedition into [[Nubia]],{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=588}} while the Old Kingdom annals record that he received tribute from a region that is either the [[Eastern Desert]] or [[Canaan]] in the form of a workforce of one chieftain and 70 foreigners{{sfn|Altenmüller|1995|p=48}} (likely women),{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=69}}{{sfn|Goedicke|1967|p=63|loc = n. 34}} as well as 303 "pacified rebels" destined to work on Userkaf's pyramid.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=33|loc=fn. f}} These might have been prisoners from another military expedition to the east of Egypt{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} or rebels exiled from Egypt prior to Userkaf's second year on the throne and now willing to reintegrate into Egyptian society.{{sfn|Altenmüller|1995|pp=47–48}} According to the Egyptologist [[Hartwig Altenmüller]] these people might have been punished following dynastic struggles connected with the end of the Fourth Dynasty.{{sfn|Altenmüller|1995|p=48}} Finally, some reliefs from Userkaf's mortuary temple depict a successful military venture{{sfn|Running troops relief, MET|2019}} against Asiatic Bedouins, whom Userkaf is shown smiting,{{sfn|Kozloff|1982|pp=216–217}} as well as a naval expedition.{{sfn|Ship relief, MET|2019}}{{sfn|Oarsmen relief, MET|2019}}