Editing Shepseskaf (section)

===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}}