File:By_ovedc_-_Egyptian_Museum_(Cairo)_-_046_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Userkaf
Sign in to saveUserkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the Fourth Dynasty royal family, although his parentage is uncertain; he could have been the son of Khentkaus I. He had at least one daughter and very probably a son, Sahure, with his consort Neferhetepes. This son succeeded him as pharaoh.
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- Itchikan
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Key facts
- Pharaoh.name
- Userkaf
- Pharaoh.image
- By ovedc - Egyptian Museum (Cairo) - 046 (cropped).jpg
- Pharaoh.caption
- Head of Userkaf, recovered from his sun temple
- Pharaoh.image_alt
- Black statue of a head wearing a large crown
- Pharaoh.NomenHiero
- G43-S29-F12-D28-I9
- Pharaoh.NebtyHiero
- D4-U1-Aa11:t
- Pharaoh.HorusHiero
- D4-U1-Aa11:t
- Pharaoh.reign
- 7 regnal yearslate 26th to early 25th century BC.
- Pharaoh.predecessor
- Shepseskaf (most likely) or Thamphthis (possibly known as Djedefptah)
- Pharaoh.successor
- Sahure
- Pharaoh.dynasty
- Fifth Dynasty
- Pharaoh.father
- unknown, but probably belonged to a branch of the Fourth Dynasty royal family
- Pharaoh.mother
- Khentkaus I?Raddjedet (myth)
- Pharaoh.spouse
- Neferhetepes (most likely) or Khentkaus I
- Pharaoh.children
- Sahure ♂, Khamaat ♀
- Pharaoh.monuments
- Pyramid Wab-Isut-UserkafPyramid of NeferhetepesSun temple NekhenreTemple of Montu in El-Tod
- Pharaoh.Alt
- Ouserkaf, Weserkaf, Woserkaf, Usercherês,
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- By ovedc - Egyptian Museum (Cairo) - 046 (cropped).jpg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- Userkaf
- date of death
- 2490-00-00
- date of birth
- 2600-00-00
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~34 min read
Article
32 sectionsContents
- Family
- Parents and consort
- Children
- Reign
- Duration
- Founder of the Fifth Dynasty
- Activities in Egypt
- Trade and military activities
- Statuary
- Sun temple
- Significance
- Name
- Function
- Pyramid complex
- Pyramid of Userkaf
- Location
- Pyramid architecture
- Mortuary temple
- Pyramid complex of Neferhetepes
- Pyramid
- Mortuary temple
- Legacy
- Funerary cult
- Old Kingdom
- Middle Kingdom
- Later periods
- In contemporary culture
- Gallery
- Notes, references and sources
- Notes
- References
- Sources
Userkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the Fourth Dynasty royal family, although his parentage is uncertain; he could have been the son of Khentkaus I. He had at least one daughter and very probably a son, Sahure, with his consort Neferhetepes. This son succeeded him as pharaoh.
His reign heralded the ascendancy of the cult of Ra, who effectively became Egypt's state god during the Fifth Dynasty. Userkaf may have been a high-priest of Ra before ascending the throne, and built a sun temple, known as the Nekhenre, between Abusir and Abu Gurab. In doing so, he instituted a tradition followed by his successors over a period of 80 years. The Nekhenre mainly functioned as a mortuary temple for the setting sun. Rites performed in the temple were primarily concerned with Ra's creator function and his role as father of the king. Taken with the reduction in the size of the royal mortuary complex, this suggests a more concrete separation between the sun god and the king than in the preceding dynasties. After Userkaf's death, his temple was the subject of four building phases, during which it acquired a large obelisk.