Pepi II Neferkare

Pepi II Neferkare

Pepi II (reigned c. 2278 BC – c. 2184 BC) (2284 BC - 2184 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. His throne name, Neferkare (Nefer-ka-Re), means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Merenre I, and is generally credited with having the longest reign of any monarch in history at 94 years (c. 2278 BC – c. 2184 BC) although this figure has been disputed by some Egyptologists who favour a shorter reign of not much more than 64 years. This is based on the complete absence of higher attested dates for Pepi beyond his Year after the 31st Count (Year 62 on a biannual cattle count).

He was traditionally thought to be the son of Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II but the South Saqqara Stone annals record that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 years. However, several 6th dynasty royal seals and stone blocks—the latter of which were found within the funerary temple of Queen Ankhesenpepi II, the known mother of Pepi II—were discovered in the 1999/2000 excavation season at Saqqara which demonstrate that she also married Merenre after Pepi I's death and became this king's chief wife. Several inscribed inscriptions on these stone blocks give Ankhesenpepi II the royal titles of the:

"King's Wife of the Pyramid of Pepy I, King's Wife of the Pyramid of Merenre, King's Mother of the Pyramid of Pepy II".

Therefore, today, many Egyptologists believe that Pepi II was likely Merenre's own son. Pepi II would, therefore, be Pepi I's grandson while Merenre was, most likely, Pepi II's father since he is known to have married Pepi II's known mother, Queen Ankhesenpepi II. This would also conform well with the evidence from the South Saqqara Stone which shows no coregency between the reigns of Pepi I and Merenre thus making it far more likely that Pepi II was Merenre's own son.

Pepi II's reign marked a sharp decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of the pharaoh declined. With no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each other's territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within mere decades after the close of Pepi II's reign.