Pepi II Neferkare - Decline of The Old Kingdom

Decline of The Old Kingdom

The decline of the Old Kingdom arguably began before the time of Pepi II, with nomarchs (regional representatives of the king) becoming more and more powerful and exerting greater influence. Pepi I, for example, married two sisters who were the daughters of a nomarch and later made their brother a vizier. Their influence was extensive, both sisters bearing sons who were chosen as part of the royal succession: Merenre and Pepi II.

Increasing wealth and power appears to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II's reign. Large and expensive tombs appear at many of the major nomes of Egypt, built for the reigning nomarchs, the priestly class and other administrators. Nomarchs were traditionally free from taxation and their positions became hereditary. Their increasing wealth and independence led to a corresponding shift in power away from the central royal court to the regional nomarchs.

Later in his reign it is known that Pepi divided the role of vizier so that there were two viziers: one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, a further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of Memphis. Further, the seat of vizier of Upper Egypt was moved several times. The southern vizier was based at Thebes.

It is also thought that Pepi II's extraordinarily long reign may have been a contributing factor to the general breakdown of centralized royal rule. There are some doubts that he could have reigned as long as 94 years (some scholars such as Von Beckerath believe this to be a misreading of long-lost original texts by early historians such as Manetho, and ascribe a seemingly more realistic figure of 64 years, which seems more feasible if he was succeeded by his son as Egyptian tradition states, rather than a grandson). On the other hand, since his son and successor Merenre Nemtyemsaf II appears only to have reigned for one year, he may himself have been very old when he ascended the throne of Egypt. All scholars concede that Pepi II's reign was certainly unusually long. This situation almost certainly produced a succession crisis and also led to a stagnation of the administration, centred on an absolute ruler who may have survived into an extreme old age of hopeless physical and mental decline, but who could not be replaced because of his 'divine' status. A better documented example of this type of problem can be found in the long reign of much later Nineteenth Dynasty pharaoh Ramesses II and his successors. Pepi II's highest date is the "Year after the 31st Count, 1st Month of Shemu, day 20" from Hatnub graffito No.7, according to Spalinger. This date would be equivalent to only Pepi II's Year 62 (on the biannual dating system) and conforms well with the suggestion of a 64 Year reign for him by Goedicke and Von Beckerath given the noticeable absence of known dates for Pepi II from his 33rd to 47th Counts. A previous suggestion by Hans Goedicke that the Year of the 33rd Count appears for Pepi II in a royal decree for the mortuary cult of Queen Udjebten was withdrawn by Goedicke himself in 1988 in favour of a reading of 'the Year of the 24th Count' instead, notes Spalinger. Goedicke notes that Pepi II was attested by numerous year dates until the Year of his 31st count which strongly implies that this king died shortly after a reign of about 64 years.

The 4.2 kiloyear event is very likely to have caused the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt.