The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, along with the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Dynasties, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Culturally, the 6th Dynasty continues the trends established at the end of the 5th Dynasty. The kings persisted in commissioning pyramids for their mortuary cults, maintaining a standard size and layout for these structures and their associated mortuary temples. Following the precedent set by Unas of the 5th Dynasty, the burial chambers, antechambers, and entrance corridors of these pyramids were inscribed with Pyramid Texts.
Infographic of Egyptian Dynasties
Pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty
Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below.
| Pharaoh | Notes |
|---|---|
| Teti | First king of the Sixth Dynasty. Buried at Saqqara. |
| Userkare | Reigned briefly, possibly a usurper. |
| Pepi I Meryre | Ruled for over 40 years. Faced a harem conspiracy. |
| Merenre Nemtyemsaf I | Shared power in a coregency with Pepi I. |
| Pepi II Neferkare | Ruled for a long time. His reign marked a decline in the Old Kingdom. |
| Merenre Nemtyemsaf II | Reigned for one year and one month. |
| Netjerkare Siptah | Last ruler of the Sixth Dynasty. Reigned during a period of crumbling pharaonic power. |
Teti: The Founder of the Dynasty
Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, and sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in ancient sources, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List but is believed to have been about 12 years. He was buried at Saqqara. The Pyramid of Teti is smooth-sided in the pyramid field at Saqqara in Egypt. It is the second known pyramid containing pyramid texts. Excavations have revealed a satellite pyramid, two pyramids of queens accompanied by cult structures, and a funerary temple. The preservation above ground is very poor, and it now resembles a small hill.
Manetho claims that a bodyguard assassinated Teti, but no contemporary sources confirm this. The story, if true, might explain the references to the ephemeral ruler Userkare, who proposed to have briefly reigned between Teti and Pepi I.
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Userkare: An Enigmatic Ruler
Userkare, also Woserkare, meaning “Powerful is the soul of Ra”, was the second pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty, reigning briefly for 1 to 5 years in the late 24th to early 23rd century BC. Userkare’s relation to his predecessor Teti and successor Pepi I is unknown, and his reign remains enigmatic. Although he is attested in historical sources, Userkare is absent from the tomb of the Egyptian officials who lived during his reign. In addition, the Egyptian priest Manetho reports that Userkare’s predecessor, Teti, was murdered. Userkare is often considered to have been a short-lived usurper.
Pepi I Meryre: Challenges and Consolidation
Pepi I Meryre (also Pepy I) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled for over 40 years at the turn of the 24th and 23rd centuries BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of Teti, the Dynasty’s founder, and ascended the throne only after the brief intervening reign of the shadowy Userkare. Several difficulties accumulated during Pepi’s reign, beginning with the possible murder of his father and the ensuing authority of Userkare.
Confronted with the protracted decline of pharaonic power and the emergence of dynasties of local officials, Pepi reacted with a vast architectural program involving the construction of temples dedicated to local gods and numerous chapels for his cult throughout Egypt, reinforcing his presence in the provinces. At the same time, Pepi favoured the rise of small provincial centres and recruited officials of non-noble extraction to curtail the influence of powerful local families. Continuing Teti’s policy, Pepi expanded a network of warehouses accessible to royal envoys from which taxes and labour could easily be collected.
Pepi had a pyramid complex built for his funerary cult in Saqqara; next, he constructed at most minuscule six pyramids for his consorts. Pepi’s pyramid, which initially stood 52.5 m (172 ft) tall and an accompanying high temple, followed the standard layout inherited from the late Fifth Dynasty. The most extensive corpus of Pyramid Texts from the Old Kingdom covers the walls of Pepi I’s burial chamber, antechamber and much of the corridor leading to it.
Pepi II Neferkare: The Longest Reign and the Beginning of the End
Pepi II Neferkare (c. 2284 BC - c. 2214 BC) was a king of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. His second name, Neferkare (Nefer-ka-Re), means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". 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. His mother Ankhesenpepi II (Ankhesenmeryre II) most likely ruled as regent in the early years of his reign. An alabaster statuette in the Brooklyn Museum depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, sitting on the lap of his mother.
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Statuette of Pepi II on his mother's lap
Pepi II seems to have carried on foreign policy in ways similar to that of his predecessors. Copper and turquoise were mined at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai Peninsula, and alabaster was quarried from Hatnub. In the south, the trade relations consist of caravans trading with the Nubians. Harkhuf was a governor of Upper Egypt, who led several expeditions under Merenre and Pepi II. The Western desert was known to have extensive caravan routes.
Pepi II is often mentioned as the longest reigning monarch in history, due to a 3rd-century BC account of Ancient Egypt by Manetho, which accords the king a reign of 94 years; this has, however, been disputed by some Egyptologists such as Hans Goedicke and Michel Baud due to the absence of attested dates known for Pepi II after his 31st count.
Pepi II's reign marked a sharp decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of the king declined. 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. With no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each other's territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within a couple of years after the end of Pepi II's reign.
Pepi II and the last breath of the old kingdom | History of Ancient Egypt
Netjerkare Siptah: The Last Pharaoh
Netjerkare Siptah (also Neitiqerty Siptah and possibly the origin of the legendary figure Nitocris) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the seventh and last ruler of the Sixth Dynasty. As the previous king of the 6th Dynasty, Netjerkare Siptah is considered by some Egyptologists to be the last king of the Old Kingdom period. Pharaoh Netjerkare Siptah enjoyed a short reign in the early 22nd century BC when the pharaoh’s power was crumbling and that of the local nomarchs was rising.
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The Sixth Dynasty: A Transition to Decentralization
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is considered by many authorities to be the last Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. The Sixth Dynasty is considered by many authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom, although The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt includes Dynasties VII and VIII as part of the Old Kingdom.
During the Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula to mine for turquoise and copper and to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamat. The growing number of biographical inscriptions in non-royal tombs increases our knowledge of contemporary history. These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the growing power of the nobility, which further weakened the absolute rule of the king.
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