Mereruka | |
---|---|
Vizier | |
Dynasty | 6th Dynasty |
Pharaoh | Teti |
Mother | Nedjetempet |
Wife | Sesheshet Watetkhethor |
Children | Memi called Pepyankh, Meryteti, Khenty, Khentu, possibly Apref |
Burial | Tomb LS10 in the Teti Cemetery in Saqqara |
Mereruka served during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt as one of Egypt's most powerful officials at a time when the influence of local state noblemen was increasing in wealth and power. Mereruka held numerous titles along with that of Vizier, which made him the most powerful person in Egypt after the king himself. [1] Among the other official positions that Mereruka held were "Director of all the king's works," "Governor of the palace," "Chief lector-priest," "Overseer of the royal record scribes," and "Inspector of the priests attached to the pyramid of Teti." [1] He was married to Seshseshet Waatetkhethor, daughter of King Teti. His mother was named Nedjetempet and he possibly had a brother named Ihy, though this may be the same individual as Ihyemsaf, his grandson.
The mastaba of Mereruka is the largest and most elaborate of all the non-royal tombs in Saqqara with 33 rooms or chambers in total. [2] [3] Mereruka was the vizier to king Teti, who was the first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty Old Kingdom period of Egypt. [4] Mereruka was married to Teti's daughter, princess Seshseshet Waatetkhethor. He was, therefore, the king's son-in-law. Princess Seshseshet Waatetkhethor is buried in Mereruka's mastaba tomb along with their son, Meriteti. [5] The paintings on the wall in the entrance of the tomb show Mereruka painting the seasons and playing a board game. The first three chambers are decorated with scenes of furniture making, hunting and goldsmith working. A lifelike statue of Mereruka was found intact within the principal chamber at the far end of his mastaba tomb. [6] This chamber is approached through the mastaba tomb's false door. [2] Mereruka's mastaba tomb boasts vibrant and well preserved tomb decorations and numerous relief scenes. [7] His mastaba tomb remained hidden from view until it was discovered and excavated by Jacques de Morgan, of the Egyptian Antiquities Service in 1892. [4] However, the first major publication on his tomb did not occur until over 40 years later in 1936 by Prentice Duell. Mereruka was also known by his 'beautiful' or chosen name of Meri.
Twenty-one of the mastaba chambers (chambers A) are devoted to Mereruka himself, five are designated to his wife (chambers B) and five were added for his son Meriteti (or Meryteti) (chambers C). [1] The overall external dimensions of Mereruka's mastaba are 23 metres east-west, 30 metres north-south (extending to 41 metres when one includes Meriteti's addition) and 4.5 metres high, while the internal height of the ceiling is just over 4 metres. [1] Princess' complex at the left end of the tomb entrance to Mereruka's tomb depicts her "receiving offerings due to a king's daughter, including a selection of finely carved furniture" while she is shown relaxing and watching several dancing girls". [2] In another scene, "she is portrayed with her three dogs and a pet monkey." On the walls of chamber 7, Waatetkhethor is shown sitting together with Mereruka "on a large couch, while she plays her harp to soothe him". While most of the rooms of Mereruka's mastaba tomb were decorated, those which were left bare were simply used for storage. [4]
A hunting scene within Egypt's marshes from Mereruka's tomb show five men punting "a papyrus raft along a verdant Nile bank, packed with reeds and teeming with wildlife" while nesting lapwings are depicted protecting their young from a marauding ichneumon, or type of mongoose, by either "spreading their wings over their chicks or by mobbing the intruder." In the Nile river, one adult hippopotamus is shown seizing and killing a basking crocodile, "while behind it another crocodile turns the tables, waiting to devour a newborn hippopotamus." [2] Other scenes show sculptors and carpenters of stone vases at work, while Mereruka and his wife are depicted inspecting a jeweller's workshop where some of the workers are dwarfs. [4]
A stylised reproduction of a scene in a low relief, in the lower part of the north wall of chamber A12, with five men using long poles to press the grapes contained in a sack so that the juice filters through the fabric and falls into the jar below, is used as the logo of the Italian winery Sella&Mosca, near Alghero.
Unas or Wenis, also spelled Unis, was a pharaoh, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC, succeeding Djedkare Isesi, who might have been his father.
Saqqara, also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English, is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara contains numerous pyramids, including the Pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb, and a number of mastaba tombs. Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo, Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km.
A mastaba, also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites of many eminent Egyptians during Egypt's Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom. Non-royal use of mastabas continued for over a thousand years.
Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos. He was the son of King Khasekhemwy and Queen Nimaathap, but whether he was also the direct successor to their throne is unclear. Most Ramesside king lists identify a king named Nebka as preceding him, but there are difficulties in connecting that name with contemporary Horus names, so some Egyptologists question the received throne sequence. Djoser is known for his step pyramid, which is the earliest colossal stone building in ancient Egypt.
Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List but is believed to have been about 12 years.
Pepi II Neferkare was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom who reigned from c. 2278 BC. His second 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.
Userkare was the second pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, reigning briefly, 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.
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids. Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. Of those located in modern Egypt, most were built as tombs for the country's pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt, along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt.
Menkauhor Kaiu was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC.
The pyramid of Unas is a smooth-sided pyramid built in the 24th century BC for the Egyptian pharaoh Unas, the ninth and final king of the Fifth Dynasty. It is the smallest Old Kingdom pyramid, but significant due to the discovery of Pyramid Texts, spells for the king's afterlife incised into the walls of its subterranean chambers. Inscribed for the first time in Unas's pyramid, the tradition of funerary texts carried on in the pyramids of subsequent rulers, through to the end of the Old Kingdom, and into the Middle Kingdom through the Coffin Texts that form the basis of the Book of the Dead.
The pyramid of Teti is a smooth-sided pyramid situated 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 pyramid was opened by Gaston Maspero in 1882 and the complex explored during several campaigns ranging from 1907 to 1965. It was originally called Teti's Places Are Enduring. The preservation above ground is very poor, and it now resembles a small hill. Below ground the chambers and corridors are very well preserved.
Sesheshet, occasionally known as Sesh, was the mother of King Teti, the first and founding pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. She was instrumental in enabling her son to gain the throne and reconciling two warring factions of the royal family.
Ptahshepses was the vizier and son-in-law of the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. As such he was one of the most distinguished members of the royal court. Ptahshepses' mastaba complex in Abusir is considered by many to be the most extensive and architecturally unique non-royal tomb of the Old Kingdom.
Khuit II was a wife of King Teti, the first pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
Neferseshemre also called Seshi was a vizier from the early or middle part of the reign of King Teti of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
Kagemni was a vizier from the early part of the reign of King Teti of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. Kagemni's wife Nebtynubkhet Sesheshet was a King's Daughter and likely the daughter of Teti.
Meryteti served as vizier of Pepi I during the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of the vizier Mereruka. His mother was the royal daughter Seshseshet Waatetkhethor, daughter of Teti. He was thus a nephew of the king Pepi I Meryre.
This page list topics related to ancient Egypt.
Mehu was an Ancient Egyptian vizier who lived in the Sixth Dynasty, around 2300 BC. The office of the vizier was the most important one at the royal court. Mehu is mainly known from his monumental mastaba at Saqqara, not far away from the Pyramid of Unas.