Online Activities: Ancient Egypt
Who is Who?
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Nebet: Sixth Dynasty. Wife of King Wenis. A woman who was vizier of Egypt, probably in the Sixth Dynasty, though possibly later, during the First Intermediate Period.
Nefer: Fourth Dynasty, reign of Khufu. Nefer was a member of the royal family, buried at Giza in a fine mastaba. He was ‘Overseer of the Treasury,' a very powerful office. A reserve head, which greatly resembles the face in this relief, was found in his tomb. (item 79 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Nefer: Fifth Dynasty. Singer, son of Kahay. He and his father and other family members shared a small but beautifully decorated tomb at Sakkara. He shows family members and pets at their daily round.
Neferirkare: Fifth Dynasty. King. About 2446-2438 BCE. (Also known as Kakai) Brother of Sahure, son of Khentkaues. Many important papyrus documents were found at Neferirkare's mortuary temple. These papyri have helped scholars to understand the economics and logistics of the cults of kings at the pyramids and temples in the Old Kingdom.
Three anecdotes reveal this king as kindly man. In one, the king accidentally touched a nobleman and priest, Ra-wer, during a ceremony. Ra-wer might have been held culpable for coming too close to the king's divine person. Neferirkare prevented any ill consequences by saying that the touch was a honour. It is clear from Ra-wer's own tomb, that the incident must have occurred when Ra-wer was a very old man, which suggests that he may have stumbled, and the king protected his old friend from embarrassment as much as from punishment.
On another occasion, the Vizier, Weshptah collapsed from a stroke while accompanying the king. The king showed great concern for his advisor. Neferirkare sent for his own physicians who were, however, unable to save the vizier.
The third incident involved the high priest of Memphis, Ptahshepses, who was given permission to kiss the king's foot rather than the ground before him.
Nefermaat: Fourth Dynasty. Vizier and son of King Sneferu. The tomb that he and his wife, Itet, shared at Meidum, near one of Sneferu's pyramids, was filled with vivid and innovative artwork. Nefermaat hoped that a new technique of carving images deeply into stone, then filling in the outlines with coloured pastes, would endure better than ordinary raised or sunk relief. Unfortunately, most of the coloured fillings shrank and fell from the walls. Enough remains, though, to suggest the beauty of the tomb when new. Several pieces of this work are in Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids.
Nefertiabet: Fourth Dynasty. King's Daughter, sister of Khufu. Nefertiabet is known for a fine slab stele which maintained most of its colour, and for a small and rather charming statue, which shows her as a young woman of individual character and sweetness combined with strength. (item 50 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Neuserre: Fifth Dynasty. King. About 2420-2389 BCE. (Also Niuserre) Son of Neferirkare and Khentkaues. During his twenty-five year reign, he built a Sun Temple, portions of which still survive. The decoration of this complex must have been breathtaking. Fragments which survive show the seasons, full of wonderful animal life. His memory was honoured in later times. (item 119 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Ni-ka-re: Fifth Dynasty. Ni-ka-re was Overseer of the Royal Granary, and a very wealthy man. Four fine statues of him, two with family members, survive from his tomb. Khuen-nub, his wife, is shown with him in two statues, and his on Ankh-ma-re and daughter Khuen-nebti appear on one each. Khuen-nub and her children are shown on smaller scale than Ni-ka-are, but in both statues the liveliness of the carving seems to make them the more sympathetic characters. (items 127 - 130 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Nitiqrit: Sixth Dynasty. King(?) Possibly about 2152-2150 BCE. (Also, Nitocris) No archaeological evidence has yet been found for this woman, who may have been the last ruler of the Old Kingdom. She was listed in the Turin Canon as king after Merenre II, a son of Pepy II, and is also mentioned by Manetho. The Greek historian, Heroditus told a story of her as a beautiful and brilliant woman who avenged her brother's murder, then committed suicide. Her formal name would have been Netjerkare Siptah.
Nymaathap: Third Dynasty. King's Wife of Nebka, probably king's daughter of Khasekhemwy, and Mother of the King's Children. Djoser was her son. Metjen carried on her mortuary cult after she died.
Pepy I: Sixth Dynasty. King. About 2321-2287 BCE. Pepy's reign saw difficulties at court and abroad. There may have been an assassination attempt by one of his queens. Pepy relied on non-royal supporters such as Weni, who heard the case against the queen, in secret, and who also led armies to defend the borders. Art flourished during his reign; a slightly over-life size copper statue of Pepy, and one of his son Merenre, show the skill of his court. Exquisite small objects made of calcite, ivory, and stone have also survived. His pyramid complex at South Sakkara, which had subsidiary pyramids for several of his queens, has recently been restored. (item 170 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Pepy II: Sixth Dynasty. King. about 2246-2152 BCE. Son of Pepy I, brother of Merenre. Pepy II came to the throne as a child, and lived to an advanced old age, perhaps over a hundred. During his childhood, Egypt was ruled by his mother, Ankhenesmeryre II. In his early years, Pepy II enjoyed the support of his uncle, Djau, and the southern magnate, Harkuf. Both his southern and northern frontiers had his attention; large expeditions travelled to Nubia and Palestine to trade for luxury items. In his ninety-six years on the throne, Pepy married several times, and outlived most of his wives and many of his children. Later texts tell of his infatuation for Sasenet, one of his generals. He was buried in a pyramid with Pyramid Texts at Sakkara, the last king of the Age of the Pyramids. (item 172 or 176 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Peseshet: Fifth Dynasty. Doctor, and Overseer of Doctors. This noblewoman served Queen Nebet, wife of King Wenis. Peseshet was also Overseer of the Ka Servants of the Queen's Mother. She is represented on a large false door in the tomb of Akhethotep at Giza, but with no mention of how she might have been related to him, or to any other man. It is possible that she was unmarried.
Ptahshepes of Sakkara: Fourth and Fifth Dynasties. Ptahshepses was brought up at court during the time of king Menkaure. He married the daughter of king Shepseskaf, Princess Khamaat. His biography tells us that he served seven kings: Menkaure, Shepseskaf, Userkaf, Sahure, Neferirkare, Raneferef, and Neuserre. Such biographical information is very useful in trying to understand the chronology of the Age of the Pyramids. If one man lived through all these reigns, he must have been very old when he died, and the total time cannot be much more than a hundred years. Ptahshepses had many titles, most of them religious. His most important title was High Priest of Ptah. King Neferirkare granted him the honour of kissing the king's foot, instead of the ground in front of it, as other courtiers did.
Ptahshepses of Abusir: This Ptahshepses almost certainly knew the older Ptahshepses mentioned above. Ptahshepses of Abusir was vizier to Neuserre, whose daughter, Khamerernebty, he married. He was honoured with the title sa nesew – king's son. Another of his titles was Overseer of all the Works of the King. In 1994, an inscription on a block from one of the small pyramids of Neferirkare's wives, named Ptahshepses as the supervisor of its construction. Ptahshepses is remarkable for having the largest private tomb of the Old Kingdom.
Qahedjet: Third Dynasty, about 2640 BCE. King. Very little is known about Qahedjet. His only monument shows him wearing the White Crown, being embraced by the god Horus. The king and the god are shown the same size, as equals and friends. This beautiful image is one of the oldest to depict a god as human, with an animal head. Qahedjet may be the Horus name of Huni. (item 9 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Qar: Sixth Dynasty. Qar's full name was Meryre-nefer. He was buried at Giza, as would suit a man whose titles showed that he had responsibilities in connection with the pyramid towns of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, while being a tenant of the Pyramid of Pepy I. In his tomb, he is often shown in company with a man named Idu, who may have been the owner of an adjacent mastaba. The relationship between the two men is not clear, but as Idu is shown on a smaller scale than Qar, they were probably father and son. (items 195 and 196 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
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