Djedkare Isesi in Greek known as Tancheres^[1] from Manetho's Aegyptiaca, was a Pharaoh of Egypt during the Fifth dynasty. He is assigned a reign of twenty-eight years by the Turin Canon although some Egyptologists believe this is an error for thirty-eight years. Manetho ascribes him a reign of forty-four years while the archaeological evidence suggests that his reign actually exceeded thirty-two years. His prenomen or royal name--Djedkare--means "The Soul of Re Endureth."^[2]

He did not, as was customary for his dynasty, build his own sun temple, but did build his pyramid at Saqqara instead of Abusir. This is believed to be a sign that Osiris had now replaced the sun-god Ra as the most popular god. Titles were now thought to hold magical power; their inflation believed to be a sign of a gradual decentralization of power. An entire series of dated administrative papyri from Djedkare's reign, (the Prisse Papyrus at the Louvre, authored by Ptah-hotep), was discovered in Neferirkare's mortuary temple. According to Miroslav Verner, Djedkare's highest Year known date is a Year 22 IV Akhet day 12 papyrus,^[3] which would belong anywhere from Year 32 to Year 44 of his reign depending on whether the Cattle Count was Biannual (2 times) or Semi-Biannual (1.5 times).

Reconstruction of Djedkare's pyramid complex at Saqqara

He is extremely well documented both by the aforementioned Abusir papyri as well as numerous royal seals and contemporary inscriptions; taken together, they indicate a fairly long reign for this king.^[4]

His almost complete mummy, along with a badly broken basalt sarcophagus and a niche for the canopic chest, was discovered in his damaged pyramid tomb at Saqqara.

References

• Miroslav Verner, Archaeological Remarks on the 4th and 5th Dynasty Chronology, Archiv Orientální, Volume 69: 2001, pp.405-410 (coverage of Djedkare Isesi's reign)

External links

• Egyptian Kings
• The Instruction of Ptahhotep Index Page (Prisse Papyrus)
• The Mastaba of Ptahhotep reliefs from his tomb (Prisse Papyrus)

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