Userkaf

Userkaf
Userkaf, Usercheres (Manetho)
Head of Userkaf, recovered from his sun temple at Abu Gurob
Pharaoh
Reign	2494 – 2487 BC(5th Dynasty)
Predecessor	Shepseskaf or Djedefptah?
Successor	Sahure
Royal titulary
Children	Sahure, Khamaat
Father	unknown
Mother	Khentkaus I? Raddjedet (myth)
Died	2487 BC
Monuments	Pyramid of Userkaf

Userkaf (meaning "his soul is strong" or "his Ka (or soul) is powerful") was the founder of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and the first pharaoh to start the tradition of building sun temples at Abusir. He ruled from 2494 to 2487 BC and constructed the pyramid of Userkaf complex at Saqqara.

Userkaf may have been a grandson of Djedefre by his daughter, Neferhetepes. His father is unknown, while some believe his mother to have been Khentkaus I (or his wife before he inherited the throne).

Another of Userkaf's wives was the similarly named Queen Neferhetepes, known to be the mother of Sahure. Userkaf may also have been the father of Neferirkare Kakai, a son by Khentkaus I.

Another less common view, in concordance with a story of the Westcar Papyrus, is that the first three rulers of the fifth dynasty were brothers—the sons of a woman named Raddjedet.

Thus, Sahure, Userkaf's successor was most likely his son. Furthermore, a strong argument in support of the theory that the first four kings of the fifth dynasty were closely related is that we know several officials who served as priests in the funerary cults of several of these kings:

The exact duration of Userkaf's reign is unknown. Userkaf is given a reign of seven years by the Turin Royal Canon while Africanus states that Manetho's Epitome attributes him 28 years of reign. The Palermo stone describes the year of the third cattle count under Userkaf, which would correspond to his sixth year on the throne as the cattle count was generally, but not necessarily, biennial during the Old Kingdom. Analyses of the space available on the Palermo stone between this date and Sahure's register indicates that Userkaf did not reign longer than 12 to 14 years. In his comparative study of the fragments of the Palermo stone, Georges Daressy concluded that Userkaf reigned about 10 years. This figure is considered more plausible than Manetho's 28 years given the monumental remains dating to his reign. Four mentions of the "year of the fifth cattle count" were also found in Userkaf's sun temple, which could indicate that Userkaf reigned for at least 10 years. However, these inscriptions are incomplete, in particular the king's name is lost, so they may refer to the reign of Sahure or Neferirkare rather than that of Userkaf.