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Djedkare Isesi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

jedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tanchers) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the eighth and
penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty in the late 25th century to mid 24th century BC, during
the Old Kingdom period. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in turn succeeded
by Unas. His relations to both of these pharaohs remain uncertain, although it is conjectured that
Unas was Djedkare's son owing to the smooth transition between the two.
Djedkare likely reigned for more than 40 years. Breaking with a tradition followed by his
predecessors since the time of Userkaf, Djedkare did not build a temple to the sun god Ra,
possibly reflecting the rise of Osiris in the Egyptian pantheon. More significantly, Djedkare
effected comprehensive reforms of the Egyptian state administration, the first undertaken since
the inception of the system of ranking titles. He also reorganised the funerary cults of his
forebears buried in the necropolis of Abusir and reformed the priesthood. Djedkare
commissioned expeditions to Sinai to procure copper and turquoise, to Nubia for its gold
and diorite and to the Land of Punt for its incense. One such expedition had what could be the
earliest recorded instance of oracular divination undertaken to ensure an expedition's success.
The word "Nub", meaning gold, to designate Nubia is first recorded during Djedkare's reign.
Under his rule, Egypt also traded with the Levantine coast and made punitive raids in Canaan.
One of the earliest depictions of a battle or siege scene was found in the tomb of one of
Djedkare's subjects.
Djedkare was buried in a pyramid in Saqqara named Nefer Djedkare ("Djedkare is perfect"),
which is now ruined owing to theft of stone from its outer casing during antiquity. The burial
chamber still held Djedkare's mummy when it was excavated in the 1940s. Examinations of the
mummy revealed that Djedkare died in his fifties. After his death he was the object of a cult that
lasted at least until the end of the Old Kingdom. He seemed to have been held in particularly high
esteem during the mid-Sixth Dynasty, whose pharaohs made offerings to his cult. Archaeological
evidence suggests the continuing existence of this cult throughout the much later New
Kingdom period (c. 15501077 BC). Djedkare was also remembered by the Ancient Egyptians as
the king of vizier Ptahhotep, the purported author of The Maxims of Ptahhotep, one of the earliest
pieces of philosophic wisdom literature.
The reforms implemented by Djedkare are generally assessed negatively in modern Egyptology
as his policy of decentralization created a virtual feudal system that transferred much power to
the high and provincial administrations. Egyptologists including Naguib Kanawati argue that this
contributed to the collapse of the Egyptian state during the First Intermediate Period, c. 200
years later.

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