Episode 1019
Neferefre
Tue, 2020-Feb-18 00:56 UTC
Length - 3:15
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.
The featured article for Tuesday, 18 February 2020 is Neferefre.
Neferefre Isi (fl. 25th century BC; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in Greek as Χέρης, Cherês) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, likely the fourth but also possibly the fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was very probably the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II, known as prince Ranefer before he ascended the throne.
Neferefre started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir called Netjeribau Raneferef, which means "The bas of Neferefre are divine". The pyramid was never finished, with a mason's inscription showing works on the stone structure were abandoned during or shortly after the king's second year of reign. Together with the sparsity of attestations contemporaneous with his reign, this is taken by Egyptologists as evidence that Neferefre died unexpectedly after two to three years on the throne. Neferefre was nonetheless buried in his pyramid, hastily completed in the form of a mastaba by his second successor and presumably younger brother, pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. Fragments of his mummy were uncovered there, showing that he died in his early twenties.
Little is known of Neferefre's activities beyond laying the foundations of his pyramid and attempting to finish that of his father. A single text shows that Neferefre had planned or just started to build a sun temple called Hotep-Re, meaning "Ra is content" or "Ra's offering table", which possibly never functioned as such given the brevity of the king's reign. After his death, Neferefre might have been succeeded by an ephemeral and little-known pharaoh, Shepseskare, whose relation with Neferefre remains highly uncertain and debated.
Like other Fifth Dynasty kings, Neferefre benefited from a funerary cult. Cult rituals took place in a temple built by Nyuserre next to the former's pyramid. The cult seems to have been abandoned by the late Old Kingdom period and Neferefre fell into obscurity. The unfinished aspect of his pyramid and mortuary complex may have attracted less attention from grave and stone robbers than nearby pyramids. As a consequence more statues of Neferefre have been uncovered in his complex than in any other Fifth Dynasty mortuary temple.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:56 UTC on Tuesday, 18 February 2020.
For the full current version of the article, see Neferefre on Wikipedia.
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This has been Brian. Thank you for listening to featured Wiki of the Day.
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