The pyramid complex of Sahure, the second…

The name of Userkaf, the founder of the Fifth dynasty, who rules from 2465-2458 BCE, means "his ka is potent."

He constructs a pyramid complex at Saqqarah.

It is believed that he was father of two pharaohs: Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai, who both succeeded him to the throne.

Another less common view, in concordance with a story of the Westcar Papyrus, is that first three rulers of the Fifth dynasty were all brothers, the sons of queen Khentkaus I.

He is given a reign of seven years by both the Turin King List and Manetho; according to Eusebius, Manetho says Userkaf was killed by his bodyguards.

Kish is lost to Khamazi tribesmen of the Kurdistan mountains in the vacuum left by Ur’s defeat of Mesalim of Kish; Elamites from Awan occupy parts of Sumer, overthrowing Ur and Uruk, and adding Lagash and Kish (Roux 1980).

The First Dynasty of Lagash, which holds power from about 2500 BCE to about 2271 BCE, is not mentioned in the King List, though it is well known from inscriptions.

Eannatum, grandson of Ur-Nanshe, is a king of Lagash who conquers all of Sumer, including Ur, Nippur, Akshak (controlled by Zuzu), Larsa, and Uruk (controlled by Enshakushanna, who is on the King List).

He also annexes the kingdom of Kish, which is to regain its independence after his death.

He makes Umma a tributary, where every person had to pay a certain amount of grain into the treasury of the goddess Nina and the god Ingurisa.

Eannatum expands his influence beyond the boundaries of Sumer, conquering parts of Elam, including the city Az on the Persian Gulf, allegedly smites Shubur, and demands tribute as far as Mari.

However, often parts of his empire are in revolt.

During Eannatum’s reign, many temples and palaces are built, especially in Lagash.

The city of Nina, probably a precursor of Niniveh, is rebuilt, with many canals and reservoirs being excavated.

The prenomen of Sahure’s successor, Neferirkare Kakai, means "Beautiful is the Soul of Re."

From the large size of his mortuary complex at Abusir, he was probably an important king, but since the Palermo stone breaks off during his rule, little is actually known about his reign.

The Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai (burial place) of the king was initially designed as a six-step pyramid fifty-two meters high, but later it was extended to the form of a typical pyramid and it reached a height of seventy-two meters.

The mortuary complex is unfinished, and only part of the lower mortuary temple was completed before, it is supposed, the abandonment of the project.

Neferirkare was probably the brother of pharaoh Sahure and son of pharaoh Userkaf, the founder of the dynasty.

Shepseskare Isi, also spelt Shepseskare, (in Greek known as Sisiris), is thought to have reigned from around 2426 BCE – 2419 BCE.

He is the most ephemeral ruler of this Dynasty and some Egyptologists such as Miroslav Verner have strongly argued that his reign lasted a few months at the most based upon the evidence of an unfinished royal pyramid at Abusir, whose base was barely completed, before it was abandoned.

However, both the Turin King List and Manetho suggest that he ruled Egypt for seven years.

Nefererfe (in Greek possibly identified with Cheris) is given a reign of some twenty years in Manetho, but the anthropological analysis of his mummy reveals him to have died in his early twenties, between twenty and twenty-three years, which evidence accords well for a king who died relatively soon into his reign.

Mesannepada (or Mesh-Ane-pada, "hero chosen by Heaven", sometimes called Nanne), who is listed to have ruled for eighty years, at some point overthrows Mesilim of Kish and Lugal-kitun of Uruk; he also gives gifts to the kings of Mari.

Mesannepada is the first king listed for the first dynasty of Ur on the Sumerian king list.

Elulu is listed as the third king of the first dynasty of Ur on the Sumerian king list, which states he reigned for twenty-five years.

One early inscription for an "Elulu (or Elili), king of Ur" was found at nearby Eridu, stating that this king had built up the abzu ziggurat for Enki.

According to the Sumerian King List, Balulu is the final king of Ur, before Ur was defeated and the kingship moved to Awan.

Menkauhor Kaiu, (in Greek known as Menkeris), was Pharaoh in Egypt during the Fifth dynasty.

The Turin King List assigns him eight years of rule.

His pyramid has not been discovered but contemporary records indicate it was either located at Dahshur or Saqqara, rather than Abusir.

He is the last pharaoh to build a sun temple.

He is, historically, the second most obscure ruler after the ephemeral Shepseskare, although several references from royal officials, one major quarry inscription at Wadi Maghara in the Sinai, a single seal and a small alabaster statue prove his existence beyond doubt.

His successor, Djedkare Isesi is ascribed a relatively long reign of twenty-eight years from the Turin Canon though 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 exceeded thirty-two years.

He did not, as had been 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.

Nyuserre Ini, also spelt as Neuserre Izi or Niuserre Izi (in Greek known as Rathoris), was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Fifth dynasty, reigning from about 2445 BCE to about 2421 BCE.

His prenomen, Niuserre, means "Possessed of Re's Power."

He was the younger son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai by queen Khentkaus II, and brother of the short-lived Neferefre.

He is said in Manetho's Epitome to have reigned for forty-four years, but this data is considered suspect.

The Turin King List data for his reign is badly damaged and gives a figure which could be read as eleven to fourteen years or twenty-one to twenty-four years.

However, a reference to a Sed Feast in his solar temple at Abu Gurab may imply a reign of thirty years for Nysurre.

Military campaigns to Libya and Asia are mentioned in documents of this period, but we have no other evidence of the military activities of this ruler.

Nyuserre Ini’s burial place is a pyramid at Abusir located between those of pharaohs Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai.

Its initial height was around fifty meters, with a base of about seventy-nine square meters and a slope of 52 degrees.

His queen, Reput-Nebu, was also buried nearby.

At Abu Gurab he built a magnificent temple of the solar cult, called Joy of Re.

Urukagina, alternately rendered as Uruinimgina, is a ruler (énsi) of Lagash in Mesopotamia about the twenty-fourth century BCE, is best-known for his reforms to combat corruption, which are sometimes cited as the first example of a judicial code.

Although the actual text has not been discovered yet, much of its content may be surmised from other references to it that have been found.

In it, he exempts widows and orphans from taxes; compels the city to pay funeral expenses (including the ritual food and drink libations for the journey of the dead into the lower world); and decrees that the rich must use silver when purchasing from the poor man, and if the poor does not wish to sell, the powerful man (the rich man or the priest) cannot force him to do so.

Urukagina's code is perhaps the first known example of government self-reform.

Like the Magna Carta and the United States Constitution that followed (and like the Codes of Hammurabi, et al.

to some degree), Urukagina's code limits the power of politicians, governing government.

The text describing Urukagina's reforms is also the first known use of the word freedom, in this case the Sumerian ama-gi.

Urukagina frees the inhabitants of Lagash from usury, burdensome controls, hunger, theft, murder, and seizure (of their property and persons).

He also participates in several conflicts, notably a losing border conflict with Uruk.

During his reign, Uruk falls under the leadership of Lugal-Zage-Si, patesi of Umma, who ultimately overthrows Urukagina, annexes Lagash, and establishes a Mesopotamian Empire.