The Herders cometh.

Last week we left off with the death of the King Rha Niferif, a short-lived successor to his father, Nefir-Kare.

Rah Neferefraf or Nefhrehrei did not reign long enough to leave any lasting impression on the Egyptian

cultural landscape.

His statuary reveals him to be something of a fresh-faced youth,

round in the cheek and smiling in an innocent manner.

He bears all the hallmarks of a young vigorous king and had he lived

longer he would probably have made much more of an impact on our story. Sadly it was not to be and the king ruled for just two years possibly three.

His pyramid never got past the first foundation layer of stone and was made functional by his successor resulting in a large square

master-bitum. The adjacent mortuary temple however was totally finished and was operational for several decades after this King's reign.

Indeed, as we will see next week, the mortuary temple of Ra Netharef is among the greatest sources of knowledge for temple functions during the 5th dynasty

thanks to a magnificent papyrus archive discovered in the late 20th century.

The temple and pyramid were completed in haste by Rahn

Neferef's younger brother Niusare, who also had to finish the monuments of their mutual

father, Nefa Iakare.

A short-lived king could cause quite the disruption in Egyptian life,

as the act of burying one's father and completing their funerary monument

was an integral element of the succession ritual.

For Niusure, the problem was compounded by the fact that Nefa Eakare's pyramid complex was not yet completed when the old king died.

And having to put the finishing touches on both this monument and the tomb of Rar Neferef meant that Niuseray's own

term did not get undway for several years after his accession.

Fortunately, the new king could afford to wait.

...