Pharaoh.se

The Fifth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

The kings of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt ruled Egypt for about 150 years. The succession of kings is not entirely certain, as there are contradictions.

According to Manetho, the Fifth Dynasty ruled from Elephantine, but archeologists have found evidence suggesting that it was still located at Memphis.

Dynasty 5

The chronological order

It is important to note that the chronological order of the pharaohs is an evolving subject and should therefore be treated with a certain degree of caution. As new research is conducted, the order may be subject to change, which is a fundamental principle that applies to all Egyptian dynasties.

Table 1: The kings of the Fifth Dynasty
№ Pharaoh Also known as
1 Userkaf -
2 Sahura Sahure
3 Neferirkara I Kakai Neferirkare I
4 Shepseskara Netjeruser Shepseskare
5 Neferefra Isi Neferefre, Raneferef
6 Niuserra Ini Niuserre
7 Menkauhor Kaiu Horikau, Ikauhor
8 Djedkara Isesi Djedkare Isesi
9 Unas Wenis, Unis

The Fifth Dynasty according to Manetho

The contents of their epitomes of Aegyptiaka must have been quite different, as can be seen from the differences between the more complete text of Africanus and the missing information of Eusebius. It is noteworthy that Eusebius does not present a definitive total for the dynasty; instead, he merely adds 100 for this dynasty to the total for the four preceding dynasties. When considered alongside the inflated number of kings (31), this is indicative of a corruption in his epitome of Aegyptiaca at this juncture. Further evidence of this is that the kings presented are displaced to here from the Sixth Dynasty.

ACCORDING TO AFRICANUS

Fifth dynasty of eight kings from Elephantine

  1. Ousercheres28 years
  2. Sephres13 years
  3. Nephercheres20 years
  4. Sisires7 years
  5. Cheres20 years
  6. Rhathoures44 years
  7. Mencheres9 years
  8. Tancheres44 years
  9. Onnos33 years
  10. Total248 years

Syncellus:
Together with the aforementioned 1046 years of the first four dynasties, this makes1294 years

ACCORDING TO EUSEBIOS

Fifth dynasty of 31 kings from Elephantine

  1. The first of them was Othoes: he was murdered by his bodyguard.
  2. The fourth was Phiops, who succeeded to rule at age six and reigned up to his100th year

Syncellus:
Together with the aforementioned 1195 years of the first four dynasties, there are, therefore1295 years

ARMENIAN TRANSLATION

Fifth dynasty of 31 kings of Elephantine

  1. Otʻios was the first king. He was murdered by his servants.
  2. Phiops, the fourth king, who was six years old at the beginning of his reign lived to be one hundred.

New Kingdom king lists

The Fifth Dynasty in the Turin King List contains nine kings, while the Abydos Canon and the Saqqara Canon each contain only eight, with many differences between them.

Table 2: The Fifth Dynasty in the New Kingdom king lists
№ Abydos Canon Saqqara Canon Turin King List
1 wsr-kꜢf wsr-kꜢf ..kꜢ..  7 years
2 sꜢḥ.w-rꜤ sꜢḥ.w-rꜤ lacuna  12 years
3 kꜢ-kꜢ-i nfr-ir-kꜢ-rꜤ lacuna
4 – šps-kꜢ-rꜤ lacuna  7 years
5 nfr-f-rꜤ ḫꜤ-nfr-rꜤ lacuna
6 ni-wsr-rꜤ – lacuna  10+x years
7 mn-kꜢw-ḥr mn-kꜢ-ḥr mn-kꜢ-ḥr  8 years
8 ḏd-kꜢ-rꜤ mꜢꜤ-kꜢ-rꜤ ḏd.w  28 years
9 wnis wnis wnis  30 years

1

The sum of the individual items is 218 years.