Sahourê

Sahourê is the sovereign second of (Ancient Empire). It succeeded Ouserkaf and preceded Néferirkarê Kakaï. It reigns of -2458 with -2446.

Genealogy

The identity of the parents of Sahourê was clarified recently following the discoveries carried out at Saqqarah and Abousir in the royal funerary temples of which it his clean:

With Saqqarah in the funerary temple of the Pyramid of Ouserkaf where the cartouche of Sahourê was found confirming that this last had completed the complex of its direct predecessor and thus supposing a direct bond of filiation;
Not far from this site, the excavations of the funerary temple of the Pyramid of Néferhétepès, the wife of Ouserkaf, revealed that the monument had undergone substantial modifications of its plan little time after its construction. The addition, in particular of a hall with columns whose style is identical to that of the columns of the funerary temple of Sahourê, brings a second index supporting the assumption of filiation between these various royal characters;
It is with Abousir that the final proof was found among the recent discoveries of the Supreme council of Antiquity Egyptian women made in the funerary temple of the Pyramide of Sahourê. New blocks decorated pertaining to the roadway with the temple, and having escaped at the excavations of last century, were put at the day revealing new whole pieces of the decorative program of the monument documented already well by work of Ludwig Borchardt. Among these new scenes those appear representing the royal family. Néferhétepès is represented there carrying the title of royal Mère . This discovery thus makes it possible to supplement the puzzle up to that point supposed there with the lucky finds of Saqqarah.

Titulature

Reign

As for its predecessor, the duration of the reign of Sahourê is still prone to discussion, however in its case, the sources and the assumptions seem to better agree. Manéthon names it Sécheres and gives him thirteen years of reign. The Papyrus of Turin, document drawn up with the Nouvel Empire grants twelve of them to him. The Pierre of Palermo, list and dynastic annals established with the Ancient Empire, mentions like last year recorded in annals of the dynasty for the reign of the king, the year fourteen, nine months and six days. This quotation seems to specify the exact moment or the king died.

King Sahourê launches military forwardings against the Libya NS that it immortalise in scenes of his funerary temple, devoting to the gods the prisoners whom it reports in spoils. He obtains the suzerainty of the Egypt on Byblos and other scenes of its funerary temple found by Ludwig Borchardt present ships transporting a loading which is interpreted as being Cèdre Lebanon. He would have married a princess phenician. He also organizes a forwarding towards the Pays of Pount, makes that he reports in his funerary temple with Abousir and who come to supplement the preceding discoveries. These new scenes represent the return of the forwarding formed by ocean liners charged with the invaluable goods brought back since this remote region, of which exotic animals as well as trees with Myrrhe, gasoline which did not push in Egypt. Sahourê seems to be particularly and personally interested in these trees because it was done represented in its palate cultivating them in the presence of its entourage, being praised to be the first sovereign to have made a success of this exploit. This forwarding is in addition quoted by the annals of the dynasty preserved on the Pierre of Palermo, which mention at the thirteenth year of the reign a tribe poured by the Pays of consistent Pount in eighty thousand measurements of Myrrhe, out of electrum and other invaluable products. This same year is also the occasion of the seventh great census of the cattle.

A great inscription of Ouadi Maghara reports the passage of a forwarding organized in the peninsula. This inscription gives complete of the sovereign and precise titulature whom it crushed “all the Asian ones of all the foreign countries”, undoubtedly exaggerated proclamation but which can refer very well to a mission of pacification of the wandering tribes of the area in order to ensure the outlets towards the Raising and mines of turquoise of the the Sinai.

From a religious point of view, one notes the reinforcement of the influence of the clergy of Héliopolis under his reign. The sources indicate that it made build a solar temple named Sekhet-Re , i.e. the Field of Re , which was not found for the moment and which it is certainly necessary to seek under sands of the Western desert between the sites of Abou Ghorab and of Abousir. This temple is quoted in royal annals at the time of the fifth year of the reign, specifying in addition the names of the divinities Re and Hathor which was adored there what still more specifies the role of these dynastic sanctuaries. This same source specifies in addition that a worship with the Hathor goddess was also returned in the temple of the pyramid of the king with Abousir. Other divinities are also honoured by gifts with offering such as Nekhbet, Ouadjit as well as large the Ennéade d' Héliopolis.

Several contemporary dignitaries of its reign are known and are made arrange to them mastaba with Saqqarah or Abousir:

Tepemânkh, priest of the worship of the king and his predecessor Ouserkaf, which has a Mastaba with Abousir not far from the pyramid of its Master;
Senouânkh, another priest of the royal worship as well as that of Ouserkaf. Its mastaba was found with Saqqarah;
Persen, priest attached to the funerary worship of Néferhétepès, the mother of the king, whose Mastaba was found with Saqqarah;
Niânkhsekhmet, dignitary of the reign of Sahourê which one knows the false stele carries which was found with Saqqarah;
Ouash-Ptah says Izi, which began its career as priest of the worship of the king under Sahourê, and will become the vizier of Néferirkarê Kakaï. Its mastaba was found with Abousir;
Pehnouikaï, vizier, priest of the worship of Ouserkaf under the reigns of Sahourê and its successor Néferirkarê.

He marries a lady of the court, Néferthanebty, with which he will have at least two wire. Elder the Netjerirenrê, heir in title, dies before his/her father and it is thus the junior then named Néferrê which will succeed to him under the name of Néferirkarê. The Egyptologists also suppose that Menkaouhor which will reign a time following Néferirkarê was a young person wire of Sahourê tardily born of a secondary wife.

Sahourê chooses the site of Abousir to build its complex pyramidal, and from its reign, the principal plan of all the other pyramidal complexes fixes which will then be built with its continuation.

Within sight of the private interest that will have it for this site accessible since a water reserve of the river which formed a true lake, it is probable that the royal palace was located near the site. The name of this palate was Outjes-néferou-Sahourê , literally Loués are the beauties of Sahourê .

Burial

The Pyramide of Sahourê makes to figure of prototype of the Complexe pyramidal Egyptian of.

The monument was identified as being a pyramid for the first time by Karl Richard Lepsius and then carries the number eighteen on the list of the Egyptian pyramids which it carries out during Prussian forwarding of 1842.

It is Ludwig Borchardt which identifies its owner and excavates the unit in an exhaustive way at the beginning of the 20th century, publishing its work by a series of works which will make date in the Egyptological world. He thus discovers a complete royal funerary unit composed of a temple of the valley, an ascending roadway of more than two hundred meters of length and a coupled funerary temple with the ruined pyramid of the king. These excavations reveal moreover architectural elements imposing like palmiform columns and colossal red granite architraves of Aswan, as well as most of the decoration which covered the walls of these monuments.

The complex was partially restored since and during the alteration work to fact the object of new studies and excavations carried out by the Supreme council of Egyptian Antiquities.

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