Old Kingdom (Episode 1-24)

First Intermediate Period (Part I): Collapse?We jump head slightly in time.  By 2100 BCE Pepy II is gone, and with him the last securely-documented reign of the Old Kingdom. A…

Pepy II (Part III): The End of the Old Kingdom Pepy II reaches his twilight years, and Egypt is in trouble. Drought strikes the Near East, increasing desertification and reducing…

Pepy II (Part II): Authority Abroad. Twenty-five ears into his reign, Pepy II is established in power. But can this monarch rule effectively on his own, without the guidance he…

Pepy II (Part I): the Child King At just six-years old, the new King of Upper and Lower Egypt Pepy II cannot possibly exercise power on his own. Enter his mother, Ankh-enes-Pepy,…

Weni the Elder (Part II): Service in the South Following his admirable service to Pepy I thus far, Weni the Elder is then dispatched south to Upper Egypt, to serve as…

Teti (Part II): The Murder of a King? All is not well within the court. Although Teti has ensconced himself on the throne, conspiracies may have formed against him. The Greek Manetho (c.280…