Rashepses () was a

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

from the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Rashepses was vizier under

Djedkare Isesi Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres; died 2375 BC) was a king, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid-24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu ...

. A letter directed to Rashepses has been preserved. This decree is inscribed in his tomb in

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

. As vizier, he was one of the most important Ancient Egyptian officials. In his tomb, many titles are recorded. It seems that he was first ''overseer of the scribes of the royal documents'', ''overseer of the two granaries'' and ''overseer of all royal works''. These are all very important titles, making him an influential official at the royal court. At the final stage of his career he became vizier. The vizier title is only preserved in two letters that are copied on the decoration of the tomb. It seems that most of his tomb was finished and after all that, he was promoted.

Burial

Rashepses was buried in Saqqara. It received the number LG16 from the expedition under

Karl Richard Lepsius Karl Richard Lepsius (; 23 December 181010 July 1884) was a German people, Prussian Egyptology, Egyptologist, Linguistics, linguist and modern archaeology, modern archaeologist. He is widely known for his opus magnum ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten ...

, that recorded the tomb in the middle of the 19th century. His

mastaba A mastaba ( , or ), also mastabah or mastabat) is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mudbricks or limestone. These edifices marked the burial sites ...

is located north of funerary complex of Djoser among a group of tombs of the Fifth Dynasty, along with his contemporaries

Perneb Perneb is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince and priest, who lived at the beginning of the 2nd Dynasty. Identity Perneb's name is preserved on several clay seals found in the gallery tomb A at Saqqara, which is attributed to two kings (phar ...

and Raemka. The tomb is decorated with classic images of the presentation of offerings and a set of scenes related to the funerary cult of the vizier. The underground burial chamber is decorated with paintings. Decorated burial chambers are common at the end of the Fifth Dynasty and in the Sixth Dynasty. The burial chamber of Rashepses might be the earliest decorated one.El-Tayeb 2014, pp. 8-9 In the ''

serdab A serdab (), which became a loanword in Arabic for 'cellar', is an ancient Egyptian tomb structure that served as a chamber for the ka statue of a deceased individual. Used during the Old Kingdom, the serdab was a sealed chamber with a small sli ...

,'' a head of a wooden statue was discovered with the type of headdress which became very popular in the

Sixth dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

. This head is now in the Imhotep Museum.

References

Bibliography

* *Hany Abdallah El-Tayeb: ''The burial chamber of Rashepses at Saqqara'', in: '' Egyptian Archaeology'' 44 (Spring 2014), 8-9 Viziers of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt Ancient Egyptian overseers of royal works Ancient Egyptian overseers of the granaries {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub 3rd-millennium BC births 3rd-millennium BC deaths