Sahure was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for about 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. Sahure's reign marks the political and cultural high point of the Fifth Dynasty. He was probably the son of his predecessor Userkaf with Queen Neferhetepes II, and was in turn succeeded by his son Neferirkare Kakai.
Head of a gneiss statue of Sahure in the gallery 103 of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Westcar Papyrus, dating to the Seventeenth Dynasty but probably first written during the Twelfth Dynasty, tells the myth of the origins of the Fifth Dynasty.
Sahure's figure towering next to those of his sons including Netjerirenre, Khakare and Neferirkare Kakai on a relief from his mortuary temple
Cartouche of Sahure on the Abydos king list
The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until the mid 24th century BC.
The pyramid of Unas at Saqqara
Image: By ovedc Egyptian Museum (Cairo) 046 (cropped)
Image: Neferefre 2
Image: Niuserre Double Statue
