Teti: Life, Reign, Achievements, and Legacy of the First King of Egypt’s Sixth Dynasty
Teti was less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath and died c. 2333 BC. He was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List but is believed to have been around 12 years. This article explores Teti’s origins, his rise to power, his pyramid, his government policies, and the mystery of his death.
Statue_of_Teti_Quibell_Saqqara
Teti Reign
Teti’s Horus name Sehoteptawy, “He who pacifies the Two Lands”, probably indicates that he must have led military pacification operations near the start of his reign. During Teti’s reign, high officials were beginning to build funerary monuments that rivalled those of the pharaoh. His vizier, Mereruka, built a mastaba tomb at Saqqara which consisted of 33 richly carved rooms, the biggest known tomb for an Egyptian nobleman. This is considered to be a sign that Egypt’s wealth was being transferred from the central court to the officials, a slow process that culminated in the end of the Old Kingdom.
Length of Reign
Teti’s highest date is his “Year after the 6th Count 3rd Month of Summer day lost” (Year 12 if the count was biannual) from Hatnub Graffito No.1. This information is confirmed by the South Saqqara Stone Annal document from Pepi II’s reign, which gives him a reign of around 12 years.
Teti Family
Teti had several wives:
- Iput may have been a daughter of Unas, who was the last king of the Fifth dynasty.
- Khuit may have been the mother of Userkare (according to Jonosi and Callender)
- Khentkaus IV
- Naert
Teti is known to have had several children. He was the father of at least three sons and probably ten daughters.
According to N. Kanawati, Teti had at least nine daughters by a number of wives, and the fact that they were named after his mother, Sesheshet, allows researchers to trace his family. At least three princesses bearing the name Seshseshet are designated as “king’s eldest daughter”, meaning that there were at least three different queens. It seems that there was a tenth one, born of a fourth queen, as she is also designated as “king’s eldest daughter”.
1- Children with Iput
- Pepi I (died c. 2283 BC)
- Nebkauhor: With the name of Idu, “king’s eldest son of his body”, buried in the mastaba of Vizier Akhethetep/Hemi, buried in a fallen Vizier’s tomb, within the funerary complex of his maternal grandfather
- Seshseshet Waatetkhethor: Married Vizier Mereruka, in whose mastaba she has a chapel. She is designated as “the king’s eldest daughter of his body”. She may have been the eldest daughter of Iput.
- Seshseshet Idut: (died c. 2345 BC) “king’s daughter of his body”, who died very young at the beginning of her father’s reign and was buried in the mastaba of Vizier Ihy.
- Seshseshet Nubkhetnebty: “king’s daughter of his body”, wife of Vizier Kagemni, represented in her husband’s mastaba.
- Seshseshet Sathor: Married to Isi, resident governor at Edfu and also titled vizier.
2- Children with Khuit
- Tetiankhkem (c. 2350 BC – c. 2335 BC)
- Seshseshet, with the name of Sheshit: King’s eldest daughter of his body and wife of the overseer of the great court Neferseshemptah and is depicted in her husband’s mastaba. As she is the eldest daughter of the king, she cannot be born of the same mother as Waatkhetethor and therefore may have been a daughter of Queen Khuit.
3- Children with unknown spouses
- Seshseshet, also called Sheshti: “King’s daughter of his body”, married to the keeper of the head ornaments Shepsipuptah, and depicted in her husband’s mastaba.
- Seshseshet with the beautiful name of Merout: Entitled “king’s eldest daughter” but without the addition “of his body” and therefore born of a third, maybe a minor queen, and married to Ptahemhat.
- Seshseshet: Wife of Remni, “sole companion” and overseer of the department of the palace guards
- Seshseshet: Married to Pepyankh Senior of Meir
- The so-called “Queen of the West Pyramid” in King Pepi I’s cemetery. She is called “king’s eldest daughter of his body” and king’s wife of Meryre (the name of Pepi I). Therefore, she is the wife of Pepi and most certainly his half-sister. As she is also the eldest daughter of the king, her mother was likely a fourth queen of Teti.
- Another possible daughter is Princess Inti.
Sistrum Inscribed with the Names of King Teti
Teti Death
Egyptian priest-chronicler Manetho writes that his palace bodyguards killed Teti on a harem conspiracy scheme, but he seems to have been quickly succeeded by a temporary usurper, Userkare.
Teti’s Pyramid Complex at Saqqara
Teti was interred in the Saqqara necropolis. His pyramid complex is attributed to the pyramids of the officials in his reign. Teti built his pyramid at Saqqara, close to earlier kings and high-ranking officials. While smaller than the pyramids of earlier dynasties, it remains significant.
Teti’s Pyramid Complex at Saqqara
Pyramid Construction and Architecture
The pyramid, called “Teti’s Pyramid”, features:
A limestone core
A smooth casing (mostly removed over time)
A descending passage leading to burial chambers
Interior inscriptions (Pyramid Texts), though fragmentary
This pyramid is particularly significant due to the fact that it has carried on the tradition of inscribing Pyramid Texts that had commenced in the reign of Unas.
Temple and Causeway
Attached to the pyramid was:
A mortuary temple
An offering hall with false doors
Storerooms
A causeway leading to a valley temple
Fragments of reliefs from these structures show scenes of ceremonies, offerings, and the king interacting with gods.
Third “subsidiary” pyramid to Teti’s tomb
Teti’s mother was Queen Sesheshet, who was instrumental in her son’s accession to the throne and in a reconciliation of two warring factions of the royal family. Sesheshet lived between 2323 BC to 2291 BC. Egypt’s chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced on 11 November 2008 that she was entombed in a 4,300-year-old 5-metre (16-foot) tall pyramid at Saqqara. The 118th pyramid known to have been located so far in Egypt, its largest part a 2-metre-wide casing was constructed with a 5-metre-high superstructure. It originally reached 14 metres, with sides 22 metres long.
Once 5 stories tall, it lay beneath 7 meters (23 feet) of sand, a small shrine and mud-brick walls from later periods. Another known subsidiary pyramid ahead of the tomb of Teti was of the height of around 14 meters (46 ft) and base of 22 meters (72 ft), considering the staggering walls were built at 51 degrees. It is buried beside the Saqqara Step Pyramid and the base of the tomb is 65 feet (20 meters) deep and was considered to have been 50 feet (15 meters) high at the time of construction.
Funerary temple of Queen Neith
Goddess Neith
In January 2021, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of more than 50 wooden sarcophagi in 52 burial shafts dating back to the New Kingdom period, as well as a 13-foot-long papyrus containing texts from the Book of the Dead.
Archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass at Saqqara also found the funerary temple of Queen Neith and warehouses made of bricks. Previously unknown to researchers, she was the wife of Teti.
Relationship with Nobility and Priests
Teti strengthened relationships with certain noble families by granting titles and wealth. This helped maintain peace but also contributed to shifting power dynamics.
The rise of large mastaba tombs for officials, like that of Mereruka, shows how elite families gained prestige. These tombs reveal:
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Scenes of agriculture, fishing, dance, and crafts
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Administrative records
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Artistic innovations of the Sixth Dynasty
The priests of Osiris also became more powerful, setting the stage for the increasing importance of Osirian worship throughout Egypt.
Conclusion
Key to the times that changed under the subtle hand of Teti was Egypt, where the power shifted slowly from the hands of the kings to the priests and the nobility. His pyramid, the grand tombs of his officials, and the inscriptions of the period reflect an Egypt that was evolving socially, politically, and artistically.
Teti stands as a symbol of transition, marking the beginning of the Sixth Dynasty and setting the stage for both its achievements and challenges.
