The miraculous rise of the Fifth Dynasty – the story of Papyrus Westcar and historical evidence

Abstract

The decline of the powerful Fourth Dynasty and the rise of a new royal line, the Fifth Dynasty, have for a long time been shrouded in mystery and have become the stuff of legends. These events are referred to in the tale of the miraculous rise of the first three kings of the Fifth Dynasty, recorded on the Papyrus Westcar. However, relevant historical sources relating to the ascension of the new dynasty have for a long time been only few and ambiguous. The mystery surrounding the ascension of the Fifth Dynasty has now been altered fundamentally by new archaeological discoveries, in particular in the course of the research of the pyramid field in Abusir. These discoveries and the role played by three royal mothers named Khentkaus in the events at the end of the Fourth and the beginning of the Fifth Dynasty, are discussed in the cited article.

Keywords

• Fifth Dynasty
• Abusir
• royal mother
• Khentkaus