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{{Short description|Ancient Egyptian pharaoh}}
{{for|the pharaoh of the [[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt]]|Userkare Khendjer}}
{{Featured article}}
{{Infobox pharaoh
| Name = Userkare 
| alt_name = Woserkare,{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=486&ndash;487}} Weserkare{{sfn|Weserkare, Digital Giza|2025}}
| Image = Abydos KL 06-02 n35.jpg
| image_alt      = Hieroglyphic inscription on yellowish stone showing an oval cartouche with signs inside  
| Caption = Userkare's cartouche on the [[Abydos king list]]
| NomenHiero = <hiero>N5-wsr-s-kA</hiero>
| Nomen = {{center|Userkare <br>''Wsr-k3-Rˁ''<br> ''Powerful is the [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#Ka .28vital spark.29|Ka]] of [[Ra]]''{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=10}}}}
| golden = {{center|Conjectural:{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59|loc=footnote 92}}<br>Bikwy-nub <br> ''Bjk.wj-nb.w''<br>''The Two Golden Falcons''<br><hiero>G5*G5:S12</hiero>}}
| Predecessor = [[Teti]]
| Successor = [[Pepi I Meryre|Pepi I]]
| reign = 2 to 4 years, late 24th century BC{{efn|group=note|Proposed dates for Userkare's reign: 2408{{spnd}}2404 BC,{{sfn|Hayes|1978|p=58}} 2358{{spnd}}2354 BC,{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=602}} 2337{{spnd}}2335 BC,{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=xxx}} 2333{{spnd}}2332 BC,{{sfn|Clayton|1994|p=64}} 2323{{spnd}}2321 BC,{{sfn|Malek|2000|p=104}}{{sfn|Bierbrier|2008|pp=xix & 249}}{{sfn|Lloyd|2010|p=xxxiv}}{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=215}} 2312{{spnd}}2310 BC,{{sfn|von Beckerath|1999|p=283}} 2306{{spnd}}2302 BC,{{sfn|Krauss|2021|p=300}} 2291{{spnd}}2289 BC,{{sfn|Arnold|1999}}{{sfn|Allen et al.|1999|p=xx}} 2287{{spnd}}2285 BC,{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}} 2281{{spnd}}2277 BC,{{sfn|Krauss|2021|p=300}} 2279{{spnd}}2276 BC,{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=491}} 2270{{spnd}}2265 BC.{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|p=288}}}}
| Dynasty =[[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]]
| father = Possibly [[Teti]]
| mother = Uncertain, possibly [[Khuit II]] or [[Khentkaus IV]]
}}

'''Userkare''' (meaning "Powerful is the soul of [[Ra]]"; also '''Woserkare''') was the second [[Pharaoh|king]] of the [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] during the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom Period]].
He reigned briefly, two to four years, in the late 24th or the early 23rd century BC. Userkare's relation to his predecessor [[Teti]] and successor [[Pepi I]] is unknown and his reign remains enigmatic.

Although Userkare is attested in some historical sources, that is they bear witness to his existence, he is not mentioned in the tomb inscriptions of Egyptian officials who lived during his reign and who usually report the names of the kings whom they served. The representations of some high officials of the period have been deliberately chiselled out in their tombs and their titles altered, for instance the word "king" being replaced by that of "desert". Egyptologists thus suspect that Pepi might have [[Damnatio memoriae|tried to erase all memory of Userkare]] from official records, monuments, tombs and artefacts. The Egyptian priest [[Manetho]], who wrote a history of Egypt over 2,000 years later in the 3rd century BC, stated that Userkare's predecessor Teti was murdered, but is otherwise silent concerning Userkare. Consequently, some Egyptologists consider Userkare to have been a short-lived usurper to the throne. Alternatively, he may have been a legitimate short-lived ruler, a younger brother to a more ambitious Pepi I, or a regent who ruled during Pepi I's childhood before his accession to the throne.

The identity of Userkare's parents is conjectural and depends on whether he was legitimate or not. If he was, he could have been a son of Teti with one of his queens, possibly [[Khuit II]] or Khentkaus IV. If he was an usurper, he could possibly be a descendant of a cadet branch of the preceding [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]], as suggested by his name being constructed in the manner of the kings of that dynasty.

The tomb of Userkare has not yet been identified, either because it was never finished or because Pepi I erased traces of his predecessor's rule. If the tomb was indeed started, Egyptologists conjecture that it would be located in South [[Saqqara]].

== Attestations ==
===Contemporaneous sources===
====Secure attestations====
Few artefacts dating to Userkare's lifetime have survived to this day, the only secure [[attestation]]s contemporaneous with his reign being two cylinder seals and a copper [[mallet]].{{sfnm|1a1=Altenmüller|1y=2001|1p=602|2a1=Hayes|2y=1978|2p=125}}{{efn|group=note|The Egyptologist [[Peter Kaplony]] attributes three seals to Userkare{{sfn|Kaplony|1981|loc=II.A pp. 361&ndash;362, no 1 and 2; II.B, pl. 98}} but one of these seals reads "Userka[...]" and could instead belong to [[Userkaf]].{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59|loc=footnote 94}} In addition, a number of seals bearing the name "Userkare" have been attributed to him but are now believed to belong to the [[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt|13th Dynasty]] pharaoh Userkare Khendjer,{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59|loc=footnote 93}} one of which is in the [[Brooklyn Museum]].{{sfn|Brooklyn Museum|2023}}}} The first seal is made of green-glazed [[steatite]] and bears the inscription "(The) good god Userkare, beloved by the gods (and) Hathor"; the second is of black steatite and shows Userkare's cartouche with the sun disk.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=57}}
The copper mallet from the Michaelides collection bears a small inscription giving the name of a crew of workmen "Beloved ones of Userkare" or "Userkare is beloved" who hailed from [[Aphroditopolite Nome|Wadjet]] the 10th [[Nome (Egypt)|nome]] of [[Upper Egypt]], located around [[Tjebu]] south of [[Asyut]].{{efn|group=note|Kaplony's attribution of the mallet to Userkare in 1965 is accepted by Anthony Spalinger but differs from that proposed by [[:fr:Hans Goedicke|Hans Goedicke]] in 1962. Goedicke instead reads the hieroglyphic signs on the objects to indicate that it belonged to [[Netjerkare Siptah|Netjerkare]].{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=305|loc=foonote 76}}{{sfn|Goedicke|1962|pp=245–246}}}}{{sfnm|1a1=Kaplony|1y=1965|1pp=36, 38&ndash;39 and fig. 90|2a1=Roth|2y=1991|2p=122|3a1=Theis|3y=2015|3p=57}}

====Possible attestations====
The Egyptologists [[Michel Baud]] and Vassil Dobrev have also proposed that a copper axe head discovered in [[Syria]] could belong to Userkare.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59|loc=footnote 92}} The axe bears the name of another crew of workmen called the "Beloved ones of the Two Golden Falcons", where "Two Golden Falcons" is the [[Ancient Egyptian royal titulary#Horus of Gold|golden Horus name]] of a pharaoh. Although both [[Khufu]] and [[Sahure]] bore this name and either one of them may be the owner of the axe,{{sfn|Roth|1991|pp=122&ndash;123}} Baud and Dobrev note that Teti's and Pepi's golden horus names are "Golden Falcon who Unites" and "Three Golden Falcons", respectively. Given the role of the golden Horus name as a symbol of the transmission of royal powers in the Old Kingdom period,{{sfn|Dobrev|1993|p=190|loc=footnote 41}} Dobrev proposes that the missing link between Teti's and Pepi's names is the name "Two Golden Falcons" and that it would logically correspond to Userkare's brief intervening reign.{{sfn|Dobrev|1993|p=190|loc=footnote 41}} Consequently the axe would be an attestation of his rule.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59|loc=footnote 92}}

Further attestations that may be of Userkare include an inscription on the [[architrave]] of the tomb of Mehi discussed in details below; a block from [[Tanis]] bearing the cartouche "User[...]re",{{sfn|Montet|1933|loc=fig. 33, pl. 83}} but which could equally well be attributed to [[Nyuserre]];{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=64|loc=n. 14}} and, perhaps, a block inscribed with the cartouche "Uni" from [[Temple of Ezbet Rushdi|Ezbet Rushdi]] near [[Tell el-Dab'a]].{{sfnm|1a1=Adam|1y=1958|1p=323|2a1=Adam|2y=1959|2p=217|2loc=pl. 11a|3a1=Janosí|3y=1998|3p=72}}

The Egyptologist [[Flinders Petrie]] has tentatively identified Userkare with a king named  {{ill|Ity (Pharaoh)|de|Iti (Pharao)|lt=Ity}} attested by a single rock inscription found in the [[Wadi Hammamat]]. The inscription, dated to the first year of reign of Ity, mentions a band of 200 sailors and 200 masons under the direction of the overseers Ihyemsaf and Irenakhet{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=140|loc=num. 63}} sent to the Wadi Hammamat to collect stones for the construction of Ity's pyramid called [[Pyramid of Ity|"Bau Ity"]],{{sfn|Petrie|1907|pp=88&ndash;89}} meaning "Glory of Ity"{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=157&ndash;158}} or "The [[Ancient_Egyptian_conception_of_the_soul#Ba_(personality)|Bas]] of Ity".{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=xxx}} Petrie's identification of Userkare with Ity relies solely on his estimation of the inscription to the Sixth Dynasty and the fact that Userkare is the only king of this period whose full titulary is not known.{{sfn|Petrie|1907|pp=88&ndash;89}} As of 2025, this identification is at best deemed conjectural{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=60}} or completely rejected{{sfnm|1a1=Stevenson Smith|1y=1971|1p=191|2a1=Theis|2y=2015|2p=58}} and several  dates belonging to the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]] ({{circa|2180|2050 BC}}) have been proposed for Ity.{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=157&ndash;158}}

===South Saqqara Stone===
In addition to the above attestations contemporaneous with Userkare's reign, details about his time on the throne were once given on the nearly contemporaneous [[South Saqqara Stone]], a royal annal of the Sixth Dynasty dating to the reign of [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I]] or [[Pepi II]].{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=54}} It was uncovered by [[Gustave Jéquier]] in a storeroom of the mortuary temple of [[Iput II]], northwest of the [[Pyramid of Pepi II|pyramid complex of Pepi II]].{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=23}}{{efn|group=note|The South Saqqara stone is now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo under the inventory number JdE 65908.23.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=58}}}}
The stone had been reused as lid for the sarcophagus of queen [[Ankhesenpepi III]], though this lid did not originally belong with the sarcophagus.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=24}}

Unfortunately, an estimated 92%{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=25}} of the original text was lost when the stone was roughly polished, possibly in the late first intermediate to early [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom period]] ({{circa|2050}}{{spnd}}1650 BC).{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|pp=54&ndash;55}} The presence of Userkare on the annal can nonetheless be inferred from a large space between the sections concerning the reigns of Teti and Pepi I{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59}} as well as from traces of a royal titulary in this space.{{sfnm|1a1=Baud|1a2=Dobrev|1y=1995|1p=28|2a1=Strudwick|2y=2005|2p=75}} Although the text reporting Userkare's activities is lost, its length suggests that Userkare ruled Egypt from two to four years,{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=146}} with the former seen as less probable than the latter.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=53}}

===Historical sources===
Several ancient sources mention Userkare. The first is the [[Abydos king list]], a list of kings written during the reign of [[Seti I]] ({{circa|1290}}{{spnd}}1279 BC), over 1,000 years after the early Sixth Dynasty. Userkare's cartouche occupies the 35th entry of the list, between those of Teti and Pepi I,{{sfnm|1a1=Goedicke|1y=1986|1p=901|2a1=Sethe|2y=1905|2p=116}} making him the second pharaoh of the dynasty.{{sfn|von Beckerath|1999|pp=62&ndash;63|loc=king no. 2}}

Userkare was possibly also listed on the [[Turin King List|Turin canon]],{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=305|loc=footnote 76}} a king list composed during the reign of [[Ramesses II]] (1279{{spnd}}1213 BC). Unfortunately, a [[lacuna (manuscripts)|lacuna]] affects parts of the second line of the fourth column of the papyrus on which the list was written, the location were Userkare's name might have been located.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=59}} If Userkare was indeed mentioned as Pepi I predecessor, then what remains of his entry on the papyrus indicates that he was credited with 20 years of reign. This is now widely considered untenable because of evidence from the South Saqqara stone.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=58}}

==Reign==
[[File:SouthSaqqaraStone.png|thumb|upright=2|The South Saqqara Stone, the royal annals of the Sixth Dynasty, which detailed Userkare's reign in what is now an illegible section of its text{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|pp=38–43}}]]
The consensus among modern Egyptologists is that Userkare reigned between Teti and Pepi I during the early Sixth Dynasty.{{sfnm|1a1=Clayton|1y=1994|1p=64|2a1=Rice|2y=1999|2p=215|3a1=Baker|3y=2008|3p=487|4a1=Bierbrier|4y=2008|4pp=249–250|5a1=Strudwick|5y=2005|5p=9|6a1=Spalinger|6y=1994|6p=305}}
For Michel Baud, the absence of monuments as well as the scarcity of artefacts and documents pertaining to Userkare all point to the short duration of his reign.{{efn|group=note|Most Egyptologists propose a short reign for Userkare. An exception is Hans Goedicke. By attempting to reconcile conflicting data from historical sources, he proposed that Userkare reigned over the North of Egypt while Pepi reigned concurrently over the South. In this view Userkare ruled for between 20 and 33 years.{{sfn|Goedicke|1988|pp=117–118 & 121}} To support this, he points to an inscription dated to the "Year after the fifth [[cattle count]]" of an uncertain king of the Sixth Dynasty as belonging to Userkare. Since this count was biennial prior to Pepi II's reign, this could correspond to Userkare's tenth year on the throne.{{sfn|Goedicke|1988|pp=117–118 & 121}}{{sfn|Goedicke|1989|p=xx}} The inscription has been ascribed to Pepi II by Osing.{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=309}}}}{{sfnm|1a1=Rice|1y=1999|1p=215|2a1=Hornung|2y=2012|2p=146|3a1=Baud|3y=2010|3p=71}} 

For the same reasons, his relations to his predecessor and successor are largely uncertain, consequently Egyptologists have proposed a number of hypotheses regarding his identity and the nature of his rule . These fall broadly into two contradictory scenarios: one that sees Userkare as a legitimate ruler or regent,{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=487}} while the other perceives Userkare as an usurper, possibly responsible for the murder of his predecessor Teti.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=60}} 
A minority opinion held by the Egyptologists Oleg Dmitrievich Berlev and Yury Perepelkin is that Userkare is not an independent ruler but rather a name of Teti.{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=305}} 

===As a legitimate ruler===
[[File:Statue of Teti Quibell Saqqara 1.jpg|thumb|upright=.7|According to [[Manetho]], Userkare's predecessor [[Teti]] was murdered|alt=Statue of a pharaoh wearing a crown and a pleated kilt]]
The Egyptologists William Stevenson Smith, [[William C. Hayes]] and [[Nicolas Grimal]] believe that Userkare briefly ruled Egypt either as a legitimate stopgap ruler or as a regent with queen [[Iput I]].{{sfnm|1a1=Stevenson Smith|1y=1971|1p=191|2a1=Hayes|2y=1970|2pp=178&ndash;179|3a1=Grimal|3y=1992|3p=81}} Indeed, Teti's son Pepi I reigned for circa 50 years, indicating that he was probably very young at the death of his father, too young to immediately assume the throne.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=82}} The theory that Userkare was merely a regent is rejected by Naguib Kanawati, on the basis that Userkare seems to have been mentioned on the Turin canon which otherwise lists only kings, is present in the  Abydos king list and holds full royal titulary, something reserved exclusively to reigning pharaohs.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=184}}
In support of the hypothesis that Userkare was a legitimate stopgap ruler, Grimal stresses that he is well attested by historical and contemporaneous sources, in particular the South Saqqara Stone. This seems in contradiction with the idea that, being illegitimate, he was victim of a {{lang|la-x-classic|[[damnatio memoriae]]}} by his successor Pepi, whereby Pepi would have attempted to erase all memory of Userkare from official records. 
In addition, there is no direct evidence of difficulties associated with Pepi I's rise on throne in the archaeological record, which one could expect had Userkare been a usurper.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=81}} [[Rainer Stadelmann]] and Michel Baud stress that there is no clear evidence for a {{lang|la-x-classic|damnatio memoriae}} targeting Userkare. For example his funerary complex may have been planned yet never erected, which they find would provide a better explanation for its absence than a "speculative"{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=146}} attempt on Pepi I's behalf to erase traces of his predecessor's rule.{{sfn|Stadelmann|1994|p=335}} Alternatively Userkare may have been legitimate yet only reigned jointly with Pepi I in a true [[coregency]], although as the Egyptologist Christoffer Theis points out this hypothesis lack direct evidence.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}}

Vivianne Gae Callender—who thinks that Userkare was the target of some kind of {{lang|la-x-classic|damnatio memoriae}}{{sfn|Callender|1991|p=98}}—has put forth another theory in which Userkare was a legitimate son of Teti born while his father was king, but not his first-born son. In this hypothesis, Userkare's claim to the throne would rely on his being born after Teti had assumed power, while Pepi I would be the eldest son of Teti yet born before Teti's elevation to power.{{sfn|Callender|2002|p=273}} In particular Teti's eight to 12 years of reign would imply that Userkare would have been around 10 at the time of his coronation and facing a resentful older brother, possibly explaining the paucity of attestations of his rule.{{sfn|Callender|2002|p=273}} Morris Bierbrier goes even further by suggesting that the "ambitious" future pharaoh Pepi I might have had Userkare killed.{{sfn|Bierbrier|2008|pp=249–250}} Although not going as far, Karola Zibelius-Chen too thinks that Userkare was a legitimate son of Teti facing his half brother's opposition. She points in particular to the existence of two distinct queens of Teti bearing the title of "King's mother". One is Pepi's mother Iput while the identity of the second one is uncertain. For Zibelius-Chen and Callender she could well be the queen who later conspired against Pepi and was prosecuted when the conspiracy was discovered.{{sfnm|1a1=Grimal|1y=1992|1pp=82–83|2a1=Strudwick|2y=2005|2pp=353 & footnote 25 p. 377|3a1=Verner|3y=2002|3p=355|4a1=Zibelius-Chen|4y=1990|4p=349}}

=== As a usurper to the throne===
[[File:PepiI-CopperStatue-Cropped.png|thumb|upright=1|Teti's son, Pepi I, may have instituted a {{lang|la-x-classic|damnatio memoriae}} against Userkare|alt=Bronze head of a pharaoh]]
The Egyptian priest [[Manetho]] wrote a history of Egypt, the ''[[Manetho#Aegyptiaca|Aegyptiaca]]'', in the 3rd century BC during the reign of [[Ptolemy II]] (283{{spnd}}246 BC). No copies of the Aegyptiaca have survived, and it is now known only through later writings by [[Sextus Julius Africanus]] ({{circa|160}}{{spnd}}240) and [[Eusebius]] ({{circa|260/265}}{{spnd}}339). According to the Byzantine scholar [[George Syncellus]] ({{floruit|800}}), Africanus's version of the ''Aegyptiaca'' reported that Othoês—the [[Hellenization|hellenized]] name of Teti—was murdered by his bodyguards or attendants.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|pp=53&ndash;57}} No other ancient source or archaeological evidence has come to light directly confirming this story.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}} Based on the ''Aegyptiaca'' Egyptologists have found it plausible that Userkare participated in or at least benefited from Teti's assassination, despite Userkare's own absence from the ''Aegyptiaca''.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|pp=53&ndash;57}} Userkare's name is [[Theophoric name|theophoric]] and incorporates the name of the sun god [[Ra]], a naming fashion common during the preceding [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]].{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=81}} Against this opinion, Theis observes that other kings of the Sixth Dynasty, Merenre and Pepi II—whose throne name was Neferkare—did include Ra in their names as well.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}}
Since Teti was not a son of the last Fifth Dynasty king [[Unas]], some Egyptologists have proposed that Userkare could have been a descendant of a lateral branch of the Fifth Dynasty royal family who briefly seized power in a coup,{{sfnm|1a1=Rice|1y=1999|1p=215|2a1=Baker|2y=2008|2p=487|3a1=Stock|3y=1949|3pp=30–31}} and may even have reigned only over a small part of Egypt.{{sfn|Theis|2015|pp=60–61}} In possible support of this theory is the discovery of stone blocks inscribed with Teti's mother [[Seshseshet]]'s name reused as building material in the core of Pepi's pyramid. The reliefs of the blocks had been deliberately damaged and Verner proposed that Userkare may be responsible for this.{{sfn|Verner|2002|p=352}} 

The Egyptologist [[Naguib Kanawati]] also finds the hypothesis that Userkare was a short-lived legitimate ruler or regent "unconvincing".{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=4}} Indeed, archaeological evidence lends credence to the idea that Userkare was illegitimate in the eyes of his successor Pepi I. In particular, there is no mention of Userkare in the tombs and biographies of the many Egyptian officials who served under both Teti and Pepi I.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=95}} The viziers Inumin and Khentika, who served both Teti and Pepi I, are completely silent about Userkare and none of their activities during Userkare's time on the throne are reported in their tomb.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=89}} Furthermore, the tomb of Mehi, a guard who lived under Teti, Userkare and Pepi, yielded an inscribed architrave—the lintel that rests on the capitals of columns—where the name of king Teti is written on a cut-out addition to the stone. For Kanawati this indicates that the name of Teti had originally been written on the architrave, was then erased to be replaced by that of another king whose name was itself chiselled out and replaced again by that of Teti on a replacement stone.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|pp=94&ndash;95}} Kanawati argues that the intervening name was that of Userkare to whom Mehi may have transferred his allegiance to.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=163}} As a result, Kanawati has argued that the evidence suggests that Mehi had switched his allegiance from Teti to Userkare and, following Pepi I’s accession, attempted to realign with the legitimate royal line.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=163}} In any case, Mehi's attempt to switch back to Teti was seemingly unsuccessful, as there is evidence that work on his tomb stopped abruptly and that he was never buried there.{{sfn|Kanawati|2003|p=164}} Rainer Stadelmann has contested Kanawati's reconstruction of the history of the inscription on Mehi's architrave,{{sfn|Stadelmann|1994|p=335}} and Theis points to its unprovability.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}}

A similar situation is encountered in the mastaba of [[Merefnebef]], whom the Egyptologist [[Peter J. Brand]] qualifies as a "lowly"{{sfn|Brand|2002|p=256}} official and courtier who started his career under Teti then was elevated to the highest position, becoming [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]], in all probability under Userkare.{{sfn|Myśliwiec|2007|p=192}} The tomb exhibits distinct building phases, the latest one corresponding to Merefnebef's vizierate during which Merefnebef had his title inscribed repeatedly on the exterior of his tomb.{{sfn|Myśliwiec|2007|p=193}} Work on the tomb was then abruptly stopped, either with Merefnebef's death or with his political downfall following the death of Userkare. Later on, one of Merefnebef's sons intervened in the mastaba, chiselling out the representations of his father and brothers, altering his father's titles in particular those of "Honoured by the king" by erasing the word "king" or even replacing it with the word "desert".{{sfnm|1a1=Benderitter|1a2=Hirst|1y=2023|2a1=Myśliwiec|2y=2007|2p=195}} Finally the mastaba, left unfinished, was deliberately walled off so as to be hidden from sight.{{sfn|Myśliwiec|1999}} For the archaeologist Karol Myśliwiec who excavated the tomb, this shows that "the infamy of the most shameful moment in [Merefnebef's] career, that of being (probably) promoted to the function of vizier by the usurper Userkare, was visibly remembered for generations".{{sfn|Myśliwiec|2007|p=195}} This opinion is shared by Brand who sees here an instance of a wider pattern of promotion of low-ranking officials to the highest offices under Userkare, followed by their demotions or expulsions under Pepi I.{{sfn|Brand|2002|p=256}}

Michel Baud also sees difficulties with the idea that Userkare was fully legitimate: both he and Theis called the silence in contemporaneous private biographies "disturbing",{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=146}} with no official of the time period mentioning serving under Userkare.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=59}} Furthermore, Baud and Vassil Dobrev do not see Userkare's presence on the South Saqqara Stone royal annals as evidence that he was legitimate in the eyes of his successors: it could be that royal annals and kings lists were not affected by {{lang|la-x-classic|damnatio memoriae}} measures, even those targeting usurpers, because their purpose was precisely to systematically record all royal names and activities, regardless of their political context.{{sfn|Baud|Dobrev|1995|p=62}} At the opposite, for Theis, Userkare's presence on the annals makes it highly probable that he was a fully legitimate, albeit ephemeral ruler and there is insufficient evidence of a {{lang|la-x-classic|damnatio memoriae}} against him.{{sfn|Theis|2015|pp=61, 64}}

=== As a name of Teti ===
The Egyptologist Anthony Spalinger reports that Berlev and Perepelkin proposed that Userkare was in fact the [[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|prenomen]] of Teti, which they claim is unknown.{{sfnm|1a1=Spalinger|1y=1994|1p=305|2a1=Berlev|2y=1989|2pp=56-63}} They argued that an ancient scribe, redactor of royal annals added supplementary names to kings otherwise known to him by the same [[Nomen (ancient Egypt)|nomen]], so as to distinguish them. This was the case for the nomen ''Teti'' which was that of [[Hor-Aha]], [[Sekhemkhet]] and Teti. According to this hypothesis, the scribe added the prenomen "Userkare" to Teti's nomen, but this was interpreted by later Egyptians as referring to two distinct kings, ending up with two distinct cartouches on the Abydos king list.{{sfn|Berlev|1989|pp=56-63}} An evidence that Berlev and Perepelkin use to support this theory was found in the [[pyramid of Khendjer]] (built {{circa}} 1750 BC) where an ancient graffito written during the reign of [[Ramses II]] ({{circa|1303}}{{spnd}}1213 BC) by a certain Nasui, wrongly refers to the pyramid as [[Pyramid of Teti|that of Teti]]. This confusion may be due to the fact that [[Khendjer]]'s prenomen was Userkare and  as proposed by Berlev and Perepelkin, perhaps so was Teti's.{{sfnm|1a1=Spalinger|1y=1994|1p=305|2a1=Berlev|2y=1989|2pp=56-63}} This hypothesis is generally rejected by Egyptologists such as Theis, who pointed out that Teti used the same name for both his prenomen and nomen, meaning they were identical, and that pharaohs of the previous [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]] like [[Userkaf]], [[Sahure]], and [[Unas]] also had identical prenomens and nomens, and so Teti would have done the same.{{sfn|Theis|2015|pp=57–58}}

==Parents==
The identity of Userkare's parents cannot be established for certain owing to the lack of direct evidence and is thus tied to the hypothesis retained concerning his legitimacy. If he was legitimate, Userkare could have been a son of Teti,{{sfnm|1a1=Stadelmann|1y=1994|1p=334|2a1=Dodson|2a2=Hilton|2y=2004|2p=73|3a1=Seipel|3y=1980|3p=246}} but the identity of his mother is very uncertain. Proceeding by elimination from the list of known Sixth Dynasty queens, Callender has conjectured that Userkare's mother was a queen bearing the title of "king's mother" mentioned in the mortuary temple of Pepi I and named "Kh[en]t[...]".{{sfnm|1a1=Lauer|1y=1968|1p=2|2a1=Callender|2y=1991|2p=99}} For the Egyptologist Silke Roth "Kh[en]t[...]" is not a name but rather part of a title of the king's mother, possibly translated as "who is at the forefront[...]".{{sfnm|1a1=Roth|1y=2001|1pp=90–99, 102–113|2a1=Theis|2y=2015|2p=61}} It cannot be Pepi's own mother who is known to have been Iput I. For Wilfried Seipel the name could be fully rendered as "Khentitenka",{{sfn|Seipel|1980|p=248}} while Theis, Dodson, Hilton and Bierbrier have proposed to read "Khentkaus".{{sfnm|1a1=Bierbrier|1y=2008|1pp=249–250|2a1=Dodson|2a2=Hilton|2y=2004|2p=73}} This could mean that Userkare's mother was [[Khentkaus IV]],{{efn|group=note|Dodson and Hilton call her Khentkaus III instead of IV as the tomb of a queen [[Khentkaus III]] of the preceding Fifth Dynasty was discovered after their book was published.{{sfn|Charles University|2015}}}} or that the inscribed block was reused and originally belonged to one of the Khentkauses of the preceding dynasty.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=61}} Another possibility put forth by Janosí and Callender and agreed upon by Stadelmann and is that "Kh[en]t[...]" should be read "Khuit" and consequently should be identified as [[Khuit II]].{{sfnm|1a1=Stadelmann|1y=1994|1pp=330, 334|2a1=Verner|2y=2002|2p=349|3a1=Baker|3y=2008|3pp=486&ndash;487}}

==Tomb==
[[File:Pyramids of the Saqqara Plateau.png|thumb|upright=1.15|Map of South Saqqara by [[Karl Richard Lepsius]]{{sfn|Lepsius map|1849}}|alt=Map on light brown paper showing the location of ancient tombs in desert hills]]
As of 2025, the location of the tomb of Userkare has not yet been identified. The brevity of his reign implies that the tomb was probably unfinished at his death, making modern identification difficult.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=487}} Since Userkare was a Sixth Dynasty king, his tomb was presumably  planned to be a pyramid. A possible vindication of this hypothesis is the copper mallet mentioning a team of paid workers from the nome of Wadjet. These workers were involved in an important building project, probably Userkare's pyramid.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=81}}

Two hypotheses for the location of Userkare's pyramid have been put forth. The Egyptologists Vassil Dobrev and Miroslav Bárta proposed that Userkare's pyramid is located in the northern part of Saqqara South known today as Tabbet al-Guesh, north-west of the [[mortuary complex of Pepi I]]. Indeed, a large necropolis of Sixth Dynasty administration officials was uncovered there under the aegis of the [[Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale]]. The necropolis comprises several large [[mastaba]]s as well as two unfinished structures, one being {{convert|80|x|80|m|ft|abbr=on}}, the other {{convert|60|x|80|m|ft|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=62}} According to Dobrev these could represent the start of a royal pyramid and its adjoining mortuary temple.{{sfnm|1a1=Dobrev|1y=2010|1p=53|2a1=Bárta|2y=2012|2p=198|3a1=Dobrev|3y=2006}} 

Two hypotheses for the location of Userkare's pyramid have been put forth. The Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev proposed that Userkare's pyramid is located in the area of Saqqara South known today as Tabbet al-Guesh, north-west of the [[mortuary complex of Pepi I]]. Indeed, a large necropolis of Sixth Dynasty administration officials is found there, which according to Dobrev, hints at the nearby presence of a royal pyramid.{{sfn|Dobrev|2006}}

The astrophysicist [[Giulio Magli]] believes instead that the pyramid of Userkare is to be found midway between those of Pepi I and [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I]], at a place that would make the three pyramids form a line parallel to the one formed by the [[Buried Pyramid|pyramid of Sekhemkhet]], and those of [[Pyramid of Unas|Unas]], [[Pyramid of Djoser|Djoser]], [[Pyramid of Userkaf|Userkaf]] and Teti to the North.{{sfn|Magli|2010|p=5}} As of 2015 no archaeological surveys had been carried out in this area to confirm or refute this hypothesis.{{sfn|Theis|2015|p=62}}

==Notes==
{{notelist|group=note|colwidth=20em}}

==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}

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* {{cite journal|last=Spalinger|first=Anthony|year=1994|title=Dated texts of the Old Kingdom|jstor=25152700|journal=Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur|volume=21|pages=275–319}}
* {{cite book|last=Stadelmann|first=Rainer|author-link=Rainer Stadelmann|chapter=König Teti und der Beginn der 6. Dynastie|language=French, German|title=Hommages à Jean Leclant. Volume 1. Études Pharaoniques|trans-title=In honor of Jean Leclant. Volume 1. Pharaonic studies|editor1-first=Catherine|editor1-last=Berger|editor2-first=Gisèle|editor2-last=Clerc|editor3-first=Nicolas|editor3-last=Grimal|isbn=978-2-72-470137-1|pages=327–336|publisher=Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale|location=Cairo|year=1994}}
* {{cite book|last=Stevenson Smith|first=William|chapter=The Old Kingdom in Egypt|title=The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 1, Part 2: Early History of the Middle East|editor1-first=I. E. S.|editor1-last=Edwards|editor2-first=C. J.|editor2-last=Gadd|editor3-first=N. G. L.|editor3-last=Hammond|year=1971|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-52-107791-0|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=slR7SFScEnwC&q=Userkare&pg=PA188|pages=145&ndash;207}}
* {{cite journal|last=Stock|first=Hanns|language=de|year=1949|volume=31|journal=Analecta Orientalia: Commentationes Scientificae de Rebus Orientis Antiqui|title=Die erste Zwischenzeit Ägyptens. Untergang der Pyramidenzeit, Zwischenreiche von Abydos und Herakleopolis, Aufstieg Thebens|trans-title=The First Intermediate Period of Egypt: The fall of the pyramid age, the intermediate kingdoms of Abydos and Heracleopolis, and the rise of Thebes|oclc=1521209250}}
* {{cite book|last1=Strudwick|first1=Nigel C.|year=2005|title=Texts from the Pyramid Age|series=Writings from the Ancient World (book 16)|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|isbn=978-1-58983-680-8|location=Atlanta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sgoVryxihuMC&q=Userkare}}
* {{cite journal|last=Theis|first=Christoffer|year=2015|title=Userkare. Ein ephemerer Herrscher des Alten Reiches’|trans-title=Userkare. An ephemeral ruler of the Old Kingdom|language=de|journal=Sokar|volume=30|pages=56-67}}
* {{cite book|last=Verner|first=Miroslav|title=The Pyramids: the Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments|location=New York|publisher=Grove Press|year=2002|isbn=978-0-80-219863-1}}
* {{cite book |last=von Beckerath|first=Jürgen|author-link=Jürgen von Beckerath|year=1999 |title=Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen|trans-title=Handbook of Egyptian Royal Names|publisher=Münchner ägyptologische Studien, Heft 49, Mainz : Philip von Zabern|isbn= 978-3-8053-2591-2|language=de}}
* {{cite book|last=Waddell|first=William Gillan|title=Manetho|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts; London|publisher=Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann|year=1971|series=Loeb classical library, 350|url=https://archive.org/details/manethowithengli00maneuoft/page/n87/mode/2up|oclc=6246102}}
* {{cite journal|last=Zibelius-Chen|first=Karola|title=Politische Opposition im Alten Ägypten|trans-title=Political opposition in ancient Egypt|journal=Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur|language=de|volume=17|year=1990|pages=339–360|jstor=25150160}}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Userkare}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Teti]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Pharaoh|King of Egypt]]
| years = late 24th century BC
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Pepi I]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Pharaohs}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:24th-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:23rd-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:Pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:24th-century BC births]]
[[Category:24th-century BC deaths]]