↑ Proposed dates for Nyuserre's reign: 2474–2444 BCE,[1][2][3] 2470–2444 BCE,[4] 2465–2435 BCE,[5] 2453–2422 BCE,[6] 2453–2420 BCE,[7] 2445–2421 BCE,[8][9][10] 2445–2414 BCE,[11] 2420–2389 BCE,[12] 2402–2374 BCE,[13][14] 2398–2388 BCE.[15] In a 1978 work, the Egyptologist William C. Hayes credited Nyuserre with 30+2(?) years of reign, starting c. 2500 BCE.[16]
↑ The only date known reliably in relation with Nyuserre Ini comes from radiocarbon dating of a piece of wood discovered in the mastaba of Ptahshepses, a vizier and son in law of Nyuserre. The wood was dated to 2465–2333 BCE.[17][18]
↑ Neferefre was the eldest son of Neferirkare with queen Khentkaus II,[43][1][4] as shown by a relief on limestone slab depicting Neferirkare and his wife Khentkaus with "the king's eldest son Ranefer", the future pharaoh Neferefre.[43] At the same time, Nyuserre Ini undertook numerous construction works in the mortuary temple of Khentkaus II, who bore the title of "Mother of Two Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt", indicating that two of her sons ascended the throne. See below for a detailed discussion.
↑ Verner proposes that he received the title upon marrying Nyuserre's daughter.[51]
↑ During the Old Kingdom, Ancient Egyptians did not have a system of absolute dating as we do today, rather they counted years from the beginning of a king's reign and gave them names relating to important events that occurred or would occur during this year. The most important such event was the cattle count, and many documents and inscriptions thus mentions the year of the Xth cattle count under king Y. In the case of Nyuserre, the latest such event attested in a document contemporaneous with his reign is the 8th cattle count, that is at most Nyuserre's 16th year on the throne.[55]
↑ Between his 1985 book on the Egyptian administration and his 2005 book on Egyptian texts of the Old Kingdom, Nigel Strudwick has changed his opinion on Nyuserre's reign length and now credits him with 31 years on the throne.[11]
↑ Ryholt writes "Nyuserre's reign is damaged. There is a distinct trace of a 10, 20 or 30, followed by a stroke after which the papyrus breaks off. Accordingly, the possibilities are 11–14, 21–24, and 31–34 years [for Nyuserre], and not just 24 years" as is conventionally assumed.[34]
↑ Verner writes that such scenes are part of a standard decoration program for the funerary complex of the king: "Beautiful reliefs with the scenes of the sed-festival from this sun temple are occasionally considered as indirect evidence of a long reign for this king. Generally, the historical authenticity [...] of such reliefs is doubted since the sed-festival scenes very probably belonged in the Old Kingdom to the standard 'Bildprogram' of the royal funerary monuments.[17]
↑ Joyce Tyldesley instead sees the reign of Djedkare Isesi as the very beginning of the decline in the importance of the king,[67] given the decentralisation stemming from his reforms. Yet for Nigel Strudwick and Klaus Baer, these reforms were precisely undertaken as a reaction to the rapid growth of the central administration[68] which had amassed too much political or economic power[69] in the eyes of the king.[70]
↑ This situation went unchecked until the reign of Nyuserre's second successor Djedkare Isesi, who implemented the first comprehensive reforms of the system of ranking titles and thus of the administration.[71]
↑ As noted in this article, Lehner states that Userkaf's sun temple underwent a similar transformation,[113] albeit less total, while Grimal and von Beckerath emphasise the uniqueness of the Shesepibre in this respect.[111][110]
↑ Often translated as "Hereditary prince" or "Hereditary noble" and more precisely "Concerned with the nobility", this title denotes a highly exalted position.[149]
↑ The statuette is now in the Egyptian Museum, Berlin, under the catalogue number 17438.[154]
↑ Known more completely as Khamerernebty A in modern Egyptology, a denomination aimed at distinguishing her from later Khamerernebtys. For the same reason, Ptahshepses is known as Ptahshepses B.[158]
↑ In Egyptian sm3-Mnw, meaning Sema priest of Min.[165][166]
↑ Catalogue number CG 38, the statue is 65 cm (26 in) high.[177]
↑ This is witnessed by a fragmentary inscription where Djedkare claims to have undertaken works in Nyuserre's temple. The block bearing the inscription is currently housed in the Berlin Museum, under the catalogue No. 17933.[194]
↑ The fragmented jamb is now in the Berlin Museum, catalogue No. 17934.[196]
↑ The Old Kingdom kings whose funerary cult continued to exist during the First Intermediate period are, according to Jaromir Malek, Nyuserre and Teti.[197] Antonio Morales adds Unas to this list,[182] but this is contested by Malek, who sees Unas' funerary cult during the Middle Kingdom as a revival rather than a continuation of existing practices.[198]
↑ Malek states that these priests date "probably" to the late Eleventh Dynasty, that is early Middle Kingdom,[199] but does not exclude the possibility of an earlier date, in First Intermediate Period.[200]
↑ Ancient Egyptian jm3ḫ(w) ḫr Wsir nb ˁnḫ Jnj nb jm3ḫ.[203]
↑ The statue in question is fragmentary, the lower half being now in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo under the catalogue number CG 42003 and the upper half in the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, catalogue no. 42.54.[204] The lower part of a black granite statue of Nyuserre, now in the British museum under the catalogue number BM EA 870, may come from Karnak as well.[205]
