ne, die without issue, or were
his children prevented from succeeding him by force? The Egyptian annals
of the time of the Ramessides bring the direct line of Menes to an end
with this king. A new line of Memphite origin begins after him.

[Illustration: 253.jpg THE PHARAOH MENKAUHORU]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph by Faucher-Gudin. The
original, which came from Mariette's excavations at the
Serapeum, is in the Louvre.

It is almost certain that the transmission of power was not accomplished
without contention, and that there were many claimants to the crown. One
of the latter, Imhotpu, whose legitimacy was always disputed, has
left hardly any traces of his accession to power,* but Ati established
himself firmly on the throne for a year at least:** he pushed on
actively the construction of his pyramid, and sent to the valley of
Hammamat for the stone of his sarcophagus.

* The monuments furnish proof that their contemporaries
considered these ephemeral rulers as so many illegitimate
pretenders. Phtahshopsisu and his son Sabu-Abibi, who
exercised important functions at the court, mention only
Unas and Teti III.; Uni, who took office under Teti III.,
mentions after this king only Papi I. and Mihtimsauf I. The
official succession was, therefore, regulated at this epoch
in the same way as we afterwards find it in the table of
Saqqara, Unas, Teti III., Papi I., Mihtimsauf I., and in the
Royal Canon of Turin, without the intercalation of any other
king.

** Brugsch, in his Histoire d'Egypte, pp. 44, 45, had
identified this king with the first Metesouphis of Manetho:
E. de Rouge prefers to transfer him to one of the two
Memphite series after the VIth dynasty, and his opinion has
been adopted by Wiedemann. The position occupied by his
inscription among those of Hamraamat has decided me in
placing him at the end of the Vth or beginning of the VIth
dynasty: this E. Meyer has also done.

We know not whether revolution or sudden death put an end to his
activity: the "Mastabat-el-Faraun" of Saqqara, in which he hoped to
rest, never exceeded the height which it has at present.* His name was,
however, inscribed in certain official lists,** and a tradition of the
Greek period maintained that he had been assassinated by his guards.***
Teti III. was the actual founder of the VIth dynasty,**** historians
representi