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The Sixth Dynasty of Egypt is considered by many authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, although The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (ed. Ian Shaw, 2000) includes the Seventh and Eighth dynasties as part of the Old Kingdom. Manetho writes that these kings ruled from Memphis, or Egyptian Mennefer, taken from the name of the pyramid of Unas which was built nearby; archeologists concur with Manetho on this.

This dynasty was founded by Teti, who had married Iput, commonly believed to be the daughter of king Unas of the Fifth dynasty. Other noteable members of this dynasty include Pepy II, who is credited with a reign of 94 years, the longest in the history of Ancient Egypt; and the last ruler Nitiqret (also known by the Greek name Nitocris), who is believed by some authorities to have not only been the first female ruler of Egypt, but the first in the world.

During this dynasty, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai to mine for turquoiseThis article is about the gem. For the colour, see cyan. Turquoise (or turquois is an opaque, blue to green hydrated copper aluminium phosphate mineral according to the chemical formula CuAl(PO)(OH 5HO. It is rare and valuable in finer grades, and has bee and copperCopper is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. Notable characteristics Copper is a reddish-coloured metal, with a high electrical and thermal conductivity (among pure metals at room temperature, only silver, as well as to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamut . PharaohThis article refers to the historical Pharaoh. For Pharaoh in the Book of Abraham, see Pharaoh (Book of Abraham). Pharaoh Standard Hebrew Paro Tiberian Hebrew Paroh is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. See History of E Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to PuntPunt can mean the following: a kind of boat; see punt (boat) an ancient nation from Africa; see Land of Punt an action in American football; see punt (football) the indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle the Irish-language word for Pound (currency). and north to ByblosByblos was a city of Phoenicia, in ancient times. Its inhabitants called their city Gebal and it was known to the ancient Egyptians as Kepen but the Greeks called it Byblos probably because it was through Gebal that byblos (" papyrus" from Egypt) was impo, and Pepy I not only sent expeditions to these locales, but also as far as Ebla.

With a growing number of biographical inscriptions in non-royal tombs, our knowledge of the contemporary history broadens from the monolithically formal facade of earlier rulers. For example, we hear of an unsuccessful plot against Pepy I. We also read a letter written by the young king Pepy II, excited that one of his expeditions will return with a dancing pygmy from the land of Yam , located to the south of Nubia.

These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the growing power of the nobility, which further weakened the absolute rule of the king. As a result, it is believed that on the death of the long-lived Pepy II his vassals were entrenched enough to resist the authority of his successors, leading to the rapid end of the Old Kingdom.