Merenre I

Merenre Nemtyemsaf I was the son of Pepi I and Ankhesenpepi I and ruled for about six to eleven years in the early 23rd century BCE. He sent officials such as Harkhuf and Weni on expeditions into Nubia for incense, ebony and ivory, and had a canal cut at the First Cataract.

His pyramid at Saqqara contains Pyramid Texts in its burial chambers. When workers of Gaston Maspero entered it in 1880–81, they found a basalt sarcophagus and a mummy, whose identification as Merenre is uncertain. Together with Pepi I's pyramid, it brought the Pyramid Texts to modern attention.

His reign also saw provincial governors gain more power, collecting taxes and managing resources locally, a shift that historians see as one step toward the breakup of central authority at the end of the Old Kingdom. His successor, Pepi II, is credited with one of the longest reigns in history.