| Neferefre | |
|---|---|
| Raneferef, Neferefra, Noufirre, Noufirefre, Cherês | |
 Statuette of Neferefre, painted limestone[1] | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | Probably two years or less[2] in the early to mid 25th century BC [note 1] |
| Predecessor | Neferirkare Kakai (most likely) or Shepseskare |
| Successor | Shepseskare (most likely) or Nyuserre Ini |
| Consort | likely Khentkaus III |
| Children | uncertain, either Menkauhor Kaiu ♂ or Shepseskare ♂ Nakhtsare ♂ Conjectural: Kakaibaef ♂ |
| Father | Neferirkare Kakai |
| Mother | Khentkaus II |
| Died | aged 20–23[21] |
| Burial | Pyramid of Neferefre |
| Monuments | Pyramid Netjeribau Raneferef Sun temple Hotep-Re |
| Dynasty | Fifth Dynasty |
Neferefre Isi (fl. 25th century BC; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in Greek as Χέρης, Cherês) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended to the throne.
Neferefre started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir called Netjeribau Raneferef, which means "The bas of Neferefre are divine". The pyramid was never finished, with a mason's inscription showing that works on the stone structure were abandoned during or shortly after the king's second year of reign. Together with the sparsity of attestations contemporaneous with his reign, this is taken by Egyptologists as evidence that Neferefre died unexpectedly after two to three years on the throne. Neferefre was nonetheless buried in his pyramid, hastily completed in the form of a mastaba by his second successor and presumably younger brother, pharaoh Nyuserre Ini. Fragments of his mummy were uncovered there, showing that he died in his early twenties.
Little is known of Neferefre's activities beyond laying the foundations of his pyramid and attempting to finish that of his father. A single text shows that Neferefre had planned or just started to build a sun temple called Hotep-Re, meaning "Ra is content" or "Ra's offering table", which possibly never functioned as such given the brevity of the king's reign. After his death, Neferefre might have been succeeded by an ephemeral and little-known pharaoh, Shepseskare, whose relation with Neferefre remains highly uncertain and debated.
- ^ Verner 1985b, pp. 272–273, pl. XLV–XLVIII.
- ^ Hornung 2012, p. 484.
- ^ Verner 2001b, p. 589.
- ^ Hawass & Senussi 2008, p. 10.
- ^ Altenmüller 2001, p. 599.
- ^ El-Shahawy & Atiya 2005, pp. 61–62.
- ^ Schneider 1996, pp. 261–262.
- ^ Clayton 1994, p. 60.
- ^ Málek 2000a, p. 100.
- ^ Rice 1999, p. 141.
- ^ Strudwick 2005, p. xxx.
- ^ von Beckerath 1999, p. 285.
- ^ Hornung 2012, p. 491.
- ^ Strudwick 1985, p. 3.
- ^ Strouhal & Vyhnánek 2000, p. 558.
- ^ a b c d e f Leprohon 2013, p. 39.
- ^ Clayton 1994, p. 61.
- ^ a b Verner 1985a, p. 284.
- ^ Verner 1985a, pp. 282–283.
- ^ Scheele-Schweitzer 2007, pp. 91–94.
- ^ Strouhal & Vyhnánek 2000, p. 558 & 560.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).