Ce qu'on sait surtout du pharaon '''Pépi ''', c'est qu'il a été au pouvoir extrêmement longtemps, on lui prête 94 années de règne et plus de 100 années de vie, bien que la dernière date de son règne connu avec certitude soit le 31  comptage du bétail qui correspond à la 62 année du règne. Son règne se situe aux alentours de Ancien Empire. Il a fait bâtir un vaste complexe funéraire à Saqqarah-sud. 

Fils de Pépi , Pépi  succède vers -2246 à son demi-frère Mérenrê , disparu prématurément après un règne de quelques années. Le nouveau pharaon est un tout jeune enfant, né dans les derniers temps du règne de Pépi , de l'une des deux filles de Khoui, grand noble d'Abydos. Cette reine, Ânkhnesmérirê , assure la régence avec le soutien de son frère Djaou, déjà vizir de Mérenrê et oncle de Pépi . Le jeune pharaon épouse Neith, sa demi-sœur, fille d'Ânkhnesmérirê .

== Généalogie ==

{{Généalogie dans l'Égypte antique
| titre = Pépi 
| naissance = 
| décès = 
| père = Pépi 
| grand-père paternel = Téti
| grand-mère paternelle = Ipout 
| mère = Ânkhnesmérirê 
| grand-père maternel = Khoui (grand noble d'Abydos)
| grand-mère maternelle = Nébet
| fratrie = Mérenrê  <br> Neith <br> Horneterikhet
| épouse-1 = Sa demi-sœur, Neith
| épouse-2 = Ânkhesenpépi 
| épouse-3 = Ipout II
| enfants-2 = Néferkarê 
}}

== Titulature ==

{{Hiéroglyphe complet
| titre = Nom de Nesout-bity
| hiero-nom = <hiero>M23:X1-L2:X1</hiero>
| hiero = <hiero><-ra nfr kA-></hiero>
| unicode = nfr kȝ Rˁ
| ascii = nfr kA Ra
| trans = Néferkarê
| trad = Parfait est le ''ka'' de Rê
}}
{{Hiéroglyphe complet
| titre = Nom de Sa-Rê
| hiero-nom = <hiero>G39-N5:Z1</hiero>
| hiero = <hiero><-p p i i-></hiero>
| unicode = pjpj
| ascii = pipi
| trans = Pépi
| trad = Pépi
}}

== Règne ==

{{Règne dans l'Égypte antique
| titre = Pépi 
| période = Ancien Empire
| dynastie = 
| fonction = Pharaon
| prédécesseur = Mérenrê 
| pouvoir = décès de son demi-frère Mérenrê 
| règne = -2246 à -2152 (selon ) <br>  -2254 à -2194 (selon )<br> -2245 à -2180 (selon )<br> -2236 à -2143 (selon )<br> -2300 à -2206 (selon ).
| durée = Soixante-dix ans, quatre-vingt-quatorze selon la légende
| successeur = Mérenrê 
| passation = 
}}

Le très long règne de Pépi  - au moins soixante-dix ans, quatre-vingt-quatorze selon la tradition - semble s'inscrire dans la continuité de la politique menée par les pharaons de la .

Mérenrê avait déjà confié la conduite d'expéditions en basse Nubie à Hirkhouf, gouverneur d'Éléphantine et directeur de tous les pays étrangers du Sud. Hirkhouf avait atteint la région de la troisième cataracte du Nil, le pays de Iam, et obtenu la soumission à l'Égypte des chefs tribaux locaux. Il inaugurait ainsi la suzeraineté pharaonique sur ces terres, que la culture égyptienne influencera profondément durant des siècles. De ces pays, les Égyptiens faisaient venir des produits précieux tels que l'or, l'ivoire, l'encens, le bois d'ébène.

Le jeune Pépi , dès le début de son règne, est fasciné par ces contrées méridionales aux richesses merveilleuses. Il y renvoie Hirkhouf, en l'an 2 du règne. Ce dernier nous a laissé dans son tombeau d'Éléphantine la reproduction d'une lettre du pharaon reçue durant son retour vers l'Égypte. On y lit l'enthousiasme et la sollicitude de l'enfant-roi pour un Memphis.

Devenu adulte, Pépi  garde un intérêt constant pour les pays du Sud, où il envoie Héqaib, le successeur d'Hirkhouf, mener deux opérations de pacification contre des tribus rebelles. Sous son règne se poursuit la colonisation égyptienne des oasis du désert occidental - Dakhla, Kharga, Selima - jalons essentiels de la « route des oasis » vers la Nubie.

{{Pharaoh Infobox | 
    Name=Pepi II Neferkare | 
    Image=AnkhnesmeryreII-and-Son-PepiII-SideView_BrooklynMuseum.png|
Caption=Alabaster statue of Ankhesenmeryre II and her son Pepi II. | 
    NomenHiero= <hiero>p-p-i-i</hiero>  |
Nomen=''pepi''|
    PrenomenHiero= <hiero>ra-nfr-kA</hiero>  |
Prenomen=&nbsp;|
    HorusHiero= <hiero>nTr-xa-w</hiero> |
    Horus= ''Netcher khaw'' <br> Horus, divine of apparitions |
    NebtyHiero= <hiero>nTr-xa-w</hiero> |
    Nebty= ''Netcher khaw'' <br> The two ladies, divine of apparitions |
    GoldenHiero=<hiero>sxm*G5:nbw</hiero>|
Golden=The golden Horus is powerful |
    Reign= 2278&ndash;2184 BC<ref>Clayton, Peter A. <cite>Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt</cite>. p.64. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-28628-0</ref> |
    Predecessor=Merenre Nemtyemsaf I |
    Successor=Merenre Nemtyemsaf II |
    Spouse= Neith, Iput II, Ankhesenpepi III, Ankhesenpepi IV, and Udjebten |
    Dynasty=6th Dynasty|
    Died= 2184 BC|
    Burial= Pyramid in South Saqqara |
    Monuments= Pyramid in South Saqqara |
    Alt= Pepy, Phiops or Fiops |
}}

'''Pepi II''' (reigned c. Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the premature death of his father Merenre I, and is generally credited with having the longest reign of any monarch in history at 94 years (c. Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II but thanks to an inscription from a block of white limestone from her mortuary temple, it is now believed that Pepi II was instead the son of Merenre, who married Ankhesenpepi after Pepi I's death.<ref>[http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:pJshG8VHzGsJ:magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0210/feature1/fulltext.html+labrousse+ankhesenpepi&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1]</ref>
Pepi II is therefore the grandson rather than the son of Pepi I. His reign marked a sharp decline of the Old Kingdom. While the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of pharaoh dissolved. With no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each other's territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within mere decades after the close of his reign.

==Early years of his reign==
His mother vizier under the previous pharaoh. Some scholars have taken the relative paucity of royal statuary to suggest that the royal court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans. 

A glimpse of the personality of the early child pharaoh can be found in a letter he wrote to travelogue <ref>Omar Zuhdi, <cite>Count Harkhuf and The Dancing Dwarf</cite>, KMT 16 Vol:1, Spring 2005, pp.74-80</ref>

==Wives==
Over his long life Pepi II had several wives, thought to include Neith, royal incestuous marriage, Neith was Pepi II's cousin and aunt (daughter of Ankhesenpepi I) and Iput was his sister (a daughter of his father Merenre). Of these queens, Neith, Iput, and Udjebten each had their own minor pyramids and mortuary templates as part of the king's own pyramid complex in Saqqara.

==Foreign relations==
It is thought that Pepi II carried on in the tradition of his predecessors and continued with existing foreign relations, and possibly expanding further trade links into southern Africa. Sinai. There is at least one trade expedition to Punt recorded. Diplomatic records also exist of missions to Byblos in ancient Palestine. 

Pepi II is thought to have taken a policy of pacification in Nubia, with Harkhuf making at least two further expeditions into the area. Over time it appears as though relations grew strained, for while Harkhuf managed to return safely from each of his expeditions, one of his successors was not so lucky.  

There were also military forays into adjacent lands, but it is noted that there was an increasing reliance upon Libyan and Nubian mercenaries. Further possible evidence of a relative lack of success in these ventures comes from the fact that a scene from the king's pyramid, depicting him as a Sphinx trampling his enemies &mdash; including a Libyan chieftain and his family &mdash; is wholly derivative from the mortuary complex of previous pharaoh Sahure, which calls into question the veracity of the events supposedly being depicted. 

It is also known that near the end of his reign, some foreign relations were completely broken off, a further sign of the disintegration of central rule.

==Decline of the Old Kingdom==
thumb|right|A decree from Pepi II, granting tax immunity to the temple of Min, on display at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City]]
The decline of the Old Kingdom arguably began before the time of Pepi II, with nomarchs (regional representatives of the king) becoming more and more powerful and exerting greater influence. Pepi I, for example, married two sisters who were the daughters of a nomarch and later made their brother a vizier. Their influence was extensive, both sisters bearing sons who were chosen as part of the royal succession: Merenre and Pepi II.

Increasing wealth and power appears to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II's reign. Large and expensive tombs appear at many of the major nomes of Egypt, building by the reigning nomarchs, the priestly class and other administrators. Nomarchs were traditionally free from taxation and their positions became hereditary. Their increasing wealth and independence led to a corresponding shift in power away from the central royal court to the regional nomarchs. 

Later in his reign it is known that Pepi divided the role of vizier into two: one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, a further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of Memphis. Further, the seat of vizier of Upper Egypt was moved several times. The southern vizier was stationed at Thebes.

It is also thought that Pepi II's extraordinarily long reign may have been a contributing factor to the general breakdown of centralized royal rule. There are some doubts that he could have reigned as long as 94 years (some scholars such as Von Beckerath believe this to be a misreading of long-lost original texts by early historians such as Manetho, and ascribe a seemingly more realistic figure of 64 years, which seems more feasible if he was succeeded by his son as Egyptian tradition states, rather than a grandson).  On the other hand, since his son and successor Merenre Nemtyemsaf II appears only to have reigned for one year, he may himself have been very old when he ascended the throne of Egypt. All scholars concede that Pepi II's reign was certainly unusually long. This situation almost certainly produced a succession crisis and also led to a stagnation of the administration, centred on an absolute ruler who may have survived into an extreme old age of hopeless physical and mental decline, but who could not be replaced because of his 'divine' status. A better documented example of this type of problem can be found in the long reign of much later Nineteenth Dynasty pharaoh Ramesses II and his successors. It should be stressed that Pepi II's highest date is the "'''Year after the 31st Count, 1st Month of Shemu, day 20'''" from Hatnub graffito No.7, according to Spalinger.<ref name=autogenerated1>Anthony Spalinger, Dated Texts of the Old Kingdom, SAK 21, 1994, p.308</ref> This date would be equivalent to only Pepi II's Year 62 (on the biennial dating system) and conforms well with the suggestion of a 64 Year reign for him by Von Beckerath given the noticeable absence of known dates for Pepi II from his 33rd to 47th Count. A previous suggestion by Hans Goedicke that the Year of the 33rd Count appears for Pepi II in a royal decree for the mortuary cult of Queen Udjebten was withdrawn by Goedicke in 1988 in favour of a reading of 'the Year of the 24th Count' instead, notes Spalinger.<ref name=autogenerated1 />

==Pyramid Complex==
thumb|250px|Ruins of the pyramid complex of Pepi II
Pepi II's pyramid complex (originally known as ''Pepi's Life is Enduring'') is located in Fourth Dynasty, but was comparable to earlier pharaohs from his own dynasty. It was originally 78.5 metres high, but erosion and relatively poor construction has reduced it 52 metres. 

The pyramid was the center of a sizable funerary complex, complete with a separate mortuary complex, a small, eastern  satellite pyramid. This was flanked by two of his wives' pyramids to the north and north-west (Neith and Iput II respectively), and one to the south-east (Udjebten), each with their own mortuary complexes. Perhaps reflecting the decline at the end of his rule, the fourth wife, Ankhenespepy IV was not given her own pyramid but was instead buried in a store room of the Iput's mortuary chapel. Similarly, Prince Fourth Dynasty.

The ceiling of the burial chamber is decorated with stars, and the walls are lined with passages from the Pyramid texts. An empty black sarcophagus bearing the names and titles of Pepi II was discovered inside.