was L-shaped and depicted dancers, acrobats, hunting,
scribes, and agricultural scenes in beautiful reliefs. There
were pits included in the tomb for spirit boats as well.
Kagemni’s Instructions A didactic text contained in the
PRISSE PAPYRUS. The author, a scribe named Kaires, wrote
the Instructionsintending to advise the vizier KAGEMNI(fl.
26th century B.C.E.) in matters of deportment and justice
befitting a high official of the PHARAOH. Much of the text
available is concerned with manners and social attitudes,
attributes of the high-ranked individual in any organized
society. For the Egyptian, however, such moderated, cour-
teous behavior symbolized the spirit of MA’AT, the orderly
behavior that mirrors celestial harmony.
Kahun A community structure at el-LAHUN, started by
SENWOSRET II (r. 1897–1878 B.C.E.) of the Twelfth
Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.), Kahun was the abode of the
workers and artisans involved in royal mortuary monu-
ments. The site was surrounded by a gated mud-brick
wall and divided into three residential areas. A temple of
ANUBISwas also found on the site, and a cache of varied
papyri was discovered in the temple. Called Hotep-Sen-
wosret, “Senwosret Is Satisfied,” and located at the open-
ing of the FAIYUM, the site is famous for a cache of jewelry
found in the tombs of Princess (or possibly queen) SIT-
HATHOR YUNETand other family members buried in the
complex. The site was divided into three sections, includ-
ing a necropolis area for nobles and officials and a resi-
dential area on the east and on the west. Vast granaries
served the entire region. The treasury of papyri at Kahun
contained hundreds of texts concerning legal matters, lit-
erature, mathematics, medicine, temple affairs, and vet-
erinarian information. The site was abandoned abruptly
in a later historical period, perhaps as a result of an earth-
quake or some other natural disaster.
Kahun Papyrus A document discovered in Kahun, the
worker’s settlement at el-LAHUN in the FAIYUM, the
papyrus dates to the reign of AMENEMHET II(1929–1892
B.C.E.). One section of the text is devoted to medical pro-
cedures. Another is concerned with veterinary MEDICINE,
and a third deals with mathematics.
Kai(fl. 26th century B.C.E.) Mortuary priest of the Fourth
Dynasty
He served as a member of the mortuary cult of KHUFU
(Cheops; r. 2551–2528 B.C.E.) at GIZA. Vast numbers of
priests resided in the pyramidal complex of Khufu after
his death, as his mortuary cult remained popular. Kai was
buried in western Giza, and his tomb is called “the Nefer-
tari of Giza,” “the beautiful one.” He is depicted in reliefs
with his wife in the tomb chambers, and there are a FALSE
DOORand raised, elaborate carvings. A statue of Kai was
also recovered.
Kakai (Neferirkaré)(d. 2426 B.C.E.)Third ruler of the
Fifth Dynasty
He reigned from 2446 B.C.E. until his death and was prob-
ably the brother of SAHURÉ. Kakai is mentioned in the
PALERMO STONEand in the tomb of an official named
WESTPTAH. He was militarily active but left no monu-
ments other than his tomb complex at ABUSIR. That struc-
ture was not completed, but the temple on the site
provided an important cache of papyri, dating from the
reigns of NIUSERRÉ(2416–2392 B.C.E.) through PEPI II
(2246–2152 B.C.E.). One papyrus deals with a legacy
bequeathed to his mother, Queen KHENTAKAWES (1).
These papyri display the use of the Egyptian hieratic
script. Kakai’s mortuary causeway at Abusir was eventu-
ally usurped by Niuserré, a later ruler who made the
structure part of his own mortuary shrine.Kalabsha A site in northern NUBIA(modern Sudan),
famed for a fortress and temple that were erected by
TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.) in the Eighteenth
Dynasty era, the temple complex was fashioned out of
sandstone and contained a PYLON, forecourt, HYPOSTYLE
HALL, vestibules, and an elaborate sanctuary. The shrine
was dedicated to MANDULIS, a Nubian deity adopted by
the Egyptians. AMENHOTEP II, the son and heir of Tuthmo-
sis III, was depicted there in reliefs. Kalabsha was
expanded in Greco-Roman times. The Ptolemaic rulers
(304–30 B.C.E.) refurbished the temple and added shrines
to the complex with the cooperation of King ARKAMANIof
Nubia. The Roman emperor AUGUSTUSerected a temple
of OSIRIS, ISIS, and Mandulis. The temple was moved
north when the Aswan dam was opened.Kamose (Wadjkheperré)(d. 1550 B.C.E.)Fifteenth
and last king of the Seventeenth Dynasty of Thebes
He reigned from c. 1555 B.C.E. until his death, possibly in
battle. Kamose was the son of Sekenenré TA’O IIand
Queen AH’HOTEP(1) and the brother of ’AHMOSE. He was
raised at DEIR EL-BALLAS, north of THEBES, where the
rulers of this dynasty had a royal residence. During his
youth he was also trained in royal and court matters by
his grandmother, Queen TETISHERI.
The Thebans went to war with the HYKSOSwhen
APOPHIS(a Hyksos ruler of the contemporary Fifteenth
Dynasty at AVARIS) insulted Sekenenré Ta’o II. The The-
bans gathered an army and set out to rid Egypt of for-
eigners and their allies. Kamose came to the throne
when Sekenenré Ta’o II died suddenly, and he took up
the war with enthusiasm. It is possible that he married
his sister, ’AHMOSE-NEFERTARI, who became the wife of
’Ahmose when Kamose died. The elders of Thebes coun-
seled against the war, stressing the fact that Avaris and
Thebes had been at peace for decades. Kamose rebuked
them, however, declaring that he did not intend “to sit
between an Asiatic and a Nubian” (the Hyksos in AvarisKamose 191