Usermare Sekhepenre Ramesses V (also written Ramses and Rameses) was the fourth pharaoh

Pharaoh

Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...

 of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt

Twentieth dynasty of Egypt

The Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title, New Kingdom. This dynasty is considered to be the last one of the New Kingdom of Egypt, and was followed by the Third Intermediate Period....

 and was the son of Ramesses IV

Ramesses IV

Heqamaatre Ramesses IV was the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. His name prior to assuming the crown was Amonhirkhopshef...

 and Queen Duatentopet

Duatentopet

Duatentopet or Tentopet was an Ancient Egyptian queen of the 20th dynasty and the wife of Pharaoh Ramesses IV and mother of Ramesses V. Even though the identity of Ramesses IV's wife is nowhere stated, judging from her titles mentioned in her tomb she is the most likely candidate for this king's...

.

Reign

His reign was characterized by the continued growth of the power of the priesthood of Amun

Amun

Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu , was a god in Egyptian mythology who in the form of Amun-Ra became the focus of the most complex system of theology in Ancient Egypt...

, which controlled much of the temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 land in the country and state finances at the expense of Pharaoh. The Turin 1887 papyrus

Papyrus

Papyrus is a thick paper-like material produced from the pith of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus, a wetland sedge that was once abundant in the Nile Delta of Egypt....

 records a financial scandal during his reign that involved the priests of Elephantine

Elephantine

Elephantine is an island in the River Nile, located just downstream of the First Cataract at the southern border of Ancient Egypt. This region is referred to as Upper Egypt because the land is higher than that near the Mediterranean coast. The island may have received its name because it was a...

. A period of domestic instability also afflicted his reign since Turin Papyrus Cat. 2044 states that the workmen of Deir el-Medina periodically stopped work on Ramesses V's KV9

KV9

Tomb KV9 in Egypt's Valley of the Kings was originally constructed by Pharaoh Ramesses V. He was interred here, but his uncle Ramesses VI later reused the tomb as his own....

 tomb in this king's first regnal year out of fear of "the enemy", presumably Libyan raiding parties, who had reached the town of Per-Nebyt and "burnt its people." Another incursion by these raiders into Thebes is recorded a few days later. This shows that the Egyptian state was having difficulties ensuring the security of its own elite tomb workers, let alone the general populace, during this troubled time.

The great Wilbour Papyrus, dating to Year 4 of his reign, was a major land survey and tax assessment document which covered various lands "extending from near Crocodilopolis

Crocodilopolis

Crocodilopolis or Krokodilopolis or Ptolemais Euergetis or Arsinoe or Krialon was an ancient city in the Heptanomis, Egypt, the capital of Arsinoites nome, on the western bank of the Nile, between the river and the Lake Moeris, southwest of Memphis, in lat. 29° N...

 (Medinet el-Fayyum) southwards to a little short of the modern town of El-Minya, a distance of some 90 miles." It reveals most of Egypt's land was controlled by the Amun temples which also directed the country's finances. The document highlights the increasing power of the High Priest of Amun Ramessesnakht whose son, a certain Usimare'nakhte, held the office of chief tax master.

Death

The circumstances of Ramesses V's death are unknown but it is believed he had a reign of almost 4 full years. It is possible he was dethroned by his successor, Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI

Ramesses VI was the fifth ruler of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt who reigned from 1145 BC to 1137 BC and a son of Ramesses III by Iset Ta-Hemdjert...

 because Ramesses VI usurped his predecessor's KV9 tomb. An ostracon records that this king was only buried in Year 2 of Ramesses VI which was highly irregular since Egyptian tradition required a king to be mummified and buried precisely 70 days into the reign of his successor. However, another reason for the much delayed burial of Ramesses V in Year 2, second month of Akhet

Season of the Inundation

The Season of the Inundation is the first season in the ancient Egyptian calendar and corresponds roughly with early September to early January....

 day 1 of Ramesses VI's reign (see KRI, VI, 343) may have been connected with Ramesses VI's need "to clear out any Libyans [invaders] from Thebes and to provide a temporary tomb for Ramesses V until plans for a double burial within tomb KV9 could be put into effect." Moreover, a Theban work journal (P. Turin 1923) dated to Year 2 of Ramesses VI's reign shows that a period of normality had returned to the Theban West Bank by this time.

Ramesses V's mummy

Mummy

A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...

 has been recovered and seems to indicate that he suffered from smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

due to lesions found on his face and this is thought to have caused his death.

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