Editing Unas (section)

===Activities===
[[File:Unas Elephantine.png|thumb|Drawing{{sfn|Petrie|1907|p=82}} of the rock inscription of Unas on [[Elephantine]]{{efn|group=lower-alpha|The text of the inscription reads "Horus Wadjtawy, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt Unas, lord of the foreign lands, given life and dominion for ever, beloved of Khnum, given life for ever".{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=133|loc=num. 48}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=entry 69}}}}|alt=A man standing surrounded by columns of hieroglyphs.]]
; Trade and warfare
Owing to the scarcity of evidence dating to Unas' reign, we know very little about his activities.{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=482}} Existing trade relations with foreign countries and cities, in particular Byblos,{{sfn|Malek|2000a|p=106}} seem to have continued during Unas' time on the throne. Reliefs from the causeway of his pyramid complex show two large seagoing ships coming back from an expedition to the [[Levant]]ine coast with Syro-Canaanite men, who were either the boat crews or slaves.{{sfn|Hayes|1978|p=67}}{{sfn|Wachsmann|1998|loc=p. 12 & p. 18}} Another relief depicts a military campaign,{{sfn|Malek|2000a|p=105}} Egyptians armed with bows and daggers attacking Canaanite nomads called the [[Shasu]].{{sfn|Stevenson Smith|1971|p=189}} Similar reliefs have been found in preceding pyramid complexes, such as [[Pyramid of Sahure|that of Sahure]], and they may thus be standard themes rather than depictions of actual events.{{sfn|Malek|2000a|p=105}} Other sources tend to confirm the accuracy of these depictions; for example, the [[autobiography of Weni]] relates many punitive raids against Canaanite nomads in the early Sixth Dynasty.{{sfn|Malek|2000a|p=105}}{{sfn|Lichtheim|1973|pp=18–23}}

To the South of Egypt, inscriptions of Unas on Elephantine record a visit of the king to Lower Nubia, possibly to receive tribute from local chieftains{{sfn|Baker|2008|p=483}} or because of growing unrest in the region.{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=590}} In addition, a relief from the causeway of Unas leading to his pyramid shows a giraffe, suggesting trade relations with Nubia.{{sfn|Stevenson Smith|1971|p=188}}

; Domestic
[[File:Bedouins starving in the desert-E 17381-IMG 9845-gradient.jpg|thumb|Relief showing starving nomads from Unas' causeway at Saqqara|alt=Prostrated people, their ribs showing, look wearily to the ground.]]
Unas' reign was a time of economic decline{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=590}} although, as the French Egyptologist [[Nicolas Grimal]] writes, it was "by no means a time of decadence".{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=80}} Indeed, the Egyptian state was still capable of mounting important expeditions to provide building stones for the king's pyramid complex.{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=600}} These expeditions are depicted on unique reliefs found in Unas' causeway{{sfn|Landström|1970|p=62|loc=fig. 185}}{{sfn|Lehner|1997|p=202}}{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=600}} and are also referred to in the autobiographical stela of an administration official.{{sfn|Fischer|1975}}{{efn|group=lower-alpha|Stela CG 1433, [[Egyptian Museum]], Cairo.{{sfn|Fischer|1975}}}} This official reports the transport of {{convert|10.40|m|ft|-tall|abbr=off|adj=mid}} palmiform{{efn|group=lower-alpha|A palmiform column is a column whose [[Capital (architecture)|capital]] has the form of [[Arecaceae|palm leaves]]. This style is for example present in the mortuary complex of king Sahure.{{sfn|Lehner|1997|pp=142&ndash;144}}}} columns of red granite from Elephantine to Saqqara in only four days, a feat for which he was praised by the king.{{sfn|Fischer|1975}} In addition to the important construction works undertaken in Saqqara for the construction of his pyramid complex, building activities also took place on Elephantine.{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=80}}

Until 1996, the domestic situation during Unas' reign was thought to have been disastrous, based on reliefs from the causeway of his pyramid complex showing emaciated people and thus suggesting times of famine.{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=213}}{{sfn|Dodson|1995|pp=38&ndash;39}} This changed when excavations at Abusir in 1996 yielded similar reliefs in the mortuary complex of Sahure, who reigned at a prosperous time in the early Fifth Dynasty.{{sfn|Hawass|Verner|1996|pp=184&ndash;185}} In addition, research showed that the starving people are likely to be desert dwellers, nomads distinguished by their specific hair-style, rather than Egyptians.{{sfn|Ziegler in Allen ''et al.''|1999|pp=360|loc="122. Starving bedouin"}} Thus, these reliefs are now understood to be standard representations of the generosity of the king towards the destitute and of the hardships of life in the desert regions bordering Egypt{{sfn|Coulon|2008|p=2}} rather than referring to actual events.{{sfn|Ziegler in Allen ''et al.''|1999|pp=360|loc="122. Starving bedouin"}}