1.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
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Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt. It combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters, cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood. The later hieratic and demotic Egyptian scripts are derived from hieroglyphic writing, the writing system continued to be used throughout the Late Period, as well as the Persian and Ptolemaic periods. Late survivals of hieroglyphic use are found well into the Roman period, with the closing of pagan temples in the 5th century, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was lost, and the script remained undeciphered throughout the medieval and early modern period. The decipherment of hieroglyphs would only be solved in the 1820s by Jean-François Champollion, the word hieroglyph comes from the Greek adjective ἱερογλυφικός, a compound of ἱερός and γλύφω, supposedly a calque of an Egyptian phrase mdw·w-nṯr gods words. The glyphs themselves were called τὰ ἱερογλυφικὰ γράμματα the sacred engraved letters, the word hieroglyph has become a noun in English, standing for an individual hieroglyphic character. As used in the sentence, the word hieroglyphic is an adjective. Hieroglyphs emerged from the artistic traditions of Egypt. For example, symbols on Gerzean pottery from c.4000 BC have been argued to resemble hieroglyphic writing, proto-hieroglyphic symbol systems develop in the second half of the 4th millennium BC, such as the clay labels of a Predynastic ruler called Scorpion I recovered at Abydos in 1998. The first full sentence written in hieroglyphs so far discovered was found on a seal found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen at Umm el-Qaab. There are around 800 hieroglyphs dating back to the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, by the Greco-Roman period, there are more than 5,000. However, given the lack of evidence, no definitive determination has been made as to the origin of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. Since the 1990s, and discoveries such as the Abydos glyphs, as writing developed and became more widespread among the Egyptian people, simplified glyph forms developed, resulting in the hieratic and demotic scripts. These variants were more suited than hieroglyphs for use on papyrus. Hieroglyphic writing was not, however, eclipsed, but existed alongside the other forms, especially in monumental, the Rosetta Stone contains three parallel scripts – hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. Hieroglyphs continued to be used under Persian rule, and after Alexander the Greats conquest of Egypt, during the ensuing Ptolemaic and Roman periods. It appears that the quality of comments from Greek and Roman writers about hieroglyphs came about, at least in part. Some believed that hieroglyphs may have functioned as a way to distinguish true Egyptians from some of the foreign conquerors, another reason may be the refusal to tackle a foreign culture on its own terms, which characterized Greco-Roman approaches to Egyptian culture generally
2.
Djet
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Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji, was the fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty. Djets Horus name means Horus Cobra or Serpent of Horus, Djets queen was his sister Merneith, who may have ruled as a pharaoh in her own right after his death. There is a possibility that a lady called Ahaneith was also one of his wives, Djet and Merneiths son was Den, and their grandson was Anedjib. How long Djet ruled is unknown, only one Sekar festival is attested by ivory labels dating to his reign, whose duration is estimated to be anywhere between six and ten years. According to Wolfgang Helck he reigned 10 years, from a calendar entry, Djer is known to have died on a 7 Peret III while Djet began his reign on 22 Peret IV. The reason for the 45 days of interregnum is unknown, details of Djets reign are lost in the lacunas of the Palermo Stone. However, finds of vessel fragments and seal impressions prove that there were intense trading activities with Syria, graves at Tarkhan and Saqqara dating to his reign yielded pottery from Palestine. Other activities can be inferred from the two known years tablets of the ruler, one of which is preserved in two copies. The reading of the events described on the tablets is highly problematic, Helck translated, Year of the planning of the underground/basement of the dual plant, birth of lotus buds, standing in the crown shrine of the two Ladies. The other year tablet mentions a victory, the production of a statue, finally, in Masra Alam in Nubia, the short inscription Hemka below Djet was discovered. Clay seals prove that official Amka begun his career under king Djer, under Djet, Amka became royal steward. In the early years of the kings successor Amka died after he was appointed to regional responsibilities in the western Nile Delta, other senior officials under the Djet were Sekhemkasedj and Setka. Djets tomb is located at Abydos in Petries Tomb Z and it is located west of his father, King Djers tomb. Surrounding Djets tomb are 174 subsidiary burials most of them being retainers that were sacrificed upon Djets death to him in the afterlife. Found within Djets tomb was a stele and this stele was a snake surmounted by a falcon and could be interpreted to mean Horus the snake. Also found within the tomb was a comb with the name of Djet on it. Copper tools and pottery were found in the tomb, a common find in Egyptian tombs. There is evidence that Djets tomb was intentionally burned, along with other tombs at Abydos from this time period, the tombs were later renovated because of the association with the cult of Osiris
3.
Seth-Peribsen
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Seth-Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch, who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt. His chronological position within this dynasty is unknown and it is disputed who ruled both before and after him, the duration of his reign is also unknown. Peribsens royal name is a subject of curiosity for Egyptologists because it is connected to the deity Seth rather than Horus, the debate continues over why Peribsen chose this name. However, newer evidence and evaluations tend to show that the Egyptian kingdom was unified, seal impressions from tombs of this era reveal great changes in the titles held by high officials, pointing to a reduction of their power. Thus, Peribsens reign was in fact a time of cultural, existing negative views about Peribsens existence are based on Ramesside king lists, such as the Abydos King List, the Saqqara King List and the Royal Canon of Turin, which all omit Peribsens name. These, however, are known to have been redacted nearly 1500 years after his death and these tombs report Peribsens name correctly and their existence demonstrate that Peribsen was seen as a legitimate pharaoh, not subject to damnatio memoriae as Akhenaten later would be. Historians and Egyptologists therefore consider the possibility that Peribsens name was forgotten in time or that his name was preserved in a distorted, misspelled form. Peribsens Tomb was discovered in 1898 at Abydos and it was well preserved and showed traces of restoration undertaken during later dynastic periods. The serekh for Peribsen was found pressed in earthen jar seals made of clay and mud and in inscriptions on alabaster, sandstone, porphyry and these seals and vessels were excavated from Peribsens tomb and at an excavation site in Elephantine. One clay seal with Peribsens name was found inside the mastaba tomb K1 at Beit Khallaf, two large tomb stelae made of granite were found at his burial site. Their shape is unusual and they appear unfinished and rough, Egyptologists suspect that this was done deliberately, but the reasons are unknown. A cylinder seal of unknown provenance shows Peribsens name inside a cartouche, another seal of the same material shows Peribsens name without a cartouche, but with the royal title Nisut-Bity instead. Peribsens name is unusual, in that Seth, not Horus, was his patron deity and this goes against the Egyptian tradition of a king choosing the falcon-shaped deity Horus as his royal patron. Traditionally, the Horus name of the king was written within a serekh, instead, Peribsen chose to have the Set animal, representing Seth, on his serekh. Like Horus, Seth was a popular deity during the dynastic period. He became the god of darkness and chaos afterward, during the much later Late Period of Ancient Egypt, although Peribsen is the only known pharaoh to have the Set animal preside alone over his serekh, he is not the only king to associate himself with Seth. Examples include the 13th dynasty pharaoh Seth Meribre, the 19th dynasty rulers Seti I and Seti II, the following sections discuss some of the theories that they put forth. Peribsens actions were thought to be similar to those of the much later 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten, Newberry proposed that the priests of Horus and Seth fought each other in the Manner of a war of the roses during the second half of the Second dynasty
4.
Crest (heraldry)
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A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to an extent, battles. A normal heraldic achievement consists of the shield, above which is set the helm, on which sits the crest, the word crest derives from the Latin crista, meaning tuft or plume, perhaps related to crinis, hair. They first appeared in a context in the form of the metal fans worn by knights in the 12th and 13th centuries. These were primarily decorative, but may also have served a purpose by lessening or deflecting the blows of opponents weapons. These fans were generally of one colour, later evolving to repeat all or part of the arms displayed on the shield. The fan crest was developed by cutting out the figure displayed on it, to form a metal outline. Torses did not come into use in Britain until the 15th century, and are still uncommon on the Continent. Crests were also mounted on a furred cap known as a chapeau. By the 16th century the age of tournaments had ended, and their illustrated equivalents consequently began to be treated as simply two-dimensional pictures. In the same period, different helms began to be used for different ranks, sovereigns and knights helms faced forwards, whereas those of peers, torses also suffered artistically, being treated not as silken circlets, but as horizontal bars. Heraldry in general underwent something of a renaissance in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, crests are now generally not granted unless they could actually be used on a physical helm, and the rules about directions of helms are no longer rigidly observed. The use of crests was once restricted to those of tournament rank, i. e. knights and above and they are not generally used by women and clergymen, as they did not participate in war or tournaments and thus would not have helms on which to wear them. Some heraldists are also of the opinion that crests, as devices, are not suited for use by corporate bodies. This practice did not exist in Britain until the modern era, and arms with more than one crest are still rare. After the 16th century, it common for armigers to detach the crest and wreath from the helm. This led to the use of the term crest to mean arms. Unlike a badge, which can be used by any amount of relatives and retainers, a crest is personal to the armiger, and its use by others is considered usurpation
5.
Ancient Egypt
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Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
6.
Pharaoh
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The word pharaoh ultimately derive from the Egyptian compound pr-ˤ3 great house, written with the two biliteral hieroglyphs pr house and ˤ3 column, here meaning great or high. It was used only in larger phrases such as smr pr-ˤ3 Courtier of the High House, with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace. From the twelfth dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health, but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person. During the reign of Thutmose III in the New Kingdom, after the rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. During the eighteenth dynasty the title pharaoh was employed as a designation of the ruler. From the nineteenth dynasty onward pr-ˤ3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. f, the term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler, particularly by the twenty-second dynasty and twenty-third dynasty. For instance, the first dated appearance of the pharaoh being attached to a rulers name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun and this new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-second dynasty kings. Shoshenq I was the successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as pr-ˤ3 continued in traditional Egyptian narratives, by this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence Herodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings, Φερων. In the Bible, the title also occurs as פרעה, from that, Septuagint φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō, both -n stem nouns. The Quran likewise spells it فرعون firawn with n, interestingly, the Arabic combines the original pharyngeal ayin sound from Egyptian, along with the -n ending from Greek. English at first spelt it Pharao, but the King James Bible revived Pharaoh with h from the Hebrew, meanwhile in Egypt itself, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ prro and then rro. Scepters and staves were a sign of authority in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The scepter with the longest history seems to be the heqa-scepter, the earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates to pre-dynastic times. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates to the late Naqada period, another scepter associated with the king is the was-scepter. This is a long staff mounted with an animal head, the earliest known depictions of the was-scepter date to the first dynasty
7.
Serekh
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A serekh was a specific important type of heraldic crest used in ancient Egypt. Like the later cartouche, it contained a royal name, a serekh was an ornamental vignette combining a view of a palace facade and a plan of the royal courtyard. The word serekh derives from the Egyptian word for facade, different serekhs on different types of object display countless variations of the facade decor in its complexity and detail. It seems that no strict rules for the design of the serekh itself existed. A serekh was normally used as a royal crest, accentuating and honouring the name of the pharaoh and its use can be dated back as early as the Gerzeh culture. The hieroglyphs forming the name were placed inside a rectangular extension atop the serekh. Additionally, the falcon of the god Horus, or in a few cases the Set animal, topped the serekh, if the word serekh was written in full letters, sometimes accompanied by a miniature of the serekh, it could also be used in text. As already mentioned, the serekh first appears as an ornamental miniature during the late Gerzeh culture, from the Old Kingdom period onward, the first uses of the full written word appear in old papyri
8.
Horus
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Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom, different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a falcon or peregrine falcon. In another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife, Horus served many functions, most notably being a god of the sky, war and hunting. Horus is recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs as ḥr. w Falcon, additional meanings are thought to have been the distant one or one who is above, over. As the language changed over time, it appeared in Coptic dialects variously as hoːɾ or ħoːɾ and was adopted into ancient Greek as Ὧρος Hōros and it also survives in Late Egyptian and Coptic theophoric names such as Har-si-ese Horus, Son of Isis. Nekheny may have been another falcon god worshipped at Nekhen, city of the falcon, Horus may be shown as a falcon on the Narmer Palette, dating from about the 31st century BC. In early Egypt, Horus was the brother of Isis, Osiris, Set, as different cults formed, he became the son of Isis and Osiris. Isis remained the sister of Osiris, Set and Nephthys, the Pyramid Texts describe the nature of the pharaoh in different characters as both Horus and Osiris. The pharaoh as Horus in life became the pharaoh as Osiris in death, New incarnations of Horus succeeded the deceased pharaoh on earth in the form of new pharaohs. The lineage of Horus, the product of unions between the children of Atum, may have been a means to explain and justify pharaonic power. The gods produced by Atum were all representative of cosmic and terrestrial forces in Egyptian life, the notion of Horus as the pharaoh seems to have been superseded by the concept of the pharaoh as the son of Ra during the Fifth Dynasty. Once Isis knew she was pregnant with Horus, she fled to the Nile Delta marshlands to hide from her brother Set, who jealously killed Osiris, there Isis bore a divine son, Horus. Since Horus was said to be the sky, he was considered to contain the sun. It became said that the sun was his eye and the moon his left, and that they traversed the sky when he. Later, the reason that the moon was not as bright as the sun was explained by a tale, known as the The Contendings of Horus and Seth. As Horus was the victor he became known as ḥr. w wr Horus the Great. In the struggle, Set had lost a testicle, explaining why the desert, Horus left eye had also been gouged out, then a new eye was created by part of Khonsu, the moon god, and was replaced
9.
Nebra (Pharaoh)
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Nebra or Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon is damaged and they credit Nebra with either a 10- or 14-year rule. According to different authors, Nebra ruled Egypt c.2850 BC, Nerbas name appears on several stone vessels, mostly made of schist, alabaster and marble. Most of the bowls were found at Abydos, Giza and Saqqara, the inscriptions contain depictions of cultic buildings such as the Ka-house, depictions of deities such as Bastet, Neith and Seth and also the mentionings of cultic feasts. Interestingly, all objects present Nebras name either together with that of his predecessor Hotepsekhemwy or with his successor Nynetjer. Clay seal impressions with Nebras name were found beneath the causeway of the Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara and inside a gallery tomb. This tomb also yielded several seal impressions with Hotepsekhemwys name and for this reason it is debated whether the tomb belongs to Nebra or his predecessor Hotepsekhemwy, in 2012, Pierre Tallet and Damien Leisnay reported three rock inscriptions with Nebras horus name found in the south of Sinai peninsula. Each rock inscription can be found in a different wadi, Wadi Abu Madawi, Wadi Abu Koua and Wadi Ameyra. The places where Nerbas name is displayed lie along an old route used for expeditions from the western shore of the Sinai to its inland. Along the wadis the names of predynastic kings up to pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty are located at the same places. Nebras serekh name is of great interest to Egyptologists, since it is written with the sign of the sun. At the time of king Nebra, the most important religious cults were concentrated on the preservation of the equal status of the state patrons Horus. Nothing was more important than keeping that divine balance, the kings themselves were seen as the living representation of that godlike pair. The sun was seen as a celestial object controlled either by Horus or, as in the case of king Seth-Peribsen, therefore, the sun was no independent deity yet. The first definite proof of the existence of the sun-deity Ra occurs at the beginning of the 3rd dynasty during the reign of king Djoser in the names of officials such as Hesyre. And the first definitive detectable proof for an established royal sun cult occurs under king Radjedef. He was the first king who connected his name with the name of Ra, starting the great religious belief that Egyptian kings were the living representation of the sun alongside Horus. Therefore, Nebras Horus name is problematic regarding its translation and meaning, the typical translation of Nebras name as Ra is my lord, which would be read Raneb, is questionable, as this would assume that the Sun was already being worshiped as an independent deity
10.
Sekhemib-Perenmaat
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Sekhemib-Perenma´at, is the horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd dynasty. Similar to his predecessor, successor or co-ruler Seth-Peribsen, Sekhemib is contemporarily well attested in archaeological records, the exact length of his reign is unknown and his burial site has yet to be found. Sekhemib´s name is known from seal impressions and from inscriptions on vessels made of alabaster and they were found in the entrance of Peribsen´s tomb at Abydos, in the underground galleries beneath the step pyramid of king Djoser at Sakkara and on one excavation site at Elephantine. Sekhemib´s serekh name is unusual, because it is the first in Egyptian history that was extended by an epithet, beside the first name, Sekhem-ib, several seal impressions and stone vessel inscriptions show the epithet Perenma´at inside the serekh. Sekhemib used both forms, the single horus name and the double name, at the same time. Egyptologists such as Herman te Velde and Wolfgang Helck think that the name of Sekhemib came in use when the Egyptian state was split into two independent realms. It seems that Sekhemib tried to stress the peaceful political situation prevailing in Egypt at the time, an increased form of such a double name was created and used by a successor of Sekhemib, king Khasekhemwy. This king also used a name and even placed Horus. Khasekhemwy had tried to express peace and reconciliation between Upper- and Lower Egypt with his unusual serekh, too, the historical figure of Sekhemib is the subject of investigation and discussions by Egyptologists and historians to this day. The contradictory findings allow room for plenty of interpretations and theories, emery, Bard and Petrie point to several clay seals that were found in the tomb entrance of Peribsens necropolis. Sekhemibs tomb has not yet been found, in contrast, Egyptologists such as Hermann Alexander Schlögl, Wolfgang Helck, Peter Kaplony and Jochem Kahl believe that Sekhemib was a different ruler to Peribsen. They point out that the seals were only found at the entrance area of Peribsens tomb. They compare the findings with the tablets of king Hotepsekhemwy found at the entrance of king Qaas tomb. Therefore, Schlögl, Helck, Kaplony and Kahl are convinced that Sekhemibs seals are merely proof that Sekhemib buried Peribsen, Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson and Helck believe that Sekhemib and Peribsen could have been related. Their theory is based on the stone inscriptions and seal impressions that show strong similarities in their typographical and grammatical writing styles. The vessels of Peribsen for example show the notation ini-setjet, whilst Sekhemibs inscriptions note ini-chasut, a further indication for a relationship between Peribsen and Sekhemib is the serekh-name of both, as they both use the syllables per and ib in their names. Egyptologists such as Helck identify Sekhemib with the cartouche name “Wadjenes”. Egyptologist Dietrich Wildung thinks alike and identifies Sekhemib with the nebty name Weneg-Nebty, there seems to be archaeological evidence that Sekhemib ruled only in Upper Egypt
11.
Khasekhemwy
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Khasekhemwy was the final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built monuments, still extant. His name means The Two Powerful Ones Appear, according to Toby Wilkinsons study of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, this near contemporary 5th dynasty document assigns Khasekhemwy a reign of 17.5 or nearly 18 full years. Since the cattle count is shown to be regularly biennial during the dynasty from the Palermo Stone. Khasekhemwy is normally placed as the successor of Seth-Peribsen, though some Egyptologists believe that another Pharaoh, Khasekhem, most scholars, however, believe Khasekhem and Khasekhemwy are, in fact, the same person. Khasekhem may have changed his name to Khasekhemwy after he reunited Upper and Lower Egypt after a war between the followers of the gods Horus and Set. Others believe he defeated the king, Seth-Peribsen, after returning to Egypt from putting down a revolt in Nubia. Either way he ended the infighting of the Second dynasty and reunited Egypt, Khasekhemwy is unique in Egyptian history as having both the symbols of Horus and Set on his serekh. Some Egyptologists believe that this was an attempt to unify the two factions, but after his death, Set was dropped from the serekh permanently and he was the earliest Egyptian king known to have built statues of himself. Khasekhemwy apparently undertook considerable building projects upon the reunification of Egypt and he built in stone at el-Kab, Hierakonpolis, and Abydos. He apparently built a unique, as well as huge, tomb at Abydos, the trapezoidal tomb measures some 70 meters in length and is 17 meters wide at its northern end, and 10 meters wide at its southern end. This area was divided into 58 rooms, prior to some recent discoveries from the 1st dynasty, its central burial chamber was considered the oldest masonry structure in the world, being built of quarried limestone. Here, the excavators discovered the kings scepter of gold and sard, as well as beautifully made small stone pots with gold leaf lid coverings. In fact, Petrie detailed a number of items removed during the excavations of Amélineau, other items included flint tools, as well as a variety of copper tools and vessels, stone vessels and pottery vessels filled with grain and fruit. There were also small, glazed objects, carnelian beads, model tools, basketwork, Khasekhemwy built a fort at Nekhen, and at Abydos and was buried there in the necropolis at Umm el-Qaab. He may also have built the Gisr el-Mudir at Saqqara, Khasekhemwys wife was Queen Nimaethap, mother of the Kings Children. They were the parents of Djoser and Djosers wife Hetephernebti and its also possible that Khasekhemwys son was Sanakhte. Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, The Palermo Stone, Egypt, Khasekhem/Khasekhemwy of Egypts 2nd dynasty
12.
Ka (pharaoh)
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Ka, also Sekhen, was a Predynastic pharaoh of Upper Egypt belonging to Dynasty 0. He probably reigned during the first half of the 32nd century BC, the length of his reign is unknown. The correct reading of Kas name remains uncertain, the second form of that writing indicates a reading as Sekhen rather than Ka. It was also thought to be the name of Narmer. Because the reading of the name is so uncertain, Egyptologists, Ka ruled over Thinis in the first half of 32nd century BC and was buried at Umm el-Qaab. He most likely was the successor to Iry-Hor and was succeeded either by Narmer or by Scorpion II. He is the earliest known Egyptian king with a serekh inscribed on a number of artifacts and this may thus be an innovation of his reign. Ka is one of the best attested predynastic kings with Narmer, the number of artifacts bearing Kas serekh found outside Abydos is much greater than that of his predecessor. This may be the sign of an influence and perhaps conquest of larger portions of Egypt by the Thinite kings. Two underground chambers, B7 and B9, in the Umm el-Qaab necropolis of Abydos are believed to be part of the tomb of King Ka. Each chamber is 1.90 m deep, B.7 is 6.0 ×3.2 m while B.9 is slightly smaller at 5.9 x 3.1 m, Kas tomb was first excavated by Petrie in 1902. The excavations yielded fragments of flint knife and pottery, in the southernmost chamber B7, more than forty inscriptions have been found on tall jars and cylinder vessels as well as a seal impression. The tomb of Ka is close to that of Iry-Hor and Narmer, furthermore, it is located within a sequential order linking the older U cemetery with the First Dynasty tombs, thus suggesting that Ka succeeded Iry-Hor and preceded Narmer on the throne. Wilkinson, Toby AH, Early Dynastic Egypt, London/New York, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-18633-1
13.
Scorpion II
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Scorpion II, also known as King Scorpion, refers to the second of two kings or chieftains of that name during the Protodynastic Period of Upper Egypt. King Scorpions name and title are of great dispute in modern Egyptology and his name is often introduced by a six- or seven-leafed, golden rosette or flower-sign. Its precise meaning has been discussed, the most common interpretation is that of an emblem meaning nomarch or high lord. Thus, the golden rosette became an emblem of Seshat. The reading of the sign is also disputed. Most linguists and Egyptologists read it Neb or Nesw, and they are convinced that the rosette was some kind of forerunner to the later serekh. The scorpion fetish, which underlies the name of Scorpion II, is linked to the later-introduced goddess Selket. But Egyptologists and linguists such as L. D, morenz, H. Beinlich, Toby Wilkinson and Jan Assmann have pointed out that the goddess was introduced no earlier than the late Old Kingdom period. In this view, the fetish of the protodynastic period should not be associated with Selket. Morenz points out that, in cases where an animal is included in a rulers name. The scorpion animal commonly stood for dangerous things, such as poison and illness, since it is unclear what actual meaning was reserved for the serekh animal of Scorpion II, scholars usually refer to him as King Scorpion II. There are several theories regarding his identity and chronological position and they also argue that the artistic style seen on the macehead of Scorpion II shows conspicuous similarities to that on the famous Narmer macehead. Wilkinson, Renée Friedman and Bruce Trigger, have identified king Scorpion II as the Gegenkönig of Narmer, at the time of Scorpion II, Egypt was divided into several minor kingdoms that were fighting each other. It is likewise conjectured that Narmer simply conquered the realms of Ka and Scorpion II and it is currently on display at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. The stratigraphy of this macehead was lost due to the methods of its excavators, the Scorpion Macehead depicts a single, large figure wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt. He holds a hoe, which has interpreted as a ritual either involving the pharaoh ceremonially cutting the first furrow in the fields. The use and placement of the iconography is similar to the depiction of the pharaoh Narmer on the side of the Narmer Palette. The king is preceded by servants, the first in row seems to throw seeds from a basket into the freshly hacked ground
14.
Hor-Aha
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Hor-Aha is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some egyptologists, others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have had a long reign, the Greek historian Manethos record Aegyptiaca lists his Greek name as Athothis, or Athotís. The different titular elements of a name were often used in isolation, for brevitys sake, although the choice varied according to circumstance. Mainstream Egyptological consensus follows the findings of Petrie in reconciling the two records and connects Hor-Aha with the nebty-name Ity, the same process has led to the identification of the historical Menes with Narmer evidenced in the archaeological record as the predecessor of Hor-Aha. There has been controversy about Hor-Aha. Some believe him to be the individual as the legendary Menes. Others claim he was the son of Narmer, the pharaoh who unified Egypt, Narmer and Menes may have been one pharaoh, referred to with more than one name. Regardless, considerable evidence from the period points to Narmer as the pharaoh who first unified Egypt and to Hor-Aha as his son. Seal impressions discovered by G. Dreyer in the Umm el-Qaab from Merneith and his predecessor Narmer had united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom. Hor-Aha probably ascended the throne in the late 32nd or early 31st century, Hor-Aha seems to have conducted many religious activities. A visit to a shrine of the goddess Neith is recorded on tablets from his reign. The sanctuary of Neith he visited was located in the north-east of the Nile Delta at Sais, furthermore, the first known representation of the sacred Henu-bark of the god Seker was found engraved on a year tablet dating from his reign. Vessel inscriptions, labels and sealings from the graves of Hor-Aha and he arranged for her burial in a magnificent mastaba excavated by Jacques de Morgan. Queen Neithhotep is plausibly Ahas mother The selection of the cemetery of Naqada as the place of Neithhotep is a strong indication that she came from this province. This, in turn, supports the view that Narmer married a member of the ancient royal line of Naqada to strengthen the domination of the Thinite kings over the region. However, in January 2016, an inscription has demonstrated that Neithhotep was actually a queen regent early during the reign of Djer. Therefore, the evidence above only proves that Neithhotep did live during the reign of Hor-Aha. Most importantly, the oldest mastaba at the North Saqqara necropolis of Memphis dates to his reign, the mastaba belongs to an elite member of the administration who may have been a relative of Hor-Aha, as was customary at the time
15.
Qa'a
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Qaa was the last king of the First Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned for 33 years at the end of the 30th century BC, Manetho calls Qaa Biénechês and gives him a reign of 26 years. Other versions of copies of Manetho´s epithomes give Óubiênthis and Víbenthis as hellenized names, the parents of Qaa are unknown, but it is thought that either his predecessor Anedjib or Semerkhet was his father, since it was tradition to leave the throne to the eldest son. If Manetho suggested correctly, Semerkhet was the father, there is not much information left about Qaas reign, but it seems that he reigned for a long time. Several stone vessel inscriptions mention a second Sed festival for Qaa, indeed, the first festival was usually not celebrated before 30 years of reign, and subsequent festivals could be repeated every third year. The Palermo Stone only mentions the year of coronation and some usual cultic events that were celebrated under every king, the numerous ivory tags dating to his reign also mention only typical arrangements, such as depicting and counting burial offerings and personal possessions of the king. Several mastaba tombs of high officials date into Qaas reign, Merka, Henuka, despite Qaa´s long and prosperous reign, evidence shows that after his death, a dynastic war between different royal houses began over the newly empty throne. In the tomb of the high official Merka, a vessel with the name of a king Sneferka was found. It is unclear whether Sneferka was a name of Qaa or if he was a separate. Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Toby Wilkinson point to a mysterious ruler named Horus Bird. It is postulated that Sneferka and Horus Bird fought for power, strong clues to that theory are traces of grave robberies and arsons found in the royal tombs of Abydos. Clay seals of Hotepsekhemwy found in Qaas tomb suggest that he restored the tomb or buried Qaa, Qaa had a fairly large tomb in Abydos which measures 98.5 X75.5 feet or 30 X23 meters. A long reign is supported by the size of this rulers burial site at Abydos. This tomb was excavated by German archaeologists in 1993 and proved to contain 26 satellite burials, a seal impression bearing Hotepsekhemwys name was found near the entrance of the tomb of Qaa by the German Archaeological Institute in the mid-1990s. The discovery of the seal impression has been interpreted as evidence that Qaa was buried, and therefore succeeded, by Hotepsekhemwy, the beautiful tomb stela of Qaa is now on display at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The tomb of one of Qaas state officials at Saqqara—a certain nobleman named Merka—contained a stele with many titles, there is a second Sed festival attested. This fact plus the quality of a number of royal steles depicting the king implies that Qaas reign was a fairly stable. A number of year labels have also discovered dating to his reign at the First Dynasty burial site of Umm el-Qaab in Abydos
16.
Merneith
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Merneith was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the first dynasty. Her rule occurred during the thirtieth century B. C. for an undetermined period, Merneith’s name means Beloved by Neith and her stela contains symbols of that deity. She may have been Djers daughter, and was probably Djets senior royal wife, the former meant that she would have been the great-granddaughter of unified Egypts first Pharaoh, Narmer. She was also the mother of Den, her successor, Merneith is linked in a variety of seal impressions and inscribed bowls with the kings Djer, Djet and Den. Merneith may have been the daughter of Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence, as the mother of Den, it is likely that Merneith was the wife of Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been found, a clay seal found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with Kings Mother, Merneith. It also is known that Den’s father was Djet, making it thus likely, Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of Djet. The title she held, however, is debated and it is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right. Before her, Neithhotep is believed to have ruled in the way after her husband King Narmer died. Her name was written on a Naqada seal inside a serekh and this would mean Merneith may have actually been the second female in Egypts first dynasty to have ruled as pharaoh. The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb and this tomb in Abydos is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den and her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stelae bearing her name were discovered near her tomb, Merneiths name is not included in the king lists from the New Kingdom. A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of Qaa, however, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith. A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith, Merneith’s name appears on a found in the tomb of her son. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings, Merneiths name was the only name of a woman included on the list. All of the names on the list are the Horus names of the kings, however, Merneiths name is accompanied by the title Kings Mother. Merneith’s name may have included on the Palermo Stone
17.
Narmer
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Narmer was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period. Probably the successor to the Protodynastic kings Scorpion and/or Ka, some consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt. This conclusion is based on the Narmer Palette and the two seals from the necropolis of Abydos that show him as the first king of the First Dynasty. The date commonly given for the beginning of his reign is c.3100 BC, other mainstream estimates using both the historical method and Radiocarbon dating are in the range 3273–2987 BC. Although highly inter-related, the question of “who was Menes. ”, while Menes is traditionally considered the first king of Ancient Egypt, Narmer has been identified by the majority of Egyptologists as the same person as Menes. Although vigorously debated, the predominant opinion is that Narmer was Menes, the issue is confusing because “Narmer” is a Horus Name, while “Menes” is a personal name. The difficulty is aligning the contemporary archaeological evidence which lists Horus Names with the King Lists that list personal names, two documents have been put forward as proof either that Narmer was Menes or alternatively Hor-Aha was Menes. The first is the “Naqada Label” which shows a serekh of Hor-Aha next to an enclosure inside of which are symbols that have been interpreted by scholars as the name “Menes”. The second is the impression from Abydos that alternates between a serekh of Narmer and the chessboard symbol, “mn”, which is interpreted as an abbreviation of Menes. Arguments have been made with regard to each of these documents in favour of Narmer or Hor-Aha being Menes, but in neither case, are the arguments conclusive. Two necropolis sealings, found in 1985 and 1991 in Abydos, in or near the tombs of Den and Qa’a, show Narmer as the founder of the First Dynasty, followed by Hor-Aha. The Qa’a sealing lists all eight of the kings of the First Dynasty in the correct order starting with Narmer and these necropolis sealings are strong evidence that Narmer was the first king of the First Dynasty – hence is the same person as Menes. The famous Narmer Palette, discovered by James E, since its discovery, however, it has been debated whether the Narmer Palette represents an actual historic event or is purely symbolic. Of course, the Narmer Palette could represent an historical event while at the same time having a symbolic significance. In 1993, Günter Dreyer discovered in Abydos, a “year label” of Narmer depicting the event that is depicted on the Narmer Palette. This year label shows that the Narmer Palette depicts an historical event. Archaeological evidence suggests that Egypt was at least partially unified during the reigns of Ka and Iry-Hor, but there is a substantial difference in the quantity and distribution of inscriptions with the names of those earlier kings in Lower Egypt and Canaan, compared to the inscriptions of Narmer. The archaeological evidence suggest that the unification began before Narmer, but was completed by him through the conquest of a polity in the North-West Delta as depicted on the Narmer Palette
18.
Double Falcon
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Double Falcon was a ruler of Lower Egypt from Naqada III. He may have reigned during the 32nd century BCE, the length of his reign is unknown. It was in 1910 that Egyptologist M. J. Clédat discovered the first evidence for Double Falcon, investigating the site, Clédat soon discovered four serekhs of Double Falcon. The next attestation of Double Falcon was discovered in 1912 during excavations by Hermann Junker on the site of Tura, the concentration of Double Falcons serekhs in Lower Egypt and the north-western Sinai indicates that his rule may have been limited to these regions. The serekh of Double Falcon is unique in its layout and composition, firstly, it is the only serekh topped by two Horus falcons, facing each other. Secondly, the serekh does not have a compartment, being filled by the vertical lines which usually represent the niched facade of a palace. The serekh also lacks the line that delimits the palace facade from the name of the ruler above. Finally, each falcon stands on its own peak, egyptologists M. J. Cledat, Günter Dreyer and Edwin van den Brink suspect that a deeper symbolism explains these peculiarities. The two falcons could represent Lower Egypt and the Sinai, as it seems that Double Falcon reigned over both regions. In contrast, van den Brink reads the name as Nebwy, the two lords, and sees a similarity with a much earlier palette on display in the Barbier-Mueller Museum of Geneva
19.
Neith
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Neith was an early goddess in the Egyptian pantheon. She was the deity of Sais, where her cult was centered in the Western Nile Delta of Egypt. The Ancient Egyptian name of city was Zau. Neith was a goddess of war and of hunting and had as her symbol, however, she is a far more complex goddess than is generally known, and of whom ancient texts only hint of her true nature. In her usual representations, she is portrayed as a fierce deity and her symbol also identified the city of Sais. This symbol was displayed on top of her head in Egyptian art, in her form as a goddess of war, she was said to make the weapons of warriors and to guard their bodies when they died. As a deity, Neith is normally shown carrying the was scepter and she is also called such cosmic epithets as the Cow of Heaven, a sky-goddess similar to Nut, and as the Great Flood, Mehet-Weret, as a cow who gives birth to the sun daily. In these forms, she is associated with creation of both the time and daily re-creation. She is identified as a mother goddess in this role as a creator. As a female deity and personification of the waters, Neith encompasses masculine elements. She is a version of Ptah-Nun, with her feminine nature complemented with masculine attributes symbolized with her association with the bow and arrow. In the same manner, her personification as the waters is Mehetweret. Neith is one of the most ancient deities associated with ancient Egyptian culture and her first anthropomorphic representations occur in the early dynastic period, on a diorite vase of King Ny-Netjer of the Second Dynasty, found in the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. That her worship predominated the early dynastic periods is shown by a preponderance of theophoric names within which Neith appears as an element. It has been suggested the hunt/war features of Neith’s imagery may indicate her origin from Libya, located west and southwest of Egypt, while Neith is generally regarded as a deity of Lower Egypt, her worship was not consistently located in that region. Her cult reached its height in Saïs and apparently in Memphis in the Old Kingdom, however, the cult regained political and religious prominence during the 26th Dynasties when worship at Saïs flourished again, as well as at Esna in Upper Egypt. Neiths symbol and part of her hieroglyph also bore a resemblance to a loom, at this time her role as a creator conflated with that of Athena, as a deity who wove all of the world and existence into being on her loom. As mother of Ra, in her Mehet-Weret form, she was described as the Great Cow who gave birth to Ra
20.
Hatshepsut
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Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the year as a child of about two years old. Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, according to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as the first great woman in history of whom we are informed. Hatshepsut was the daughter and only child of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmose and her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutnofret, who carried the title Kings daughter and was probably a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure, Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset, a secondary wife. Today Egyptologists generally agree that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh, Hatshepsut was described as having a reign of about 22 years by ancient authors. Josephus and Julius Africanus both quote Manethos king list, mentioning a woman called Amessis or Amensis who has identified as Hatshepsut. In Josephus work, her reign is described as lasting 21 years and nine months, dating the beginning of her reign is more difficult, however. Her fathers reign began in either 1526 or 1506 BC according to the high and low estimates of her reign, the length of the reigns of Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis II, however, cannot be determined with absolute certainty. With short reigns, Hatshepsut would have ascended the throne 14 years after the coronation of Tuthmosis I, longer reigns would put her ascension 25 years after Tuthmosis Is coronation. Thus, Hatshepsut could have assumed power as early as 1512 BC, or, Hatshepsut established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty. She oversaw the preparations and funding for a mission to the Land of Punt and this trading expedition to Punt was roughly during Hatshepsuts ninth year of reign. It set out in her name with five ships, each measuring 70 feet long bearing several sails, many trade goods were bought in Punt, notably frankincense and myrrh. Hatshepsuts delegation returned from Punt bearing 31 live myrrh trees, the roots of which were kept in baskets for the duration of the voyage. This was the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees and it is reported that Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her mortuary temple complex. Egyptians also returned with a number of gifts from Punt
21.
Sobekneferu
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Sobekneferu was an Egyptian woman reigning as pharaoh after the death of her brother Amenemhat IV. She was the last ruler of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt and her name means the beauty of Sobek. She was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III, manetho states she also was the sister of Amenemhat IV, but this claim is unproven. Sobekneferu had a sister named Nefruptah, who may have been the intended heir. Neferuptahs name was enclosed in a cartouche and she had her own pyramid at Hawara, neferuptah died at an early age, however. Sobekneferu was the first known woman reigning as pharaoh for which there is confirmed proof, there are five women who are believed to have ruled as early as the First Dynasty and Nitocris may have ruled in the Sixth Dynasty. Amenemhat IV most likely died without a heir, consequently, Amenemhat IIIs daughter, Sobekneferu. According to the Turin Canon, she ruled for 3 years,10 months and she died without heirs and the end of her reign concluded Egypts brilliant Twelfth Dynasty and the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom as it inaugurated the much weaker Thirteenth Dynasty. One statue with a head is known, a bust in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, lost in World War II, could be identified as belonging to her. Today, the sculpture is only from photographic images and plaster casts. It came in 1899 to the museum, the head fits on top of the lower part of a royal statue discovered at Semna. The latter can be identified for sure as royal because the royal symbol unification of the two countries appears on the side of her throne and it is known that she made additions to the funerary complex of Amenemhat III at Hawara and also built structures at Herakleopolis Magna. A fine cylinder seal bearing her name and royal titulary is located in the British Museum, a Nile graffito, at the Nubian fortress of Kumma records the Nile inundation height of 1.83 meters in Year 3 of her reign. Another inscription discovered in the Eastern Desert records year 4, second month of the peret season, additionally, all Egyptian rulers were given the title king, regardless of gender. Her tomb has not been identified positively, although she may have been interred in a complex in Mazghuna that lacks inscriptions. It is immediately north of a similar complex ascribed to Amenemhat IV, a place called Sekhem-Neferu is mentioned in a papyrus found at Harageh. This might be the name of her pyramid, the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press
22.
Khentkaus I
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Khentkaus I, also referred to as Khentkawes, was a Queen of Ancient Egypt during the 4th dynasty. She may have been a daughter of pharaoh Menkaure, wife of both kings Shepseskaf and Userkaf and mother of Sahure and her Mastaba at Giza - tomb LG100 - is located very close to Menkaures pyramid complex. This close connection may point to a relationship, but it is not quite clear exactly what that relationship is. The proximity of Khentkaus pyramid complex to that of King Menkaure has led to the conjecture that she may have been his daughter and she may have been married to King Userkaf and may have been the mother of Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai. Verner has stated that it is likely however that Sahure was a son of Userkaf. It has also been suggested Khentkaus was the mother and regent for her son Thampthis, manethos King List has Menkaure and Thampthis reigning in the fourth dynasty, which ties her to the end of the fourth dynasty. Khentkaus appears to have served as a regent and may have taken on kingly titles. Some of her titles are ambiguous and are open to interpretation. King’s Mother Mother of Two Dual Kings or Dual King and Mother of a Dual King The Khentkaus Problem has a long history, in the 1930s Hassan proposed that Khentkaus was a daughter of Menkaure, and married first to Shepseskaf and later to Userkaf. Ventikiev was the first to suggest that the title mwt nswt bity nswt bity should be read as The Mother of two Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt and he suggested that she was the daughter of Menkaure and the sister of Shepseskaf. Borchardt suggested that Shepseskaf was a commoner who married the king’s daughter Khentkaus and he further thought that Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai were sons of Shepseskaf and Khentkaus. Borchardt conjectured that Userkaf was an outsider who was able to take the throne because Sahure and Neferirkare were too young to ascend the throne when Shepseskaf died, altenmüller suggested that Khentkaus was none other than the lady Redjedjet mentioned in the Westcar Papyrus. He suggested that Khentkaus was the mother of Userkaf, Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai, kozloff theorized that Shepseskaf was the son of Menkaure with a minor wife who came to the throne after the death of the King’s Son Khuenre. Upon the premature death of Shepseskaf, Khentkaus married the High Priest of Re to secure the throne for her two sons, callender took the fact that Khentkaus’ name never appeared in a cartouche to mean that she never ruled Egypt. Instead she preferred to read the mwt nswt bity nswt bity title as the mother of two Kings of Upper and Lower Egypt and she thought Khentkaus had to be a daughter of Menkaure and the wife of either Shepseskaf or Thampthis. She pointed to Userkaf and Neferirkare as the two referred to as the sons of Khentkaus in her title. 29°5824. 26N 31°88. 19E Khentkaus was buried in Giza and her tomb is known as LG100 and G8400 and is located in the Central Field, Giza which is part of the Giza Necropolis. The pyramid complex of Queen Khentkaus includes her pyramid, a pit, a Valley Temple
23.
Nebty name
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The Nebty name was one of the great five names used by Egyptian pharaohs. It was also one of the eldest royal titles, the modern term Two-Ladies-name is a simple derivation from the translation of the Egyptian word nebty. The terms Nebty name and Two-Ladies-name derive from the Egyptian word nbtj, as a mere noun it is a religious euphemism paraphrasing the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet as a deified pair. As a royal crest it was thought to represent a unified Egypt, the Nebty name, similarly to the later Niswt-Bity name, was constructed with two sign groups. The first one shows a griffon vulture sitting on a basket, the second group shows an erect cobra, also sitting on a basket. The eldest versions of the Nebty name showed instead of the cobra the red crown above the second basket, interestingly, the sign groups forming the Nebty name were never used separately. The Nebty name was linked to the two most important goddesses of Ancient Egyptian kingship, Nekhbet and Wadjet. Whilst Nekhbet was the mistress of Upper Egypt, her pendant Wadjet was the mistress of Lower Egypt, Nekhbet was worshipped as the celestial mother of a king, which is expressed in the Ancient Egyptian queen title Mwt-niswt. The cobra of Wadjet was worshipped as the celestial diadem snake on the kings forehead and this protective behaviour made Wadjet become very popular and already in early dynastic times several deities were depicted as wearing a uraeus on their foreheads. With the Nebty name each pharaoh wished to present himself as the one under the guidance, after the Horus name, the Nebty name is the second eldest royal name of Ancient Egyptian history and also known as Two-Ladies name. In the case of Hor-Aha the Nebty crest is of special interest, the first and infinite use of the final form of the Nebty crest appear during the reign of king Semerkhet, who called himself Iry-Nebty. After him, every future king used a Nebty name, though not every king of Early Dynasty, a further problem is a fashion which arose during the reign of king Peribsen. He was the first ruler who used the Nebty crest as a name or title. After him, it seems that other rulers used separate Nebty names, background of that view by Egyptologists is the case of king Qaa. Ivory tag inscriptions reveal that Qaa obviously used two different Nebty names, Qaa-Nebty and Sen-Nebty, and king Hotepsekhemwy called himself Sehotep-Nebty, thus using as good as the same name as he used for his serekh name. Another problem is that during the Old Kingdom Egyptian queens also used the Nebty crest as a part of their birth names, prominent examples are the queens Hetephernebti and Djefatnebti. This caused a problem concerning a Nebty name appearing on a stencil from Saqqara. It is disputed whether it was the name of a queen or just the Nebty name of king Sekhemkhet
24.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
25.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
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The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt. It symbolises worldly power and holy might and also acts as a sort of mission statement for the reign of a monarch. The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom, the Horus name is the oldest form of the pharaohs name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title, the Horus name was usually written in a serekh, a representation of a palace façade. The name of the pharaoh was written in hieroglyphs inside this representation of a palace, typically an image of the falcon God Horus was perched on top of or beside it. At least one Egyptian ruler, the 2nd dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus and he was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Seth and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh, by the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh. The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet and this particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun nebty. Also known as the Golden Horus Name, this form of the name typically featured the image of a Horus falcon perched above or beside the hieroglyph for gold. The meaning of this title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaohs eternal Horus name. Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh, the pharaohs throne name, the first of the two names written inside a cartouche, and usually accompanied the title nsw-bity. The term nsw-bity It has been suggested that the Berber term for strong man, the epithet neb tawy, Lord of the Two Lands, referring to valley and delta regions of Egypt, often occurs as well. This was the name given at birth and it was first introduced to the set of royal titles in the Fourth Dynasty and emphasizes the kings role as a representative of the solar god Ra. For women who became pharaoh, the title was interpreted as daughter also. Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, Middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Cairo, London, and New York, The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. The Great Name, Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs
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Great Royal Wife
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Great Royal Wife, or alternatively Chief Kings Wife, is the term that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. The former is also, in the form of the simplification Great Wife, while most Ancient Egyptians were monogamous, the pharaoh would have had other, lesser wives and concubines in addition to the Great Royal Wife. This arrangement would allow the pharaoh to enter into marriages with the daughters of allies. In the past the order of succession in Ancient Egypt was thought to pass through the royal women and this theory, referred to as the Heiress Theory, has been rejected ever since the 1980s and is now not accepted by Egyptologists. The throne likely just passed to the eldest living son of the pharaoh, examples include Iset, the mother of Thutmose III, Tiaa, the mother of Thutmose IV and Mutemwia, the mother of Amenhotep III. Meretseger, the wife of Senusret III, is the earliest queen whose name appears with this title. However, she is attested in the New Kingdom so the title might be an anachronism. Perhaps the first holder of its title was Nubkhaes of the Second Intermediate Period, a special place in the history of great royal wives was taken by Hatshepsut. She was Great Royal Wife to her half-brother Thutmose II, during this time Hatshepsut also became a Gods Wife of Amun. After the death of her husband, she became regent because of the minority of her stepson, the male heir. While he was very young, however, Hatshepsut was crowned as pharaoh. When she became pharaoh, she designated her daughter, Neferure and her daughter may have been the great royal wife of Thutmose III but there is no clear evidence for this proposed marriage. Elsewhere, in Kush and other states of ancient Africa. The practice of creating great wives has continued to the present day, in addition to the said queen of the Zulus, contemporary holders of the title include the numerous bearers of the Iyaafin chieftaincy of Yorubaland and the future Ndlovukati of Swaziland. List of consorts of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, for the modern queens and sultanas of Egypt Gods Wife of Amun Divine Adoratrice of Amun Interregnum queen
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Khenemetneferhedjet
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Khenemetneferhedjet was an ancient Egyptian queenly title during the Middle Kingdom. It was in use from the 12th to the early 18th dynasty, during the 12th dynasty it also occurred as a personal name. Its meaning is “united with the white crown”, as a title 12th dynasty, Aat, Hetepti, Khenemet and Itaweret, Neferthenut, unknown lady. 13th dynasty, Ineni, Nubhetepti, Nubkhaes, Senebhenas, 18th dynasty, Pharaoh Hatshepsut and an unknown lady
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Divine Adoratrice of Amun
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The Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a second title – after the Gods Wife of Amun – created for the chief priestess of the Ancient Egyptian deity, Amun. The Divine Adoratrice ruled over the extensive temple duties and domains, later, the added title of Divine Adoratrice of Amun can be seen to accompany a resurgence of the title Gods Wife of Amun which had fallen into disuse. The Gods Wife title was revived in the 20th Dynasty, when Ramesses VIs daughter Iset held the office, generally, the tradition was followed and the position was filled by the daughter of the current king, who was adopted as the daughter of the incumbent Divine Adoratrice. The new office reached the heights of its political power during the late Third Intermediate Period of Egypt when Shepenupet I. The Nubian king Kashta, in turn, appointed his daughter, Amenirdis, the high status of this office is illustrated by the tomb of Amenirdis at Medinet Habu. Toward the end of the Third Intermediate Period and the start of the Late Period, during the 25th and 26th Dynasties, the office was at its height both politically and economically. As the role of the priests of Amun changed from a mostly spiritual to a more earthly role. This sequence was followed throughout the 25th Dynasty until Egypt was conquered by Psamtek I, a number of the Gods Wives had mortuary shrines constructed on the west bank of the river, mostly alongside the Medinet-Habu of Ramesses III. In the same manner, it was used by the Napatan kings to project their power northward into Egypt proper, the power of the Divine Adoratrice of Amun was limited to the area around Thebes in Upper Egypt, which was the center of the cult. Gods Wife of Amun Strudwick, N & H. Thebes In Egypt,1999, British Museum Press, London Watterson, Barbara, Women In Ancient Egypt,1994, Sutton Publishing, Stroud Robins, Gay. Women In Ancient Egypt,1993, British Museum Press, London Kuhrt, the Ancient Middle East – Vol. II,1995, Routledge, London
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God's Wife of Amun
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Gods Wife of Amun was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth dynasties, the office had political importance as well as religious, since the two were closely related in ancient Egypt. Although the title is first attested in the Middle Kingdom, its political potential was not realized until the advent of the Eighteenth Dynasty. The shorter version of the title Gods Wife is in use by the time of the Twelfth Dynasty, as early as the First Intermediate Period, there is mention of A Wife of the God in reference to the god Min. The full title of Gods Wife of Amun is only used during, at the beginning of the New Kingdom, the Gods Wife of Amun royal title started to be held by royal women, when its extreme power and prestige was first evident. The New Kingdom began in 1550 BC with the Eighteenth Dynasty and these were the rulers who drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and their native city was Thebes, which then became the leading city in Egypt. They believed that their local deity, Amun, had guided them in their victory, adjustments to the rituals and myths followed. The title, Gods Wife of Amun, referred to the myth of the birth of the king, according to which his mother was impregnated by the god Amun. This title was used in preference to the title, Great Royal Wife, which was the title of the queen who was the consort to the pharaoh, the new title conveyed that the pharaoh would be a demigod upon birth. Previously the pharaoh was considered to become divine only at death and she then passed it on to her daughter Ahmose-Meritamun, who in turn handed it to Hatshepsut, who used it before she ascended the throne as pharaoh. Both Ahmose-Nefertari and Hatshepsut sometimes used the title as an alternative to that of Kings Principal Wife, Hatshepsut passed the title on to her daughter Neferure. A series of scenes in Hatshepsuts Chapelle Rouge show the Gods Wife of Amun, other scenes elsewhere show the Gods Wife of Amun worshiping the deities, being purified in the sacred lake, and following the king into the sanctuary. These again show the importance of the role, but give little indication of the tasks. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and, upon his death, she became the wife of the youthful Thutmose II who was her young half-brother and she seems to have been a de facto co-regent with him, having a great deal of influence upon the affairs of state. They had only one child who survived childhood, a daughter, Neferure and he was her stepson and cousin. Shortly thereafter, Hatshepsut was named pharaoh and he became the head of the armies. Hatshepsut died after a 22-year reign and, Thutmose III became pharaoh, at the end of a thirty-year reign of his own, he entered into a co-regency with a son by a lesser wife who would become, Amenhotep II. The records of holders of the title, Gods Wife of Amun, after Thutmose III became pharaoh deviate from the established pattern, perhaps because of the line of royalty issue
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High Priests of Amun
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The High Priest of Amun or First Prophet of Amun was the highest-ranking priest in the priesthood of the Ancient Egyptian god Amun. The first high priests of Amun appear in the New Kingdom, the priesthood of Amun rose in power during the early Eighteenth dynasty through significant tributes to the god Amun by ruler such as Hatshepsut and more importantly Thutmose III. The Amun priesthood in Thebes had four high-ranking priests, The high priest of Amun at Karnak, the second priest of Amun at Karnak, also referred to as the second prophet of Amun. The third priest of Amun at Karnak, also referred to as the prophet of Amun. The fourth priest of Amun at Karnak, also referred to as the prophet of Amun. The power of the Amun priesthood was temporarily curtailed during the Amarna period, a high priest named Maya is recorded in year 4 of Akhenaten. Akhenaten has the name of Amun removed from monuments during his reign, after Akhenatens death Amun is restored to his place of prominence among the cults in Egypt. The young pharaoh Tutankhaten changes his name to Tutankhamen to signal the restoration of the old god to his place of prominence. The High Priest of Amun in Thebes was appointed by the King and it was not uncommon for the position to be held by dignitaries who held additional posts in the pharaohs administration. Several of the priests from the time of Ramesses II also served as Vizier. At the end of the New Kingdom, the 20th dynasty priesthood of Amun is for a large part dominated by Ramessesnakht and his son Amenhotep eventually succeeded his father and found himself in conflict with the Vicreoy of Kush, Panehesy. Panehesy took his troops North and besieged Thebes, after this period generals by the name of Herihor and Pianchi served as High Priest. By the time Herihor was proclaimed as the first ruling High Priest of Amun in 1080 BC—in the 19th Year of Ramesses XI—the Amun priesthood exercised an effective stranglehold on Egypts economy. The Amun priests owned two-thirds of all the lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships plus many other resources. Consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as Pharaoh, if not more so, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes from the 21st dynasty were of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1080 to c.943 BC. They are however not regarded as a dynasty with pharaonic prerogatives. Theban High Priests of Amun Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt Family Tree Twenty-first dynasty of Egypt Haremakhet, Son of Shabaka 704. –660 BC Harkhebi, Son of Haremakhet, served as HPA until at least year 14 of Psamtik I. 660–644 BC Ankhnesneferibre, The Gods Wife of Amun also served as High Priest of Amun, 595–c.560 BC Nitocris II, Daughter of Pharaoh Ahmose
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High Priest of Osiris
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The High Priest of Osiris served at Abydos. Some high priests were, Nebwawy, from the time of Tuthmosis III Heqanefer, from the time of Tuthmosis III to Amenhotep II. To during the late 18th dynasty Hat during the late 18th dynasty Mery from the time of Sety I, Mery was a son of the High Priest of Osiris, Hat, and born of luy. Merys wife Maianuy was the daughter of the High Priest of Osiris, To, justified, born of Buia, Wenennefer, Wenennefer was a son of Mery and Maianuy. Hori I, son of the high priest Wennenefer and Tiy Yuyu, Yuyu was a son of the high priest Wennenefer Siese, son of Yuyu Hori II, from the time of Ramesses III Hori was a son of high priest Yuyu
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High Priest of Ptah
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The High Priest of Ptah was sometimes referred to as the Greatest of the Masters of the Craftsmen. This title refers to Ptah as the god of the craftsmen. The office of the High Priest of Ptah was located in Memphis in Lower Egypt, the temple of Ptah in Memphis was dedicated to Ptah, his consort Sekhmet and their son Nefertem. High priests of Ptah are mentioned in inscriptions dating back to at least the Fourth Dynasty, in the tomb of the nobleman Debhen, for instance, there is a description of a visit by Pharaoh Menkaure to the construction site for his pyramid Divine is Menkaure. The pharaoh is accompanied by a commander and two high priests of Ptah. There used to be two high Priests of Ptah until the Sixth Dynasty and it was probably during the reign of Pepi I that the two offices were combined into one. In the tomb of Sabu called Thety in Saqqara, the owner mentions that His Majesty appointed me as High Priest of Memphis alone, ___ The temple of Ptah-South-of-His-Wall in its every place was under my charge, although there never was a single High Priest of Ptah before. A large temple complex dating to the time of Ramesses II is located at the site of Mit Rahina. The Temple of Ptah from this period was one of the largest temple complexes in Egypt. Not much of this complex has been excavated because a part of the site lies very close to the modern town. Sem Priest of Ptah It was common for the high priest to hold the title of sem priest of Ptah. The sem priest could be recognized by the fact that he wore a wig with a side-lock and was dressed in a panther skin. Time of Teti, possibly to Pepi I, Time of Teti, possibly to Pepi I. Sehetepebre-ankh time of Senusret I Senewosret-Ankh time of Senusret I, hotepib Sheri Time of Amenemhat III Impy I Time of Amenemhat III - Amenemhat IV Sergem Time of Iby I Sobekhotep, known from a statue and a seal Senbuy Seneber. Penbenebes Time of Amenhotep III Only known from a now in Berlin. Wermer Time of Amenhotep III Only known from a now in Berlin. Ptahmose, son of Thutmose Son of vizier Thutmose, Ptahmose, son of Menkheper Son of Menkheper, Reign of Amenhotep III. Thutmose Son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye, pahemnetjer, son of Ptahmose Time of Amenhotep III
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Lector priest
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A lector priest was a priest in ancient Egypt who recited spells and hymns during temple rituals and official ceremonies. Such priests also sold their services to laymen, reciting texts during private apotropaic rituals or at funerals, as such, they were some of the most prominent practitioners of magic in ancient Egypt. In ancient Egyptian literature, lector priests are often portrayed as the keepers of secret knowledge, the highest-ranking lector priest in a temple, the chief lector priest, managed the temples archives of ritual texts. The term lector priest is usually used to translate the Egyptian title, ẖry-ḥb. t, which literally means the carrier of the book of ritual. The term for a chief lector priest, ẖry-ḥb. t ḥry-tp, was so associated with magic that, in Late Egyptian. Lector priests wore a sash across the chest that indicated their position
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Two Ladies
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When the two parts of Egypt were joined together, there was no merger of these deities as often occurred with similar deities from various regions and cities. Both goddesses were retained because of the importance of their roles, after the unification, the image of Nekhbet joined Wadjet on the uraeus, thereafter, they were shown together as part of the crowns of Egypt. An example of one is shown in the photograph to the right, the two ladies were responsible for establishing the laws, protecting the rulers and the Egyptian country, and promoting peace. An example of the use of term in text references may be found in the following commemoration of a military campaign under pharaoh Amenhotep III recorded on three stelas carved from rock. In the text he is referred to as Nebmaatra and they are from his fifth year and were found near Aswan and Sai Island in Nubia. Regnal Year 5, third month of Inundation, day 2. appearing in truth, Two Ladies, Who laws and the Two Lands. King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nebmaatra, heir of Ra, Son of Ra. came to tell, led on to victory, he completed it in his first campaign of victory. Reached them like the wing stroke of a falcon, ikheny, the boaster in the midst of the army, did not know the lion that was before him. She was depicted as a lioness and the pharaoh-as-warrior was said to be her son, therefore, Bast was her counterpart in one of the two lands, but after unification, Sekhmet remained as the fierce warrior and Bast was assigned other duties in the Egyptian pantheon. These three deities were the strongest patrons of Ancient Egypt, the use of the image of the patron goddesses on the uraeus was retained even during the rule of Akhenaten, who suppressed the worship of all deities except his own personally chosen favorite, Aten. In this way he differed from no other pharaoh and the importance of traditional deities persisted subtly throughout his reign. As soon as his reign ended, the ancient religious traditions were restored fully and even, on the central portion of the Menat necklace displayed above, the two ladies flank a statue of Sekhmet, who is being propitiated by the pharaoh in a temple ceremony. The placement of them alongside her in the temple of the goddess, demonstrates the authority with which she always was associated. The nebty name, literally meaning, two ladies, is one of the titles of an Egyptian pharaoh, following the naming convention used by the Ancient Egyptians. Typically, this name is not framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and a cobra, each resting upon a basket, symbolizing the dual noun nebty. The rest of the title varies with each pharaoh, and would have read, he/she of the Two Ladies. Translation of the nebty name for a pharaoh often is abbreviated, omitting the phrase above that begins each nebty name, in the relief to the right the two goddesses are shown crowning a Ptolemaic pharaoh with the double crown derived from the combination of their separate crowns. The Two Ladies are represented as women, in the way as some other Ancient Egyptian goddesses
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Iry-pat
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Iry-pat was an Ancient Egyptian ranking title, that is a title announcing a high position in the hierarchy of the country. Iry-pat was indeed the highest ranking title at the royal court, the title is already attested in the First Dynasty, one of the first holders was Merka, official under king Qaa. In the New Kingdom, the title was often the crown prince and it is therefore sometimes translated as Hereditary or Crown Prince
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Khekeret-nisut
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Khekeret-nisut is a much debated Ancient Egyptian womans title. Women with this title are known from the First Intermediate Period, less often from the Middle Kingdom, but again often from the Second Intermediate Period, the title is often translated as lady in waiting or kings ornament. The title holders are most often married women of high status, in the Eleventh Dynasty, some queens of Mentuhotep II had that title. Henry George Fischer translated the title as ornament of the king, harco Willems argued that the correct translation is adorner of the king and argued that they were playing some role in the kings cult. Danijela Stefanovic, The Non-royal Regular Feminine Titles of the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, Dossiers, London 2009 pp. 85-109 ISBN 978-1-906137-12-0
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Nomarch
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Nomarchs were Ancient Egyptian administration officials responsible of the provinces. Effectively serving as governors, they each held authority over one of the 42 nomes into which the country was divided. Nome is derived from the Greek nomos, meaning a province or district, and nomarch is derived from the Greek title nomarches, the power of the nomarchs grew with the reforms of Nyuserres second successor, Djedkare Isesi, which effectively decentralized the Egyptian state. The post of nomarch then quickly became hereditary, thereby creating a feudal system where local allegiances slowly superseded obedience to the pharaoh. Less than 200 years after Djedkares reign, the nomarchs had become the heads of the provinces. The power of the nomarchs remained important during the later royal revival under the impulse of the 11th Dynasty and their power diminished during the subsequent 12th Dynasty, setting the stage for the apex of royal power during the Middle Kingdom. The title of nomarch continued to be used even until the Roman period, the title was also in use in modern Greece for the heads of the prefectures of Greece, which were also titled nomos. Philae. nu, The Nomes of Ancient Egypt
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Overseer of the treasuries
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The Overseer of the treasuries was an important official at the Ancient Egyptian court of the Old and the New Kingdom. The title is first attested in the Fourth Dynasty The title is not common in the Middle Kingdom, the treasury was the place in the royal palace where precious materials were stored, such as metal objects, but also linen. Therefore, the overseer of the treasuries was basically responsible for administrating the resources of the country, the title is also attested in the Late Period. The writing of the varies, between overseer of the treasury and overseer of the two treasuries. It is not always clear whether this relates to different functions
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Overseer of Upper Egypt
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The Overseer of Upper Egypt was an important Ancient Egyptian title during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. The title appears first in the early or middle Fifth Dynasty, the first title holder is the vizier Kay, who possibly lived during the reigns of Neferirkare Kakai and Nyuserre Ini. The office is attested in the following years. Most titles holders had other titles, many of them were viziers. In the Fifth Dynasty, the Egyptian provinces became more important, the central government installed an office in charge of the provinces. The first title holders were all officials at the royal residence, in later times also local officials were bearing the title
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Treasurer (Ancient Egypt)
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The Treasurer in Ancient Egypt is the modern translation of the title imi-r ḫtmt. The office is known since the end of the Old Kingdom, in the Middle Kingdom, the office became one of the most important ones at the royal court. At the end of the 18th Dynasty, the title lost its importance, in the later New Kingdom the function of a treasurer was overtaken by the overseer of the treasury. The treasurer was responsible for coming to the royal palace. They were the economic administrator of the royal belongings
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Vizier (Ancient Egypt)
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The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc. among Egyptologists, the Instruction of Rekhmire, a New Kingdom text, defines many of the duties of the tjaty, and lays down codes of behavior. The viziers were appointed by the pharaoh. The viziers were appointed by the pharaohs, but often belonged to a pharaohs family, the viziers paramount duty was to supervise the running of the country, such as a prime minister, at times even small details of it such as sampling the citys water supply. All other lesser supervisors and officials, such as tax collectors and scribes, the judiciary was part of the civil administration and the vizier also sat in the High Court. However at any time, the pharaoh could exert his own control over any aspect of government, the vizier also supervised the security of the pharaoh and the palace. In the New Kingdom, there were two viziers, one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt. com
