1.
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
2.
Louvre
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The Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the worlds largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. A central landmark of the city, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the citys 1st arrondissement, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are exhibited over an area of 72,735 square metres. The Louvre is the second most visited museum after the Palace Museum in China. The museum is housed in the Louvre Palace, originally built as a fortress in the late 12th century under Philip II, remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. Due to the expansion of the city, the fortress eventually lost its defensive function and. The building was extended many times to form the present Louvre Palace, in 1692, the building was occupied by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres and the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, which in 1699 held the first of a series of salons. The Académie remained at the Louvre for 100 years, during the French Revolution, the National Assembly decreed that the Louvre should be used as a museum to display the nations masterpieces. The museum opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings, because of structural problems with the building, the museum was closed in 1796 until 1801. The collection was increased under Napoleon and the museum renamed Musée Napoléon, the collection was further increased during the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X, and during the Second French Empire the museum gained 20,000 pieces. Holdings have grown steadily through donations and bequests since the Third Republic, whether this was the first building on that spot is not known, it is possible that Philip modified an existing tower. According to the authoritative Grand Larousse encyclopédique, the name derives from an association with wolf hunting den, in the 7th century, St. Fare, an abbess in Meaux, left part of her Villa called Luvra situated in the region of Paris to a monastery. This territory probably did not correspond exactly to the modern site, the Louvre Palace was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvres holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa. After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed, however, on 14 October 1750, Louis XV agreed and sanctioned a display of 96 pieces from the royal collection, mounted in the Galerie royale de peinture of the Luxembourg Palace. Under Louis XVI, the museum idea became policy. The comte dAngiviller broadened the collection and in 1776 proposed conversion of the Grande Galerie of the Louvre – which contained maps – into the French Museum, many proposals were offered for the Louvres renovation into a museum, however, none was agreed on. Hence the museum remained incomplete until the French Revolution, during the French Revolution the Louvre was transformed into a public museum. In May 1791, the Assembly declared that the Louvre would be a place for bringing together monuments of all the sciences, on 10 August 1792, Louis XVI was imprisoned and the royal collection in the Louvre became national property
3.
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
4.
Egyptian chronology
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The majority of Egyptologists agree on the outline and many details of the chronology of Ancient Egypt. Scholarly consensus on the outline of the conventional chronology current in Egyptology has not fluctuated much over the last 100 years. For the Old Kingdom, consensus fluctuates by as much as a few centuries and this is illustrated by comparing the chronology as given by two Egyptologists, the first writing in 1906, the second in 2000. The disparities between the two sets of result from additional discoveries and refined understanding of the still very incomplete source evidence. For example, Breasted adds a ruler in the Twentieth dynasty that further research showed did not exist, following Manetho, Breasted also believed all the dynasties were sequential, whereas it is now known that several existed at the same time. These revisions have resulted in a lowering of the chronology by up to 400 years at the beginning of Dynasty I. The backbone of Egyptian chronology are the years as recorded in Ancient Egyptian king lists. In addition, some Egyptian dynasties may have overlapped, with different pharaohs ruling in different regions at the same time, not knowing whether monarchies were simultaneous or sequential results in widely differing chronological interpretations. However, further research has shown that these censuses were taken in consecutive years. The sed festival was celebrated on the thirtieth anniversary of the Pharaohs ascension. However, once again, this may not be the practice in all cases. In the early days of Egyptology, the compilation of regnal periods may also have been hampered due to bias on the part of the Egyptologists. This was most pervasive before the mid 19th century, when Manethos figures were recognized as conflicting with biblical chronology based on Old Testament references to Egypt, in the 20th century, such biblical bias has mostly been confined to alternative chronologies outside of scholarly mainstream. A useful way to work around these gaps in knowledge is to find chronological synchronisms, over the past decades, a number of these have been found, although they are of varying degrees of usefulness and reliability. While this does not fix a person or event to a specific year, another example are blocks from the Old Kingdom bearing the names of several kings, which were reused in the construction of Middle Kingdom pyramid-temples at Lisht in the structures of Amenemhat I. The poor documentation of these finds in the Serapeum also compounds the difficulties in using these records. The best known of these is the Sothic cycle, and careful study of this led Richard A. Parker to argue that the dates of the Twelfth dynasty could be fixed with absolute precision. More recent research has eroded this confidence, questioning many of the assumptions used with the Sothic Cycle and this is useful especially for the Early Dynastic period, where Egyptological consensus has only been possible within a range of about three or four centuries
5.
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
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The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt along with Dynasties III, IV and V constitute the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are as follows The pharaohs of this dynasty ruled for approximately 164 years, the Horus names and names of the Queens are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Dynasty VI is considered by authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Manetho writes that these kings ruled from Memphis, since their pyramids were built at Saqqara, Dynasty VI was founded by Teti, who had married Iput, commonly believed to be the daughter of the Dynasty V pharaoh Unas. Manetho claimed that Teti was eventually murdered by his own bodyguard, during this dynasty, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula to mine for turquoise and copper, as well as to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamat. The pharaoh Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to Punt and north to Byblos, and Pepi I sent expeditions not only to these locations, but also as far as Ebla in modern-day Syria. The most notable member of dynasty was Pepi II, who is credited with a reign of 94 years. With the growing number of inscriptions in non-royal tombs, our knowledge of the contemporary history broadens. For example, we hear of a plot against Pepi I. We also read a written by the young king Pepi II, excited that one of his expeditions will return with a dancing pygmy from the land of Yam. These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the power of the nobility
6.
Pepi I Meryre
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Pepi I Meryre was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. His first throne name was Neferdjahor which the king later altered to Meryre meaning beloved of Rê, Pepi was the son of Teti and Iput, who may have been a daughter of Unas, the last pharaoh of the previous dynasty. He needed the support of individuals in Upper Egypt in order to put down his brother. These individuals would remain a presence in his court thereafter. His two most important wives and the mothers of his two successors were Ankhesenpepi I and Ankhesenpepi II and he also had a son called Teti-ankh and two daughters, Iput II and Neith, both became wives to Pepi II. Pepi Is reign was marked by expansion into Nubia, the spread of trade to far-flung areas such as Lebanon and the Somalian coast. One of the kings officials named Weni fought in Asia on his behalf, pepis mortuary complex, Mennefer Pepy, eventually became the name for the entire city of Memphis after the 18th Dynasty. The decline of the Old Kingdom arguably began during Pepi I’s reign, with nomarchs becoming more powerful, Pepi I married two sisters – Ankhesenpepi I and II – who were the daughters of Khui, a noble from Abydos and Lady Nebet, made vizier of Upper Egypt. Pepi later made their brother, Djau, a vizier as well, the two sisters influence was extensive, with both sisters bearing sons who were later to become pharaohs. An analysis of the damaged Dynasty 6 South Saqqara Stone Annal document gives him a reign of c, 48–49 years but this is not confirmed by the Turin King List which apparently assigns him 44 years, according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholts analysis of this document. There has been doubt regarding whether the cattle count dating system was strictly biennial or slightly more irregular. That the latter appeared to be the case was suggested by the famous Year after the 18th Count. This would be the year 36 if the biennial dating system was used and this information is significant because the Heb Sed Feast was always celebrated in a kings Year 30. If Pepi I was using a counting system during his reign. This could imply that the count during the 6th dynasty was not regularly biennial. It is hard to believe such a narrow space corresponds to the jubilee celebration. Appears, this rulers final 25th count is also associated with Pepi Is first royal jubilee. The South Saqqara Stone confirms that Pepi Is last year was his Year of the 25th Count, fortuituously or not, this compartment corresponds perfectly to year 30/31, if a strictly biennial system of numbering is presumed for Pepi Is reign
7.
Pepi II Neferkare
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Pepi II was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypts Old Kingdom who reigned from c.2278 BC. His throne name, Neferkare, means Beautiful is the Ka of Re and he succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Merenre I. He was traditionally thought to be the son of Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II but the South Saqqara Stone annals record that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 years. Inscriptions on these blocks give Ankhesenpepi II the royal titles of, Kings Wife of the Pyramid of Pepy I, Kings Wife of the Pyramid of Merenre. Therefore, today, many Egyptologists believe that Pepi II was likely Merenres own son, Pepi II would, therefore, be Pepi Is grandson while Merenre was, most likely, Pepi IIs father since he is known to have married Pepi IIs known mother, Queen Ankhesenpepi II. Pepi IIs reign marked a decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of the pharaoh declined, with no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each others territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within mere decades after the close of Pepi IIs reign. His mother Ankhesenpepi II most likely ruled as regent in the years of his reign. An alabaster statuette in the Brooklyn Museum depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, despite his long reign, this piece is one of only three known sculptural representations in existence of this particular king. She may have helped in turn by her brother Djau. Some scholars have taken the relative paucity of royal statuary to suggest that the court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans. A glimpse of the personality of the pharaoh while he was still a child can be found in a letter he wrote to Harkhuf, a governor of Aswan, sent to trade and collect ivory, ebony, and other precious items, he captured a pygmy. She may be a daughter of Ankhesenpepi I and hence also Pepi IIs cousin, Iput II – A half-sister of Pepi II. Ankhesenpepi III She was the daughter of Merenre Nemtyemsaf I and hence a granddaughter of Pepi I, Ankhesenpepi IV – The mother of King Neferkare according to texts in her tomb. It is not known which Neferkare as there are several kings with that name during the First Intermediate Period and his name may be Neferkare Nebi. Udjebten She was also a daughter of Pepi I, of these queens, Neith, Iput, and Udjebten each had their own minor pyramids and mortuary temples as part of the kings own pyramid complex in Saqqara. Queen Ankhesenpepi III was buried in a pyramid near the pyramid of Pepi I Meryre, two more sons of Pepi II are known, Nebkauhor-Idu and Ptashepses. Pepi II seems to have carried on foreign policy in ways similar to that of his predecessors, copper and turquoise were mined at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai, and alabaster was quarried from Hatnub
8.
Ra
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Ra or Re is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and 24th centuries BC, he had become a god in ancient Egyptian religion. In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the god Horus and he was believed to rule in all parts of the created world, the sky, the earth, and the underworld. He was associated with the falcon or hawk, when in the New Kingdom the god Amun rose to prominence he was fused with Ra as Amun-Ra. During the Amarna Period, Akhenaten suppressed the cult of Ra in favor of another deity, the Aten, the deified solar disc. The cult of the Mnevis bull, an embodiment of Ra, had its center in Heliopolis, all forms of life were believed to have been created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names. Alternatively man was created from Ras tears and sweat, hence the Egyptians call themselves the Cattle of Ra, in the myth of the Celestial Cow it is recounted how mankind plotted against Ra and how he sent his eye as the goddess Sekhmet to punish them. When she became bloodthirsty she was pacified by drinking beer mixed with red dye, to the Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. This made the sun deity very important, as the sun was seen as the ruler of all that he created, the sun disk was either seen as the body or eye of Ra. Ra was the father of Shu and Tefnut, whom he created, Shu was the god of the wind, and Tefnut was the goddess of the rain. Sekhmet was the Eye of Ra and was created by the fire in Ras eye, Ra was thought to travel on the Atet, two solar barks called the Mandjet or morning boat and the Mesektet or evening boat. These boats took him on his journey through the sky and the Duat, while Ra was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed form. When Ra traveled in his sun boat, he was accompanied by other deities including Sia and Hu. Sometimes, members of the Ennead helped him on his journey, including Set, who overcame the serpent Apophis, and Mehen, when Ra was in the underworld, he would visit all of his various forms. Apophis, the god of chaos, was a serpent who attempted to stop the sun boats journey every night by consuming it or by stopping it in its tracks with a hypnotic stare. During the evening, the Egyptians believed that Ra set as Atum or in the form of a ram, the night boat would carry him through the underworld and back towards the east in preparation for his rebirth. When Ra was in the underworld, he merged with Osiris, the god of the dead, Ra was worshipped as the Creator god among some ancient Egyptians, specifically followers of his cult at Heliopolis. It was believed that Ra wept, and from his tears came man and these cult-followers believed that Ra was self-created, while followers of Ptah believed that Ra was created by Ptah
9.
Nubia
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Nubia is a region along the Nile river located in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2000 B. C. onward, and was home to one of the African empires. Nubia was again united within Ottoman Egypt in the 19th century, the name Nubia is derived from that of the Noba people, nomads who settled the area in the 4th century following the collapse of the kingdom of Meroë. The Noba spoke a Nilo-Saharan language, ancestral to Old Nubian, Old Nubian was mostly used in religious texts dating from the 8th and 15th centuries AD. Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, until at least 1970, the Birgid language was spoken north of Nyala in Darfur, but is now extinct. Nubia was divided into two regions, Upper and Lower Nubia, so called because of their location in the Nile river valley. Early settlements sprouted in both Upper and Lower Nubia, Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti, or The Land of the Bow, since the Nubians were known to be expert archers. Modern scholars typically refer to the people from this area as the “A-Group” culture, fertile farmland just south of the Third Cataract is known as the “pre-Kerma” culture in Upper Nubia, as they are the ancestors. The Neolithic people in the Nile Valley likely came from Sudan, as well as the Sahara, by the 5th millennium BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the Neolithic revolution. Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to be suggestive of a cult, typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa. Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa are early examples of what seems to be one of the worlds first astronomical devices, around 3500 BC, the second Nubian culture, termed the A-Group, arose. It was a contemporary of, and ethnically and culturally similar to. The A-Group people were engaged in trade with the Egyptians and this trade is testified archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the graves of the A-Group people. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools, faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots. Around 3300 BC, there is evidence of a kingdom, as shown by the finds at Qustul. The Nubian culture may have contributed to the unification of the Nile Valley. The earliest known depiction of the crown is on a ceremonial incense burner from Cemetery at Qustul in Lower Nubia. New evidence from Abydos, however, particularly the excavation of Cemetery U, around the turn of the protodynastic period, Naqada, in its bid to conquer and unify the whole Nile Valley, seems to have conquered Ta-Seti and harmonized it with the Egyptian state
10.
Autobiography of Weni
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The Autobiography of Weni is a tomb inscription from Ancient Egypt which is significant to Egyptology studies. Weni the Elder, or Uni, was an official of the 6th dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The Tomb of Weni was lost as a result of Auguste Mariettes 1880 description of Wenis tomb being unclear and it was relocated in 1999 by an American archaeologist team led by Dr. Janet Richards. Weni began his career under Teti, and served as a general under Pepi I Meryre, as judge he investigated the queen who was apparently suspected of involvement in a conspiracy. While he was general, he reorganized the military into a format that was still in use in the New Kingdom, Weni rose through the ranks of the military to become commander in chief of the army. He was considered by both his contemporaries and many Egyptologists to have been a brilliant tactician and possibly even a genius and his victories earned him the privilege of being shown leading the troops into battle, a right usually reserved for pharaohs. Weni is the first person, other than a pharaoh, known to have portrayed in this manner. Many of his battles were in the Levant and the Sinai and he is said to have pursued a group of Bedouins all the way to Mount Carmel. He battled a Bedouin people known as the sand-dwellers at least five times, while he was commander in chief of the army, he made several key reforms to the military. He began training his troops to have a rather than a defensive posture. Weni included Nubian mercenaries in the army for the first time and he reorganized the army to control infighting amongst the troops and he recorded his reorganization of the army in great detail and his reforms lasted until the time of the New Kingdom. After the death of Pepi, Weni was appointed the governor of Upper Egypt and he made many infrastructure improvements, some of which were beneficial to the military. His most noted project was a canal ran parallel to the Nile at the First Cataract. Conspiracies in the Egyptian Palace, Unis to Pepy I by Naguib Kanawati,2003 Routledge, texts from the Pyramid Age by Nigel C. Strudwick,2005 Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, pp. 352ff, a History of Ancient Egypt by Nicholas Grimal,1992 Blackwell Publishing, pp. 82ff. Weni the Elder and His Mortuary Neighborhood at Abydos, Egypt The Inscription of Weni text of inscription
11.
Upper Egypt
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Upper Egypt is the strip of land on both sides of the Nile that extends between Nubia and downriver to Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt is between the Cataracts of the Nile above modern-day Aswan, downriver to the area between Dahshur and El-Ayait, which is south of modern-day Cairo, the northern part of Upper Egypt, between Sohag and El-Ayait, is also known as Middle Egypt. In Arabic, inhabitants of Upper Egypt are known as Saidis, in ancient Egypt, Upper Egypt was known as tꜣ šmꜣw, literally the Land of Reeds or the Sedgeland It was divided into twenty-two districts called nomes. The first nome was roughly where modern-day Aswan is and the twenty-second was at modern Atfih just to the south of Cairo, the main city of prehistoric Upper Egypt was Nekhen, whose patron deity was the vulture goddess Nekhbet. By about 3600 BC, Neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile had based their culture on the raising of crops, shortly after 3600 BC, Egyptian society began to grow and increase in complexity. A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the Levantine ceramics, extensive use of copper became common during this time. The Mesopotamian process of sun-drying adobe and architectural principles—including the use of the arch, concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process, warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta, for most of pharaonic Egypts history, Thebes was the administrative center of Upper Egypt. After its devastation by the Assyrians, its importance declined, under the Ptolemies, Ptolemais Hermiou took over the role of Upper Egypts capital city. Upper Egypt was represented by the tall White Crown Hedjet, and its symbols were the flowering lotus, in the 11th century, large numbers of pastoralists, known as Hilalians, fled Upper Egypt and moved westward into Libya and as far as Tunis. It is believed that degraded grazing conditions in Upper Egypt, associated with the beginning of the Medieval Warm Period, were the cause of the migration. In the 20th-century Egypt, the title Prince of the Said was used by the apparent to the Egyptian throne. Although the Kingdom of Egypt was abolished after the Egyptian revolution of 1952, media related to Upper Egypt at Wikimedia Commons
12.
Cattle count
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In Ancient Egypt, the cattle count was one of the two main means of evaluating the amount of taxes to be levied, the other one being the height of the annual inundation. A very important economic event, the count was controlled by high officials. In addition it served as a means of dating other events, the frequency of cattle counts varied through the history of Ancient Egypt, in the Old Kingdom it was most likely biennial, i. e. occurring every two years, and became more frequent subsequently. To perform the count, all cattles were rounded up. Following the count, the percentage of cattles to be taxed by the state would be calculated, the cattle count was performed in every nomes of Egypt. From the 2nd dynasty onwards, the count was connected with the Following of Horus which occurred every two years. The Shemsu Hor consisted of a journey by the king and his court throughout Egypt which facilitated the assessment and levying of taxes by the central administration. The cattle count is of importance to Egyptologists and historians. Thus these inscriptions are used to assess the minimum duration of the reign of the pharaoh and this last point being of paramount importance for correct datation of reign lengths, it is highly disputed up to this day. After this period, however, it was performed frequently and finally yearly. The first pharaoh during whose reign yearly cattles counts are known to have taken place with certainty is king Pepy I of the 6th dynasty and this does not exclude that the cattle count necessarily took place every second year before Pepi I. An example of conflicting evaluations for a reign duration via cattle count is the case of king Khufu, the highest known numbers of cattle counts under Khufu are found in workmens graffiti inside the relieving chambers of the Khufu pyramid. The ink inscription reports the 17th occasion of the cattle count, since the Palermo stone inscriptions hold that the cattle count was performed every second year during the 4th dynasty, it would prove that Khufu ruled at least 34 years. This calculation is rejected by several Egyptologists, because another ancient Egyptian source, at the opposite, the ancient Greek historian Herodotus claims that Khufu ruled for 50 years, which is now seen as an exaggeration
13.
Ankhesenpepi II
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Ankhesenpepi II or Ankhesenmeryre II was a queen consort during the sixth dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of Kings Pepi I and Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, Ankhesenpepi II was the daughter of Khui and the female vizier Nebet. Her sister Ankhesenpepi I was also married to King Pepi I and her brother Djau served as vizier. Both queens gave birth to the kings, the son of Ankhesenpepi I was Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, who ruled only for a few years, the son of Ankhesenpepi II was Pepi II, Pepi II was a young boy when he succeeded to the throne. There are indications that Ankhesenpepi II served as a regent for her son in early years of his reign. A statue which shows her with her son on her lap shows the queen much larger in size than her son, some have interpreted this statue as Ankhesenpepi II and her son Pepi II assuming the roles of the goddess Isis and her son Horus. She is also mentioned together with her sister on their brothers stela in Abydos, at her pyramid and she further appears in a decree in Abydos. She is depicted in the Sinai, where she is equal in size to her son. However, it is now known that she was also the queen of Merenre after the death of Pepi I. Since the temple was constructed under Pepi II because it makes a reference to king Pepi II, after her son Pepi came to the throne, Ankhesenpepi added the titles Mother of the Dual King Men-ankh-Neferkare, King’s Mother of Men-ankh-Neferkare, and King’s Mother. Ankhesenpepi IIs pyramid in Saqqara was found and excavated in 1998, the finds show that Ankhesenpepis pyramid contained the first known examples of the pyramid texts in a Queens pyramid. The texts refer to her as a mother, hence the construction of her pyramid dates to the reign of her son. In 1963, the chamber was discovered and remains which could be those of the queen were found. The burial was disturbed and the found in and near the sarcophagus was incomplete. The bones belong to an aged woman
14.
Naqada III
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Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating approximately from 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation and they would more probably have been completely unrelated and very possibly in competition with each other. In this period, those names were inscribed in the form of serekhs on a variety of surfaces including pottery. The Protodynastic Period in ancient Egypt was characterised by a process of political unification. Furthermore, it is during this time that the Egyptian language was first recorded in hieroglyphs, there is also strong archaeological evidence of Egyptian settlements in southern Canaan during the Protodynastic Period, which are regarded as colonies or trading entrepôts. State formation began during this era and perhaps even earlier, various small city-states arose along the Nile. Centuries of conquest then reduced Upper Egypt to three states, Thinis, Naqada, and Nekhen. Sandwiched between Thinis and Nekhen, Naqada was the first to fall, nekhens relationship with Thinis is uncertain, but these two states may have merged peacefully, with the Thinite royal family ruling all of Egypt. The Thinite kings were buried at Abydos in the Umm el-Qaab cemetery, most Egyptologists consider Narmer to be both the last king of this period and the first king of the First Dynasty. Southern Canaan as an Egyptian Protodynastic Colony, the Emergence of the Egyptian State. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press. The Prehistory of Egypt, From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs, the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Contacts Between Egypt and Syro-Palestine During the Protodynastic Period, biblical Archeologist, Perspectives on the Ancient World from Mesopotamia to the Mediterranean. Http, //www. touregypt. net/featurestories/hdyn00. htm Unification Theories, Digital Egypt, UK, UCL
15.
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
16.
Iry-Hor
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Iry-Hor or Ro was a predynastic pharaoh of Upper Egypt during the 32nd century BC. Until recently, Iry-Hors existence was debated, with the Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson contesting the reading, however, continuing excavations at Abydos in the 1980s and 1990s and the discovery in 2012 of an inscription of Iry-Hor in the Sinai confirmed his existence. Iry-Hor is the earliest ruler of Egypt known by name and possibly the earliest historical person known by name, Iry-Hors name is written with the Horus falcon hieroglyph above a mouth hieroglyph. Given the archaic nature of the name, the translation proved difficult and, in the absence of better alternative, in the 1990s, Werner Kaiser and Günter Dreyer translate Iry-Hors name as Companion of Horus. Toby Wilkinson, who contested that Iry-Hor was a king, translated the signs as Property of the king. e, reading the bird above the mouth-sign as the swallow hieroglyph G36 rather than the Horus falcon. They translated the name as Spokesman or Chief and this was consequently accepted by von Beckerath and Iry-Hor is now the first entry in the latest edition of von Beckeraths Handbook of Egyptian Pharaohs. Until 2012, the name of Iry-Hor had not been found in or next to a serekh, Egyptologists Flinders Petrie, Laurel Bestock and Jochem Kahl nonetheless believed that he was indeed a real ruler. They pointed to the spelling of Iry-Hors name, the Horus falcon holds the mouth hieroglyph in its claws. On several clay seals, this group of characters is accompanied by a second. This notation is reminiscent of numerous anonymous serekhs held by a Horus falcon with individual hieroglyphs placed close to it rather than within the serekh, finally, the serekh could have been a convention that started with Ka, whose name has been found both with and without a serekh. Therefore, they concluded that the argument that Iry-Hor was not a king because his name was never found in a serekh was insufficient, supporters of the identification of Iry-Hor as a king, such as egyptologist Darell Baker, also pointed to the size and location of his tomb. It is a tomb, as big as those of Ka and Narmer. Furthermore, Iry-Hors name is inscribed on a large jar exhibiting the royal Horus falcon and is similar to found in the tombs of other kings of this period. In contrast, some Egyptologists doubted Iry-Hor even existed, precisely because his name never appeared in a serekh, Ludwig D. Morenz and Kurt Heinrich Sethe doubted the reading of Iry-Hors name and thus that he was a king. Morenz, for example, suspected that the sign may simply have been a phonetic complement to the Horus falcon. Sethe understood the group of characters forming Iry-Hors name as an indication of origin, Toby Wilkinson dismissed the tomb attributed to Iry-Hor as a storage pit and the name as a treasury mark. Indeed, r-Ḥr may simply mean property of the king, dreyers excavations of the necropolis of Abydos revealed that Iry-Hor was in fact well attested there with over 27 objects bearing his name and that his tomb was of royal proportions. Furthermore, in 2012 an inscription mentioning Iry-Hor was discovered in the Sinai, the inscription mentions the city of Memphis, pushing back its foundation to before Narmer and establishing that Iry-Hor was already reigning over it
17.
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
18.
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
19.
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
20.
Menes
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Menes was a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt and as the founder of the First Dynasty. The identity of Menes is the subject of ongoing debate, although mainstream Egyptological consensus identifies Menes with the Naqada III ruler Narmer or First Dynasty pharaoh Hor-Aha, both pharaohs are credited with the unification of Egypt to different degrees by various authorities. The Egyptian form, mnj, is taken from the Turin and Abydos King Lists, by the early New Kingdom, changes in the Egyptian language meant his name was already pronounced */maˈneʔ/. The name mnj means He who endures, which, I. E. S, edwards suggests, may have been coined as a mere descriptive epithet denoting a semi-legendary hero whose name had been lost. Rather than a person, the name may conceal collectively the Naqada III rulers, Ka, Scorpion II. The commonly-used name Menes derives from Manetho, an Egyptian historian, Manetho noted the name in Greek as Μήνης. From this, various theories on the nature of the building, the meaning of the word mn and the relationship between Hor-Aha and Menes have arisen. Flinders Petrie first attempted this task, associating Iti with Djer as the pharaoh of Dynasty I, Teti with Hor-Aha as second pharaoh. Lloyd finds this succession extremely probable, and Cervelló-Autuori categorically states that Menes is Narmer, however, Seidlmayer states that it is a fairly safe inference that Menes was Hor-Aha. 3100–3050 BC, some academic literature uses c.3000 BC, by 500 BC, mythical and exaggerated claims had made Menes a culture hero, and most of what is known of him comes from a much later time. Ancient tradition ascribed to Menes the honor of having united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom, however, his name does not appear on extant pieces of the Royal Annals, which is a now-fragmentary kings list that was carved onto a stela during the Fifth Dynasty. He typically appears in sources as the first human ruler of Egypt. He also appears in other, much later, kings lists, Menes also appears in demotic novels of the Hellenistic period, demonstrating that, even that late, he was regarded as important figure. Menes was seen as a figure for much of the history of ancient Egypt. Manetho records that Menes led the army across the frontier and won great glory, Manetho associates the city of Thinis with the Early Dynastic Period and, in particular, Menes, a Thinite or native of Thinis. Herodotus contradicts Manetho in stating that Menes founded the city of Memphis as his capital after diverting the course of the Nile through the construction of a levee, Manetho ascribes the building of Memphis to Menes son, Athothis, and calls no pharaohs earlier than Third Dynasty Memphite. Diodorus Siculus stated that Menes had introduced the worship of the gods, in Plinys account, Menes was credited with being the inventor of writing in Egypt. George Stanley Faber, taking the word campsa to mean either crocodile or ark and preferring the latter, identifies Menes with Noah, according to Manetho, Menes reigned for 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus
21.
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
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The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt is the era immediately following the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c.3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the end of the Naqada III archaeological period until about 2686 BC, with the First Dynasty, the capital moved from Thinis to Memphis with a unified Egypt ruled by an Egyptian god-king. Abydos remained the holy land in the south. The hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilization, such as art, architecture and many aspects of religion, before the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early dynasties, and for much of Egypts history thereafter, the pharaohs established a national administration and appointed royal governors. The buildings of the government were typically open-air temples constructed of wood or sandstone. The earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs appear just before this period, though little is known of the language they represent. By about 3600 BC, neolithic Egyptian societies along the Nile had based their culture on the raising of crops, shortly after 3600 BC Egyptian society began to grow and advance rapidly toward refined civilization. A new and distinctive pottery, which was related to the pottery in the Southern Levant, extensive use of copper became common during this time. The Mesopotamian process of sun-dried bricks, and architectural building principles—including the use of the arch, concurrent with these cultural advances, a process of unification of the societies and towns of the upper Nile River, or Upper Egypt, occurred. At the same time the societies of the Nile Delta, or Lower Egypt also underwent a unification process, warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often. During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta, in mythology, the unification of Egypt is portrayed as the falcon-god, called Horus and identified with Lower Egypt, as conquering and subduing the god Set, who was identified with Upper Egypt. Divine kingship, which would persist in Egypt for the next three millennia, was established as the basis of Egypts government. The unification of societies along the Nile has also linked to the drying of the Sahara. Funeral practices for the peasants would have been the same as in predynastic times, thus, the Egyptians began construction of the mastabas which became models for the later Old Kingdom constructions such as the Step pyramid. Cereal agriculture and centralization contributed to the success of the state for the next 800 years and this would last for many centuries. It was also during this period that the Egyptian writing system was further developed, initially Egyptian writing had been composed primarily of a few symbols denoting amounts of various substances. By the end of the 3rd dynasty it had expanded to include more than 200 symbols
22.
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
23.
Djer
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Djer is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid-thirty-first century BC and reigned for c.40 years, a mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Flinders Petrie, but was discarded by Emile Brugsch. The Abydos King List lists the third pharaoh as Iti, the Turin Canon lists a damaged name, beginning with It. Wilkinson notes that years 1-10 of Djers reign are preserved in register II of the Palermo Stone, Djers reign was preceded by a regency controlled by Neithhotep, possibly his mother or grandmother. An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djer visited Buto and Sais in the Nile Delta, one of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named Year of smiting the land of Setjet, which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond. Manetho claimed that Athothes, who is identified as Djer, had written a treatise on anatomy that still existed in his own day. Djer was a son of the pharaoh Hor-Aha and his wife Khenthap, Djer fathered Merneith, wife of Djet and mother of Den. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include, Nakhtneith, buried in Abydos, Herneith, possibly a wife of Djer. Seshemetka, buried in Abydos next to the king and she was said to be a wife of Den in Dodson and Hilton. Penebui, her name and title were found on a label from Saqqara. Bsu, known from a label in Saqqara and several stone vessels, similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in Umm el-Qaab at Abydos. Djers tomb is tomb O of Petrie and his tomb contains the remains of 318 retainers who were buried with him. Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer, A stela of Djer, labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name of Meritneith. Fragments of two inscribed with the name of Queen Neithhotep. Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb, in the subsidiary tombs excavators found, Stelae of several individuals Ivory objects with the name of Neithhotep. Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from Memphis – and indeed Herneith, one of Djers wives, was buried nearby at Saqqara
24.
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
25.
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
26.
Den (pharaoh)
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Den, also known as Hor-Den, Dewen and Udimu, is the Horus name of a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period who ruled during the First Dynasty of Egypt. He is the best archaeologically-attested ruler of this period, Den is said to have brought prosperity to his realm and numerous innovations are attributed to his reign. He was the first to use the title King of Lower and Upper Egypt, the floor of his tomb at Umm el-Qaab near Abydos is made of red and black granite, the first time in Egypt this hard stone was used as a building material. During his long reign he established many of the patterns of court ritual and royalty used by later rulers, egyptologists and historians generally believe that Den had a reign of 42 years, based on inscriptions on the Palermo Stone. Dens serekh name is attested on earthen seal impressions, on ivory labels and in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, diorite. The artifacts were found at Abydos, Sakkara and Abu Rawash, Dens name is also attested in later documents. For example, the Medical Papyrus of Berlin discusses several methods of treatment, some of these methods are said to originate from the reign of Den, but this statement may merely be trying to make the medical advice sound traditional and authoritative. Similarly, Den is mentioned in the Papyrus of Ani in chapter 64, Dens serekh name was Den or Dewen, most likely meaning he who brings the water. This is consistent with his name, which was “Khasty”. This is in accord with the introduction of the Nisut-Bity-title by Den and this royal title was designed to legitimise the ruler´s power over the whole of Egypt. Dens family has been the subject of significant research and his mother was queen Merneith, this conclusion is supported by contemporary seal impressions and by the inscription on the Palermo Stone. Dens wives were the queens Semat, Nakht-Neith and, possibly and he also had numerous sons and daughters, his possible successors could have been king Anedjib and king Semerkhet. Dens Royal Household is also well researched, subsidiary tombs and palatial mastabas at Sakkara belonged to high officials such as Ipka, Ankh-ka, Hemaka, Nebitka, Amka, Iny-ka and Ka-Za. In a subsidiary tomb at Dens necropolis, the stela of a dwarf named Ser-Inpu was found. The birth name of Den was misread in Ramesside times, the Abydos King List has “Sepatju” written with two symbols for “district”. This derives from the two desert symbols Den originally had used, the Turin King List refers to “Qenentj”, which is quite difficult to translate. The origin of the hieroglyphs used the Royal Canon of Turin remains unknown, the Saqqara Tablet mysteriously omits Den completely. According to archaeological records, at the beginning of his reign
27.
Anedjib
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Anedjib, more correctly Adjib and also known as Hor-Anedjib, Hor-Adjib and Enezib, is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st dynasty. The Egyptian historian Manetho named him Miebîdós and credited him with a reign of 26 years, egyptologists and historians now consider both records to be exaggerations and generally credit Adjib with a reign of 8–10 years. Adjib is well attested in archaeological records and his name appears in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, alabaster, breccia and marble. His name is preserved on ivory tags and earthen jar seals. Objects bearing Adjibs name and titles come from Abydos and Sakkara, Adjibs family has only partially been investigated. His parents are unknown, but it is thought that his predecessor, king Den, Adjib was possibly married to a woman named Betrest. On the Palermo Stone she is described as the mother of Adjibs successor, definite evidence for that view has not yet been found. It would be expected that Adjib had sons and daughters, a candidate for being a possible member of his family line is Semerkhet. It means The two lords and refers to the state patrons Horus and Seth. It also symbolically points to Lower- and Upper Egypt, Adjib is thought to have legitimised his role as Egyptian king with the use of this title. Clay seal impressions record the foundation of the new royal fortress Hor nebw-khet, Stone vessel inscriptions show that during Adjibs reign an unusually large number of cult statues were made for the king. At least six objects show the depicting of standing statues representing the king with his royal insignia, but recent investigations suggest that every object showing the Hebsed and Adjibs name together were removed from king Dens tomb. It would seem that Adjib had simply erased and replaced Dens name with his own and this is seen by egyptologists and historians as evidence that Adjib never celebrated a Hebsed and thus his reign was relatively short. Egyptologists such as Nicolas Grimal and Wolfgang Helck assume that Adjib, as Dens son and rightful heir to the throne, Helck additionally points to an unusual feature, All Hebsed pictures of Adjib show the notation Qesen written on the stairways of the Hebsed pavilion. Possibly the end of Adjibs reign was a violent one, Adjibs burial site was excavated at Abydos and is known as Tomb X. It measures 16.4 x 9.0 metres and is the smallest of all royal tombs in this area, Adjibs tomb has its entrance at the eastern side and a staircase leads down inside. The burial chamber is surrounded by 64 subsidiary tombs and simply divided by a wall into two rooms. Until the end of the 1st dynasty, it would seem to have been a tradition that the family and court of the king committed suicide and were then buried alongside the ruler in his necropolis
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Semerkhet
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Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st dynasty. This ruler became known through a legend handed down by ancient Greek historian Manetho. Manetho named Semerkhet Semêmpsés and credited him with a reign of 18 years, Egyptologists and historians now consider both statements as exaggerations and credit Semerkhet with a reign of 8½ years. This evaluation is based on the Cairo Stone inscription, where the complete reign of Semerkhet has been recorded, additionally, they point to the archaeological records, which strengthen the view that Semerkhet had a relatively short reign. Semerkhet is well attested in archaeological records and his name appears in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, alabaster, breccia and marble. His name is preserved on ivory tags and earthen jar seals. Objects bearing Semerkhets name and titles come from Abydos and Sakkara, Semerkhets serekh name is commonly translated as companion of the divine community or thoughtful friend. The latter translation is questioned by scholars, since the hieroglyph khet normally was the symbol for body or divine community. Semerkhets birth name is more problematic, the reading and meaning of this special sign is disputed, since it doesnt appear in this form before king Semerkhet. Indeed, the hieroglyph of the man is extremely rare. It appears only twice in relief inscriptions depicting ceremonial processions of priests, Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson, Bernhard Grdseloff and Jochem Kahl read Iry-Netjer, meaning divine guardian. During the Old Kingdom period, this word is written with uniliteral signs of a netjer flag, some contemporary ivory tags show the Nebty name written with the single eye symbol only. Thus, the scholars also read Semerkhets throne name as Iry and this reconstruction is strengthened by the observation that Semerkhet was the first king using the Nebty title in its ultimate form. For unknown reason Semerkhet did not use the Nebuy title of his predecessor and it seems that he felt connected with the Two Ladies, a title referring to the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, both the female equivalents of Horus and Seth. The Nebty title in turn was thought to function as an addition to the Nisut-Bity title. Scribes and priests of the Ramesside era were also confused, because the archaic ideogram that was used during Semerkhets lifetime was very similar to the sign of an old man with a walking stick and this had been read as Semsu or Sem and means the eldest. It was used as a title identifying someone as the head of the house, the Royal Table of Sakkara omits Semerkhets throne name. The reason for that is unknown, but all kings from Narmer up to king Den are also missing their throne names, virtually nothing is known about Semerkhets family
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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
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Sneferka
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Sneferka is the serekh-name of an early Egyptian king who may have ruled at the end of 1st dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown, but thought to have very short. Sneferka´s serekh-name is the object of current investigations, because of the unusual typographical order of the signs within the serekh. This led to several different readings, his name is read as Seneferka, Sneferka, Neferseka, the serekh-name Sneferka appears on several schist- and alabaster vessels. A fourth artifact with Sneferkas name is found in the private Georges-Michailidis-Collection but its authenticity is questioned by Archaeologists and Egyptologists, additionally, the inscription on the Michailidis-object is a serekh with no Horus-falcon, which is highly unusual for any Egyptian artifact of that time period. Beside Sneferkas serekh, the inscriptions mention several institutions and places already known thanks to finds dating to Qaas reign and they are called Qau-Netjeru and Ah-Netjer and appear in several stone vessel inscriptions from Qaas tomb at Abydos. Egyptologists such as Peter Kaplony conclude that the inscriptions prove a chronological adjacency to king Qaa or that the name Sneferka was a name that Qaa bore for a short time. Two artifacts of different origins show the serekh of a king, whose name is highly disputed, since at least the depiction of a bird was recognised, the king in question is called Horus Bird. Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Peter Kaplony believe that Sneferka, the struggles peaked in the plundering of the royal cemetery of Abydos, which was therefore abandoned. The struggle for the throne was possibly brought to an end by the founder of the 2nd dynasty, king Hotepsekhemwy. An evidence supporting this theory is the Horus name of Hotepsekhemwy which means The two powers are reconciled, and could relate to a re-unification of the Egyptian realm after a period of discord. In contrast, Egyptologist Kim Ryholt believes that Sneferka ruled during the midst of 2nd dynasty and was to be identified with Neferkara I, attested in Ramesside sources. To support his view, Ryholt points to cartouche names such as Neferkara II and Nebkara I, Egyptologist Aidan Dodson thinks alike and points to the fact, that nearly all serekhs of Sneferka are made on erasures, thus leading to the conclusion that Sneferka usurped Qaas vessels. This behavior was typical for kings that ruled somewhat later than the owner of the re-used artefacts. Francesco Raffaele, Horus SNEFERKA - Horus Bird - Horus SEKHET - Horus BA
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Horus Bird (Pharaoh)
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Horus Bird, also known as Horus-Ba, is the serekh-name of a pharaoh who may have had a very short reign between the 1st dynasty and 2nd dynasty of Egypt. There are very few reliable sources for Horus-Bird. The first known attestation of this king may be a serekh with a bird found by F. Petrie in the tomb of Qaa at Abydos. Another more legible inscription showing a serekh with a bird was found on a vessel fragment PD IV n.108 in Djosers pyramid complex at Saqqara. An inscription on shist vase P. D, IV n97 from Djosers pyramid complex could also refer to Horus-Bird. Since the hieroglyphic sign is written in such an erratic way, whilst Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Peter Kaplony see a depiction of a goose, they read the name as Sa or as Geb. Egyptologist Nabil Swelim instead sees an depicting of a sattle-billed stork, very little is known about King Horus-Bird. The few archaeological evidences point to the existence of one or more ephemeral rulers following Qaas death, Egyptologists such as Černý and Peter Kaplony think that Horus-Bird could be identical to the likewise sparsely attested King Horus-Ba. Indeed, this ruler wrote his name with the leg sign or the leg and ram signs, Černý and Kaplony think that the bird in the serekh of Horus-Bird is the goose sign with the same transcription, Ba. In this case Horus-Ba and Horus Bird could be the historical figure. Černý and Kaplonys theory is not commonly accepted, the presence of Horus-Bird serekh in the tomb of Qaa pointing rather to an interregnum with Horus-Bird between the first and second dynasties, francesco Raffaele, Horus SNEFERKA - Horus Bird - Horus SEKHET - Horus BA
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Second Dynasty of Egypt
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The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. Save for the time of its last ruler Khasekhemwy, it one of the most obscure periods in ancient Egyptian history. Though archaeological evidence of the time is very scant, contrasting data from the First and Third Dynasties indicates important institutional, the names of the actual rulers of the Second Dynasty are in dispute. For the first five pharaohs, the sources are fairly close in agreement, known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for this dynasty are as follows, However, the identity of the next two or three rulers is unclear. We may have the Horus name or Nebty name and their names for these rulers, yet they may be entirely different individuals or they may be legendary names. Beyond this, little can be said about the events during this period as the records on the Palermo stone only survive to the end of the reign of Nebra. One important event possibly happened during the reign of Khasekhemwy, many Egyptologists read his name, Khasekhemwy, as the Two Powers arise, possibly commemorating the union of the Upper and Lower Egypts
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