1.
Sanakht
–
Sanakht was an ancient Egyptian king of the Third Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His chronological position is uncertain, and it is also unclear under which Hellenized name the ancient historian Manetho could have listed him. Many Egyptologists connect Sanakht with the cartouche name Nebka. However, this remains disputable, because no further royal title of king was ever found, neither in contemporary sources. There are two fragments depicting Sanakht that once originated from the Wadi Maghareh on the Sinai Peninsula. Sanakhts identity and position in the third Dynasty is not entirely clear and these discoveries establish that it was likely Djoser who helped bury—and thus succeed—Khasekhemwy, rather than Sanakht. This is determined from seals found at the entrance to the latters tomb bearing Djosers name, Sanakht could then have married Queen Nimaethap, with Nimaethap being the daughter of Khasekhemwy rather than his wife. Together with Sanakht, they could be the parents of Djoser, alternatively, some have considered Sanakht to be Djosers elder brother. Presently, the dominant theory is that Sanakhts reign dates to the later Third Dynasty, Egyptologists Toby Wilkinson, Stephan Seidlmayer, Kenneth Kitchen and Rainer Stadelmann equate Sanakht with Nebka, a name appearing in Ramesside king lists. In support of this theory is a clay seal fragment on which the part of a cartouche appears. In this cartouche Wilkinson, Seidlmayer and Stadelmann see traces of a Ka-sign, john D. Degreef, Nabil Swelim and Wolfgang Helck are against equating Nebka with Sanakht. They refer to the fact that the name Nebka is not attested on any monument nor in any document dating to before Djoser, instead, Nabil Swelim identifies Nebka with the Horus name Khaba. He further identifies Sanakht with a king Mesochris mentioned by Manetho and he dated Sanakhts reign to between the seventh and eighth king of the 3rd dynasty. Jürgen von Beckerath, Wolfgang Helck, Dietrich Wildung and Peter Kaplony proposed that Sanakhts horus name is that of the shadowy Horus Sa, from this Wolfgang Helck holds that Sanakhts Nisut-Biti name was Weneg. King Weneg however, is widely hold to have ruled during the 2nd Dynasty, Sanakhts name was once read Hen Nekht by Egyptologists such as Ernest Wallis Budge. Today, this reading is not in use anymore, the reading is Sanakht or Nakht-Sa. The exact duration of Sanakhts time on the throne is unknown, unlike Djoser, few relics survive from his reign, which casts serious doubts on the traditional figure of 18 years of reign for this king, as given by both Manetho and the Turin Canon. The Turin Canon, for instance, was transcribed on papyri that dates to the reign of the New Kingdom king, Ramesses II, very little is known of Sanakhts activities during his reign
Sanakht
–
Relief fragment of Sanakht in the pose of smiting an enemy. Originally from the
Sinai, now EA 691 on display at the
British Museum.
2.
Pharaoh
–
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
Pharaoh
–
Den
Pharaoh
–
Narmer Palette
Pharaoh
–
Nomen and prenomen of
Ramesses III
Pharaoh
–
Royal titulary
3.
Egyptian chronology
–
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
Egyptian chronology
–
Astronomical ceiling from the tomb of
Seti I showing stars and constellations used in calendar calculations
Egyptian chronology
–
'Diagonal star table' from the
11th Dynasty coffin lid; found at
Asyut, Egypt.
Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim
4.
Turin King List
–
The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is an Egyptian hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio in Turin. The papyrus is the most extensive list available of kings compiled by the Egyptians, the papyrus is believed to date from the reign of Ramesses II, during the middle of the New Kingdom, or the 19th Dynasty. The beginning and ending of the list are now lost, there is no introduction, the composition may thus have occurred at any subsequent time, from the reign of Ramesses II to as late as the 20th Dynasty. The papyrus lists the names of rulers, the lengths of reigns in years, with months, in some cases they are grouped together by family, which corresponds approximately to the dynasties of Manetho’s book. The list includes the names of rulers or those ruling small territories that may be unmentioned in other sources. The list also is believed to contain kings from the 15th Dynasty, the Hyksos who ruled Lower Egypt, the Hyksos rulers do not have cartouches, and a hieroglyphic sign is added to indicate that they were foreigners, although typically on King Lists foreign rulers are not listed. The papyrus was originally a tax roll, but on its back is written a list of rulers of Egypt – including mythical kings such as gods, demi-gods, and spirits, as well as human kings. As such, the papyrus is not supposed to be biased against certain rulers and is believed to all the kings of Egypt up through at least the 19th Dynasty. The papyrus was found by the Italian traveler Bernardino Drovetti in 1820 at Luxor, Egypt and was acquired in 1824 by the Egyptian Museum in Turin, when the box in which it had been transported to Italy was unpacked, the list had disintegrated into small fragments. Jean-Francois Champollion, examining it, could recognize only some of the larger fragments containing royal names, a reconstruction of the list was created to better understand it and to aid in research. Subsequent work on the fragments was done by the Munich Egyptologist Jens Peter Lauth, in 1997, prominent Egyptologist Kim Ryholt published a new and better interpretation of the list in his book, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. After another study of the papyrus, a version from Ryholt is expected. Despite attempts at reconstruction, approximately 50% of the papyrus remains missing and this papyrus as presently constituted is 1.7 m long and 0.41 m wide, broken into over 160 fragments. In 2009, previously unpublished fragments were discovered in the room of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, in good condition. A new edition of the papyrus is expected, the papyrus is divided into eleven columns, distributed as follows. The names and positions of several kings are still being disputed, List of lists of ancient kings List of pharaohs Palermo stone Alan Gardiner, editor. “Some remarks on Helcks Anmerkungen zum Turiner Konigspapyrus‘. “ Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 81, “The Date of the End of the Old Kingdom of Egypt. ”Journal of Near Eastern Studies 21, no. “A Genealogical Chronology of the Seventeenth Dynasty. ”Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 39, george Adam Smith, Chaldean Account of Genesis p290 Contains a different translation of the Turin Papyrus in a chart about dynasty of gods
Turin King List
–
Drawing of the The Turin King list
5.
Third Dynasty of Egypt
–
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth, the capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. After the turbulent last years of the Second Dynasty which might have included civil war, Egypt came under the rule of Djoser, both the Turin King List and the Abydos King List record five kings, while the Saqqara Tablet only records four. Djoser’s successor was Sekhemkhet who had the nebty name Djeserty, the last king of the dynasty is Huni. There are three remaining Horus names of known 3rd dynasty kings, Sanakht, Khaba and perhaps Qahedjet, one of these three went by the nebty name Nebka. Dating the Third Dynasty is similarly challenging, shaw gives the dates as being approximately from 2686 to 2613 BC. The Turin King List suggests a total of 75 years for the third dynasty, baines and Malek have placed the third dynasty as spanning the years 2650 –2575 BC, while Dodson and Hilton date the dynasty to 2584 –2520 BC. It is not uncommon for these estimates to differ by more than a century, a radiocarbon study done of the period in 2010 gives a reign for Djoser between roughly 2691 to 2625 BC. The pharaohs of the Third Dynasty ruled for approximately seventy-five years, the order of the kings is based on Wilkinson. The number of years as king, the years, is based on Dodson and Hilton. They have the dynasty lasting only 64 years, more importantly, seals naming Djoser were found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb at Abydos, which demonstrates that it was Djoser, rather than Sanakht, who buried and succeeded this king. The Turin King List scribe wrote Djosers name in red ink, in any case, Djoser is the best known king of this dynasty, for commissioning his vizier Imhotep to build the earliest surviving pyramids, the Step Pyramid. Some authorities believe that Imhotep lived into the reign of the Pharaoh Huni, little is known for certain of Sekhemkhet. However, it is believed that Khaba possibly built the Layer Pyramid at Zawyet elAryan
Third Dynasty of Egypt
–
Funerary temple of
Djoser at
Saqqara
6.
Sekhemkhet
–
Sekhemkhet was an ancient Egyptian king of 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom. His reign is thought to have been from about 2648 BC until 2640 BC and he is also known under his later traditioned birth name Djoser-tety and under his Hellenized name Tyreis. He was probably the brother or eldest son of king Djoser, little is known about this king, since he ruled for only a few years. However, he erected a pyramid at Saqqara and left behind a well known rock inscription at Wadi Maghareh. The duration of Sekhemkhets reign is believed to have been 6 to 7 years, the royal Turin Canon attributes 6 years of reign to Sekhemkhet, a figure also proposed by Myriam Wissa based on the unfinished state of Sekhemkhets pyramid. Using his reconstruction of the Palermo Stone, Toby Wilkinson assigns 7 years to this king, similarly, the Greek historian Manetho lists Sekhemkhet under the name of Tyreis and indicates that he reigned for 7 years. Nabil Swelim, by contrast, proposed a reign of 19 years, however, such a long reign is at odds with the unfinished state of the buried pyramid and this view is generally rejected by Egyptologists. Little is known about activities conducted during Sekhemkhets reign, the only preserved documents showing Sekhemkhet are two rock inscriptions at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai peninsula. The first one shows Sekhemkhet twice, once wearing the Hedjet crown, the second inscription depicts a scene known as smiting the enemy, Sekhemkhet has grabbed a foe by its hair and raises his arm in an attempt to club the enemy to death with a ceremonial sceptre. The presence of these reliefs at Wadi Maghareh suggests that local mines of copper and these mines were apparently active throughout the early 3rd Dynasty since reliefs of Djoser and Sanakht were also discovered in the Wadi Maghareh. Several clay seals presenting an unusual nebty name together with Sekhemkhet´s Horus name were found at the excavation site on the island of Elephantine. The Egyptologist Jean Pierre Pätznik reads the nebty name as Ren nebty meaning The two ladies are pleased with his name and it is not entirely clear whether this is indeed Sekhemkhet´s nebty name or that of a yet unknown queen. Sekhemkhets wife may have been Djeseretnebti, but this name appears without any queens title, the name has alternatively been read as Djeser-Ti and identified with the cartouche-name Djeser-Teti presented in the Saqqara King List as the direct successor of Djoser. Sekhemkhet surely had sons and daughters, but up to date no personal name was found. King Sekhemkhet was buried beneath his step pyramid at Saqqara, diagonally across from his predecessor´s pyramid and this tomb is known today as Sekhemkhet´s pyramid, Djeserteti´s pyramid and as Buried pyramid. Sekhemkhet´s tomb was excavated in 1952 by Egyptian archaeologist Zakaria Goneim, Sekhemkhet´s pyramid was planned as a step pyramid from the first. Its base was a square footprint measuring 377 ft x 377 ft, if the pyramid had been completed, it would have had six or seven steps and a final height of 230 ft -236 ft. Like Djoser´s pyramid, Sekhemkhets was built of stone blocks
Sekhemkhet
–
Cartouche name Teti from the Abydos king list.
Sekhemkhet
–
Relief of Sekhemkhet from
Wadi Maghareh
Sekhemkhet
–
An ivory plaque bearing the form of Sekhemkhet's Saqqara Kinglist name of "Djoserti" found in the remains of his step pyramid tomb.
7.
Khasekhemwy
–
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
Khasekhemwy
–
Statue of Khasekhemwy,
Ashmolean Museum
Khasekhemwy
–
Limestone vessel with gold cover from Khasekhemwy's tomb
Khasekhemwy
Khasekhemwy
–
The surviving remains of Khasekhemwy's tomb at
Umm el-Qa'ab
8.
Khaba
–
Khaba was a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, active during the 3rd dynasty of the Old Kingdom period. The exact time during which Khaba ruled is unknown but may have been around 2670 BC, King Khaba is considered to be difficult to assess as a figure of ancient Egypt. His name is archaeologically well-attested by stone bowls and mud seal impressions, Khabas reign is securely dated to the Third Dynasty. Because of the contradictions within Ramesside king lists and the lack of contemporary, festive inscriptions and these problems originate in part from contradictory king lists, which were all compiled long after Khabas death, especially during the Ramesside era. It is also a matter of debate as to where Khaba might have been buried, many Egyptologists and archaeologists propose that an unfinished step pyramid at Zawyet elAryan, known as the Layer Pyramid, belongs to him. Others believe instead that his tomb is a large mastaba close to the Layer Pyramid, Khabas name appears on nine polished stone bowls, variously made of magnesite, travertine, and diorite, which were found at the archaeological locales of Zawyet elAryan, Abusir, and Naga-ed-Deir. The bowls were found intact, they show only the kings serekh name on their polished surfaces. As was conventional at the time they were made, they contain no additional inscriptions for context and his name also appears on several mud seal impressions found at Quesna, Zawyet elAryan, Hierakonpolis, and Elephantine. Most of the mud seals were excavated at modern-day Elephantine, it is possible that more of them lie under the garden of the current museum of Elephantine. These seal impressions bear more inscriptions than the stone bowls, however most of the seals are only preserved as small fragments and their surfaces have been roughened over the years. Only one seal bears a well-preserved complete row of names or titles, the inscription alternates between Horus and Golden Horus names. Khaba is known by his serekh and Golden Horus name only and his Nisut-Bity title and his Nebty name are unknown. Aside from Khaba, the kings with Gold names who lived before king Sneferu, founder of the 4th dynasty, were Djer, Den, Nynetjer, Khasekhemwy. From Snefru onward, the Golden Horus name became a royal title to any ruling king. Khabas Golden Horus name can be found on seal impressions, although its correct reading. Peter Kaplony interprets it as Nub-iret or Nub iret-djedef, though he is unsure whether the syllable djedef was an inherent part of the name or an honorary title. Thomas Schneider and Jürgen von Beckerath, in contrast, see Khabas Golden Horus as Netjer-nub, Khabas Gold name is the first to show the infinitive form of the royal Gold name. Scholars face several problems in attempting to connect Khaba to royal names known from the Ramesside era, unfortunately, these lists offer no clear consensus about the number or names of the kings of the 3rd dynasty
Khaba
–
Serekh of Khaba on a stone bowl of unknown provenance,
Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, UC 15800.
Khaba
–
Layer Pyramid at Zawyet el'Aryan.
9.
Huni
–
Huni was an ancient Egyptian king and the last pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. Following the Turin king list, he is credited with a reign of 24 years. Hunis chronological position as the last king of the dynasty is seen as fairly certain. It is also unclear under which Hellenized name the ancient historian Manetho could have listed him in his historical writing Aegyptiacae, most possibly he is to be identified with the Hellenized name Aches, as Winfried Barta proposes. Many Egyptologists believe that Huni was the father and direct predecessor of king Sneferu, Huni is seen by scholars as a confusing figure in Egyptian history, because he was long remembered in Egyptian traditions, but only very few documents, objects or monuments have endured. Huni is not a well attested pharaoh, most of the only point indirectly to him. There are only two objects with his name. The first one is a stele made of red granite. The object is 62.99 inches long,27.16 inches thick and 19.69 inches broad and its shape resembles a typical Benben stele, as known from mastaba tombs of early dynastic kings. At the front, the cone presents a niche with an incarved inscription inside. The inscription mentions a palace named Palace of the headband of Huni. The decorated niche is interpreted by scholars as a so-called apparition window, the lower part of the window frame is flattened and elongated and shows traces of a second inscription, apparently the same as inside the window. It is not fully clarified, where exactly the object was once on display, because it was found very close to a stepped pyramid, Egyptologists such as Rainer Stadelmann propose a position on the very front of the monument, or even visibly embedded in one of the steps. Today Hunis dedication cone is on display in the Cairo Museum as object JE41556, the stone vessel inscription mentions Hunis name without a cartouche, but with the Njswt-Bity title. The orthography of the hieroglyphs that form Hunis name makes a reading as Njswt-Hw or Hw-en-Niswt plausible, Huni is also attested in mastaba L6 at Saqqara, attributed to the official Metjen and dating to the end of the 3rd dynasty. There, an inscription was found with the name of a royal domain Hw. t-njswt. -hw of Huni, the temple, however, has not yet been located. Finally, Huni is attested in the papyrus Prisse, in the Instructions of Kagemni, Hunis identity is difficult to establish, since his name is passed down mostly as cartouche name and in different variations. The earliest mention of his name may possibly appearing on the granite cone from Elephantine
Huni
–
The Meidum pyramid, initially believed to have been started by Huni, is now thought to be exclusively the work of Snefru.
Huni
–
Pink granite head attributed to Huni,
Brooklyn Museum
Huni
–
The Layer Pyramid, attributed to Khaba, who may be the same person as Huni.
10.
Djoser
–
Djoser was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty during the Old Kingdom and the founder of this epoch. He is well known under his Hellenized names Tosorthros and Sesorthos and he was the son of king Khasekhemwy and queen Nimaathap, but if he also was the direct throne successor is still unclear. The painted limestone statue of Djoser, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is the oldest known life-sized Egyptian statue, today at the site in Saqqara where it was found, a plaster copy of the statue stands in place of the original. The statue was found during the Antiquities Service Excavations of 1924–1925, in contemporary inscriptions, he is called Netjerikhet, meaning divine of body. Later sources, which include a New Kingdom reference to his construction, help confirm that Netjerikhet, more significantly, the English Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson has demonstrated that burial seals found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb in Abydos name only Djoser, rather than Nebka. This supports the view that it was Djoser who buried and, hence, directly succeeded Khasekhemwy and this is also suggested by another jar sealing, dating to Djosers reign, calling her Mother of the King of the Two Lands. Her cult seems to have still been active in the reign of Sneferu. Inetkawes was their only known by name. There was also a royal female attested during Djosers reign. The relationship between Djoser and his successor, Sekhemkhet, is not known, and the date of his death is uncertain, manetho states Djoser ruled Egypt for twenty-nine years, while the Turin King List states it was only nineteen years. Because of his many building projects, particularly at Saqqara. Manethos figure appears to be accurate, according to Wilkinsons analysis. Unfortunately, next to all entrances are illegible today, the Year of coronation is preserved, followed by the year events receiving the twin-pillars and stretching the cords for the fortress Qau-Netjerw. Djoser dispatched several military expeditions to the Sinai Peninsula, during which the inhabitants were subdued. He also sent expeditions there to mine for minerals such as turquoise. This is known from inscriptions found in the desert there, sometimes displaying the banner of Seth alongside the symbols of Horus, the Sinai was also strategically important as a buffer between the Nile valley and Asia. His most famous monument was his step pyramid, which entailed the construction of several mastaba tombs one over another and these forms would eventually lead to the standard pyramid tomb in the later Old Kingdom. Some fragmentary reliefs found at Heliopolis and Gebelein mention Djosers name, also, he may have fixed the southern boundary of his kingdom at the First Cataract
Djoser
–
Limestone statue of Djoser from his
serdab
Djoser
–
Cartouche name...djeser-sah in the king list of Abydos. Note the upper part of the cartouche, which shows signs of erased hieroglyphs.
Djoser
–
The Famine Stele, mentioning Djoser.
Djoser
–
Step Pyramid of Zoser, old photography.
11.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
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
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Serekh containing the name of
Djet and an association with
Wadjet, on display at the
Louvre
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Praenomen of the
Cartouche of
Thutmose II preceded by Sedge and Bee symbols, Temple of
Hatshepsut,
Luxor
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
In the
Middle Kingdom, the full titulary was sometimes written in a single cartouche, as in this example from
Senusret I, from
Beni Hasan.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
–
Royal titulary
12.
Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul
–
The ancient Egyptians believed that a human soul was made up of five parts, the Ren, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Ib. In addition to these components of the soul there was the human body, the other souls were aakhu, khaibut, and khat. An important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the jb, the heart was believed to be formed from one drop of blood from the childs mothers heart, taken at conception. To ancient Egyptians, the heart was the seat of emotion, thought, will and this is evidenced by the many expressions in the Egyptian language which incorporate the word jb. This word was transcribed by E. A. Wallis Budge as Ab, in Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as surviving death in the world, where it gave evidence for, or against. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, if the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed by the monster Ammit. A persons shadow or silhouette, Sheut, is always present, because of this, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows, the shadow was also representative to Egyptians of a figure of death, or servant of Anubis, and was depicted graphically as a small human figure painted completely black. Sometimes people had a box in which part of their Sheut was stored. For example, part of the Book of Breathings, a derivative of the Book of the Dead, was a means to ensure the survival of the name, a cartouche often was used to surround the name and protect it. Conversely, the names of deceased enemies of the state, such as Akhenaten, were hacked out of monuments in a form of damnatio memoriae. Sometimes, however, they were removed in order to make room for the insertion of the name of a successor. The greater the number of places a name was used, the greater the possibility it would survive to be read, the Bâ was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of personality. In the Coffin Texts one form of the Bâ that comes into existence after death is corporeal, louis Žabkar argued that the Bâ is not part of the person but is the person himself, unlike the soul in Greek, or late Judaic, Christian or Muslim thought. The word bau, plural of the ba, meant something similar to impressiveness, power. When a deity intervened in human affairs, it was said that the Bau of the deity were at work. The Ka was the Egyptian concept of essence, which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body
Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul
–
This golden Ba amulet from the
Ptolemaic period would have been worn as an
apotropaic device.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul
–
Ba takes the form of a bird with a human head.
13.
Saqqara King List
–
The Saqqara Tablet, now in the Egyptian Museum, is an ancient stone engraving which features a list of Egyptian pharaohs surviving from the Ramesside Period. It was found during 1861 in Egypt in Saqqara, in the tomb of Tjenry, the inscription lists 58 kings, from Anedjib and Qaa to Ramesses II, in reverse chronological order, omitting rulers from the Second Intermediate Period, the Hyksos, and those rulers. Who had been close to the heretic Akhenaten, the names, of which only 47 survive, are badly damaged. Inaccuracies abound, e. g. the tablet mentions only four kings of Dynasty 3, the chronology is correct only for the kings of Dynasty 12. The only known photograph of the king list was published in 1865, the names are listed in reverse chronological order from the upper right to the bottom left, as they were meant to be read. 143-145 Auguste Mariette, Monuments divers recueillis en Égypte et en Nubie, Paris 1872, Vol. II, Pl.58 Eduard Meyer, Ägyptische Chronologie, Pl
Saqqara King List
–
Drawing of the Saqqara King List based on photographs and drawings from 1864-65.
14.
Birth name
–
A given name is a part of a persons personal name. It identifies a person, and differentiates that person from other members of a group, such as a family or clan. The term given name refers to the fact that the name usually is bestowed upon a person and this contrasts with a surname, which is normally inherited, and shared with other members of the childs immediate family. Given names are used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal situations. In more formal situations the surname is commonly used, unless it is necessary to distinguish between people with the same surname. The idioms on a basis and being on first-name terms allude to the familiarity of addressing another by a given name. The order given name – family name, commonly known as the Western order, is used throughout most European countries and in countries that have cultures predominantly influenced by Western Europe. The order family name – given name, commonly known as the Eastern order, is used in East Asia, as well as in Southern and North-Eastern parts of India. The order given name - fathers family name - mothers family name is used in Spanish-speaking countries to acknowledge the families of both parents. Today the order can also be changed legally in Spain using given name - mothers family name - fathers family name, under the common Western naming convention, people may have one or more forenames. If more than one, there is usually a main forename for everyday use, sometimes however two or more forenames may carry equal weight. There is no particular ordering rule for forenames – often the main forename is at the beginning, a childs given name or names are usually chosen by the parents soon after birth. If a name is not assigned at birth, one may be given at a ceremony, with family. In most jurisdictions, a name at birth is a matter of public record, inscribed on a birth certificate. In western cultures, people normally retain the same name throughout their lives. However, in some cases names may be changed by petitioning a court of law. People may also change their names when immigrating from one country to another with different naming conventions, in France, the agency can refer the case to a local judge. Some jurisdictions, like in Sweden, restrict the spelling of names, parents may choose a name because of its meaning
Birth name
–
First/given, middle, and last/family/surname diagram with
J.S. Bach as example. J. S. Bach shared his given name with six immediate family members and many extended family members. He shared his family name with most family members.
15.
Ancient Egypt
–
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
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
–
A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
16.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
The term itself was coined by eighteenth-century historians and the distinction between the Old Kingdom and the Early Dynastic Period is not one which would have been recognized by Ancient Egyptians. The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty, many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. During the Old Kingdom, the king of Egypt became a god who ruled absolutely and could demand the services. Under King Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign, King Djosers architect, Imhotep is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form—the Step Pyramid. Indeed, the Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for the number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypts kings. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as the Age of the Pyramids, the first king of the Old Kingdom was Djoser of the third dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid in Memphis necropolis, Saqqara. An important person during the reign of Djoser was his vizier and it was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, under the rule of the king. The former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection, Egyptians in this era worshipped their king as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops. Egyptian views on the nature of time during this period held that the worked in cycles. They also perceived themselves as a specially selected people, the Old Kingdom and its royal power reached a zenith under the Fourth Dynasty, which began with Sneferu. Using more stones than any king, he built three pyramids, a now collapsed pyramid in Meidum, the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. However, the development of the pyramid style of building was reached not at Saqqara. Sneferu was succeeded by his son, Khufu who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, after Khufus death, his sons Djedefra and Khafra may have quarrelled. The latter built the pyramid and the Sphinx in Giza. Recent reexamination of evidence has led Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev to propose that the Sphinx had been built by Djedefra as a monument to his father Khufu, alternatively, the Sphinx has been proposed to be the work of Khafra and Khufu himself. There were military expeditions into Canaan and Nubia, with Egyptian influence reaching up the Nile into what is today the Sudan, the later kings of the Fourth Dynasty were king Menkaure, who built the smallest pyramid in Giza, Shepseskaf and, perhaps, Djedefptah. The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkaf and was marked by the importance of the cult of sun god Ra
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
The
Pyramid of Djoser at
Saqqara.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
Temple of Djoser at
Saqqara
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
Head of a King, ca. 2650-2600 B.C.E,
Brooklyn Museum; The earliest representations of Egyptian Kings are on a small scale. Not until Dynasty III were statues made which show the ruler life-size; this forceful head wearing the tall crown of Upper Egypt even surpasses human scale, both in measurements and in its aim to depict the godlike power and strength of the Pharaoh.
17.
Hellenization
–
In modern times, Hellenization has been associated with the adoption of modern Greek culture and the ethnic and cultural homogenization of Greece. Other tribes that underwent varying degrees of Hellenization included Thracians, Dardanians, Paeonians and Illyrians south of the Jireček Line, Hellenization during the Hellenistic period, however, had its limitations. For example, areas of southern Syria that were affected by Greek culture mostly entailed Seleucid urban centers where Greek was commonly spoken, the countryside, on the other hand, was largely unaffected since most of its inhabitants spoke Syriac and continued to maintain their native traditions. Moreover, Hellenization did not necessarily involve assimilation of ethnic groups since Hellenistic Greeks in regions such as Asia Minor were conscious of their ancestral lineages. Hellenization can also refer to the medieval Byzantine Empire and Constantines founding of Constantinople, moreover, it can refer to the primacy of Greek culture and the Greek language after the reign of Emperor Heraclius in the 7th century AD. Hellenization during the period of Ottoman imperial rule entailed the higher status which Greek culture, in 1909, a commission appointed by the Greek government reported that one third of the villages of Greece should have their names changed, often because of their non-Greek origin. In other instances, names were changed from a name of Greek origin to the ancient Greek toponym. Some village names were formed from a Greek root word with a foreign suffix, the majority of the name changes took place in areas populated by ethnic Greeks, where a strata of foreign, or divergent, toponyms had accumulated over the centuries. However, in parts of northern Greece the population was not Greek-speaking. The process of the change of toponyms in modern Greece has been described as a process of Hellenization and this led to the diminution of the community of Corfiot Italians, resident in Corfu since the Middle Ages, by the 1940s there were only four hundred Corfiot Italians left. The twentieth century witnessed a debate over the extent of Hellenization in the Levant. Rudolf Bultmann thus argued that Christianity arose almost completely within those Hellenistic confines, in his Introduction to the 1964 book Meditations, the Anglican priest Maxwell Staniforth discussed the profound influence of Stoic philosophy on Christianity. In particular, Again in the doctrine of the Trinity, the conception of Father, Word
Hellenization
–
Map of the Macedonian Empire, circa 323 BC
Hellenization
–
A map showing the Greek territories and colonies during the
Archaic period.
18.
Mastaba
–
A mastaba or pr-djt is a type of ancient Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat-roofed, rectangular structure with inward sloping sides, constructed out of mud-bricks or stone. These edifices marked the sites of many eminent Egyptians during Egypts Early Dynastic Period. In the Old Kingdom epoch, local kings began to be buried in pyramids instead of in mastabas, egyptologists call these tombs mastaba, which is the Arabic word for stone bench. The afterlife was a focus of Egyptian civilization and ruled every aspect of the society. This is reflected in their architecture and most prominently by the amounts of time, money. Ancient Egyptians believed the soul could live only if the body was preserved from corruption and depredation as well as fed, starting from the Predynastic era and into the later dynasties, the ancient Egyptians developed increasingly complex and effective methods for preserving and protecting the bodies of the dead. The Ancient Egyptians initially began by burying their dead in pit graves dug out from the sand, the body of the deceased was buried inside the pit on a mat, usually along with some items believed to help them in the afterlife. The first tomb structure that the Egyptians built was the mastaba, mastabas provided better protection from scavenging animals and grave robbers. However, the remains were not in contact with the dry desert sand. Use of the more secure mastabas required Ancient Egyptians to devise a system of artificial mummification, until at least the Old Period or First Intermediate Period, only high officials and royalty would be buried in these mastabas. The word mastaba comes from the Arabic word for a bench of mud, historians speculate that the Egyptians may have borrowed architectural ideas from Mesopotamia since at the time they were both building similar structures. The above-ground structure of a mastaba is rectangular in shape with inward-sloping sides, the exterior building materials were initially bricks made of sun dried mud, which was readily available from the Nile River. Even after more durable materials like stone came into use, all, mastabas were often about four times as long as they were wide, and many rose to at least 30 feet in height. The mastaba was built with an orientation, which the Ancient Egyptians believed was essential for access to the afterlife. This above-ground structure had space for an offering chapel equipped with a false door. Inside the mastaba, a chamber was dug into the ground and lined with stone. The burial chambers were cut deep, until they passed the bedrock, the mastaba housed a statue of the deceased that was hidden within the masonry for its protection. High up the walls of the serdab were small openings that would allow the ba to leave and return to the body, Ancient Egyptians believed the ba had to return to its body or it would die
Mastaba
–
Example of a mastaba
19.
Westcar Papyrus
–
The Westcar Papyrus is an ancient Egyptian text containing five stories about miracles performed by priests and magicians. In the text, each of these tales are told at the court of Pharaoh Cheops by his sons. The story in the papyrus is usually rendered in English as King Cheops, in German, in which the text of the Westcar Papyrus was first translated, it is rendered as Die Märchen des Papyrus Westcar. The surviving material of the Westcar Papyrus consists of columns written in hieratic script. Miriam Lichtheim dates the document to the Hyksos period and states that it is written in classical Middle Egyptian, linguist and Egyptologist Verena Lepper thinks it may be possible that the Westcar Papyrus had already been written during the 13th dynasty. The papyrus has been used by historians as a resource for reconstituting the history of the 4th dynasty. The papyrus is now on display under low-light conditions in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, in 1823 or 1824, a British adventurer, Henry Westcar, apparently discovered the papyrus during travels in Egypt. For unknown reasons he didnt note the exact circumstances under which he obtained the artifact, in 1838 or 1839, German Egyptologist Karl Richard Lepsius claimed to have received the papyrus from Westcars niece. As Lepsius was able to read signs of Hieratic, he recognized some of the royal cartouche names of the kings. There are inconsistencies about the nature of the acquisition and the subsequent whereabouts of the Westcar Papyrus. Furthermore, Lepsius never made the text of the Westcar Papyrus public, he stored the papyrus at home in the attic and these inconsistencies led to wide speculation, Many British historians speculate that Lepsius may have stolen the papyrus. In 1886, German Egyptologist Adolf Erman purchased the papyrus from Lepsius son, as the hieratic signs were still insufficiently investigated and translated, the Westcar Papyrus was displayed as some kind of curiosity. Since Ermans first attempt at a translation in 1890, the Westcar Papyrus has been translated numerous times. The dating of the text also varies, Papyrus Westcar is a reused papyrus made of the plant Cyperus papyrus. The scroll of Westcar has been separated into three parts, during the life of Lepsius and Erman it was in two parts, it is not known when and why the scroll was separated into three fragments. The text written on the papyrus includes twelve columns in all, the papyrus textile is grainy, of greyish-yellowish colour and very fragile. Part one was fixed onto linen and placed between two glass panes, at five spots the papyrus was fixed to the glass with methyl cellulose. Part two was fixed to a cardboard and wooden plate and is covered by a glass pane, part three was simply placed between two glass panes and was completely glued to them
Westcar Papyrus
–
Westcar Papyrus on display in the
Ägyptisches Museum, Berlin
20.
Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
The Thirteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Some writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period, Dynasty XIII lasted from approximately 1803 BC until approximately 1649 BC, i. e. for 154 years. The 13th dynasty was a continuation of the preceding 12th dynasty. As direct heirs to the kings of the 12th dynasty, pharaohs of the 13th dynasty reigned from Memphis over Middle and Upper Egypt, all the way to the second cataract to the south. The power of the 13th dynasty waned progressively over its 150 years of existence and it came to an end with the conquest of Memphis by the Hyksos rulers of the 15th dynasty. In later texts, this dynasty is described as an era of chaos. Unfortunately, the chronology of this dynasty is difficult to determine as there are few monuments dating from the period. Many of the names are only known from odd fragmentary inscriptions or from scarabs. The names and order in the table are based on Dodson and Hilton, following these kings, the remaining rulers of the 13th Dynasty are only attested by finds from Upper Egypt. This may indicate the abandonment of the old capital Itjtawy in favor of Thebes, daphna Ben Tor believes that this event was triggered by the invasion of the eastern Delta and the Memphite region by Canaanite rulers. For some authors, this marks the end of the Middle Kingdom and this analysis is rejected by Ryholt and Baker however, who note that the stele of Seheqenre Sankhptahi, reigning toward the end of the dynasty, strongly suggests that he reigned over Memphis. Unfortunately, the stele is of unknown provenance and this is now the dominant hypothesis in Egyptology and Sobekhotep Sekhemre Khutawy is referred to as Sobekhotep I in this article. Ryholt thus credits Sekhemre Khutawy Sobkhotep I with a reign of 3 to 4 years c.1800 BC, Dodson and Hilton similarly believe that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep predated Khaankhre Sobekhotep. After allowing discipline at the forts to deteriorate, the government eventually withdrew its garrisons and, not long afterward. In the north, Lower Egypt was overrun by the Hyksos, an independent line of kings created Dynasty XIV that arose in the western Delta during later Dynasty XIII. Their regime, called Dynasty XV, was claimed to have replaced Dynasties XIII, however, recent archaeological finds at Edfu could indicate that the Hyksos 15th dynasty was already in existence at least by the mid-13th dynasty reign of king Sobekhotep IV. In a recently published paper in Egypt and the Levant, Nadine Moeller, Gregory Marouard, the preserved contexts of these seals shows that Sobekhotep IV and Khyan were most likely contemporaries of one another. Therefore, Manethos statement that the Hyksos 15th dynasty violently replaced the 13th dynasty could be a piece of later Egyptian propaganda, thus the seals of Sobekhotep IV might not indicate that he was a contemporary of Khyan
Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Statue of the royal sealer and high steward Gebu, 13th dynasty, c. 1700 BC from the temple of Amun in Karnak.
21.
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
The Nineteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was one of the periods of the Egyptian New Kingdom. Founded by Vizier Ramesses I, whom Pharaoh Horemheb chose as his successor to the throne, the warrior kings of the early 18th Dynasty had encountered only little resistance from neighbouring kingdoms, allowing them to expand their realm of influence easily. The situation had changed radically towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the Hittites gradually extended their influence into Syria and Canaan to become a major power in international politics, a power that both Seti I and his son Ramesses II would need to deal with. The Pharaohs of the 19th dynasty ruled for one hundred and ten years. Seti Is reign is considered to be 11 years and not 15 years by both J. von Beckerath and Peter Brand, who wrote a biography on this pharaohs reign. Consequently, it will be amended to 11 years or 1290-1279 BC, therefore, Setis father and predecessor would have ruled Egypt between 1292-1290 BC. Many of the pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings in Thebes, more information can be found on the Theban Mapping Project website. New Kingdom Egypt reached the zenith of its power under Seti I and Ramesses II, who campaigned vigorously against the Libyans and the Hittites. The city of Kadesh was first captured by Seti I, who decided to concede it to Muwatalli of Hatti in a peace treaty between Egypt and Hatti. He ultimately accepted that a campaign against the Hittites was a drain on Egypts treasury and military. In his 21st regnal year, Ramesses signed the first recorded peace treaty with Urhi-Teshubs successor, Hattusili III, Ramesses II even married two Hittite princesses, the first after his second Sed Festival. At least as early as Josephus, it was believed that Moses lived during the reign of Ramesses II and this dynasty declined as internal fighting between the heirs of Merneptah for the throne increased. Amenmesse apparently usurped the throne from Merneptahs son and successor, Seti II, after his death, Seti regained power and destroyed most of Amenmesses monuments. Both Bay and Setis chief wife Twosret had a reputation in Ancient Egyptian folklore. After Siptahs death, Twosret ruled Egypt for two years, but she proved unable to maintain her hold on power amid the conspiracies. She was likely ousted in a revolt led by Setnakhte, founder of the Twentieth Dynasty, Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt Family Tree
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Seti I
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Egyptian and Hittite Empires, around the time of the
Battle of Kadesh (1274 BC).
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Ramesses II
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Seti II
22.
Peribsen
–
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
Peribsen
–
Stone vase of Seth-Peribsen with the inscription "tribute of the people of Sethroë",
National Archaeological Museum (France).
Peribsen
–
Granodiorite tomb stela of Peribsen, now on display at the
British Museum
Peribsen
–
Vessel from the tomb of king Peribsen,
Ashmolean Museum.
Peribsen
–
Seal impression of king Sekhemib from Abydos
23.
Nimaethap
–
Nimaathap was an Ancient Egyptian queen consort at the transition time from 2nd dynasty to 3rd dynasty. She is known to have enjoyed a long-lasting mortuary cult, Nimaathaps name appears on clay seal impressions discovered mostly in the tomb of king Khasekhemwy, the last ruler of the 2nd dynasty. Other seals were found at Beit Khallaf at the sites of the mastaba tombs K1 and K2. Her name also appears on stone slab fragments from Heliopolis and these show Nimaathap kneeling at the feet of pharaoh Djoser, together with Djosers wife, queen Hetepheres and Djosers daughter, princess Inetkaes. The relief is evaluated as proof that Nimaathap was still alive at that time, Nimaathaps name does not appear in the pyramid necropolis of Djoser at Saqqara, there, her name was replaced by depictions of the god of grieve and mummies, Anubis. Nimaathaps name also appears in an inscription of the high official Metjen. Metjen was overseer of the Ka-house of Nimaethap, thus he overlooked and administrated the mortuary cult for the queen, Egyptologists take this as a proof how famous Nimaathap must have been during the Old Kingdom period. Nimaathaps name is read as Nimaathapi, her name is connected to the earth god Hapi. This is similar to the name of queen Khenthap of 1st dynasty, in both cases some scholars believe that the connection between the queens names and the god Apis refers to a somewhat later introduced title of the king, bull of his mother. An old reading once was Hepenmaat, because the syllable Hapi was not recognized as the name of Hapy yet, as a queen, Nimaathap bore several elite titularies, Mother of a king. The most important title of Nimaathap, proving that she gave birth to at least one king and this unique title may indicate that Nimaathap gave birth to several throne pretenders. This title appears on a mug, but the authenticity of the artifact is questioned by scholars. She who says something and it is done immediately, a seldomly mentioned title of executive powers, giving the queen the right to give any command to the royal court. Its unclear, if this actually was one of hers. Nimaathap is generally viewed as the consort of pharaoh Khasekhemwy. This is based on the fact that most of her seals were found in the tomb of Khasekhemwy at Abydos and it is unknown how many children Nimaathap had. Djoser, his immediate successor Sekhemkhet and Sanakht are viewed as her sons, outdated theories once held that Nimaathap was the daughter of Khasekhemwy, that she married a king Nebka and that Djoser was the first rightful king from that bloodline. This would have fit to the king lists, which let the 3rd dynasty begin with king Nebka
Nimaethap
–
Inscription in the
mastaba of Metjen mentioning Nimaethap. Metjen was a priest of the mortuary cult of Nimaethap during to the
4th dynasty.
Nimaethap
–
Fragment of seal impression on clay mentioning the "mother of the king’s sons" Nymaathap, from the tomb of Khasekhemwy in the
Umm el-Qa'ab.
24.
Naqada III
–
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
Naqada III
–
The
Narmer Palette, thought to mark the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt; note the images of the goddess
Bat at the top, as well as the
serpopards that form the central intertwined image.
25.
Double Falcon
–
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
Double Falcon
–
Serekh of Double Falcon. Redrawing of an inscription on a vessel found in El-Beda.
26.
Upper Egypt
–
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
Upper Egypt
–
Iry-Hor
Upper Egypt
–
Ka
Upper Egypt
–
King Scorpion
27.
Iry-Hor
–
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
Iry-Hor
–
Signs r-Ḥr inscribed on a large vessel from the tomb of Iry-Hor,
Ashmolean Museum.
Iry-Hor
–
Name of Iry-Hor as found in Abydos.
Iry-Hor
–
Iry-Hor's tomb at the
Umm el-Qa'ab comprises two separate chambers B1 and B2, shown in inset. Iry-Hor's tomb is located close to Ka's (B7, B8, B9) and Narmer's tombs (B17, B18).
28.
Ka (pharaoh)
–
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
Ka (pharaoh)
–
Vessel found at
Tarkhan bearing the
serekh of king Ka.
Petrie Museum, London
Ka (pharaoh)
–
Seal impression with Ka's serekh. Note the absence of the Horus falcon.
British Museum.
Ka (pharaoh)
–
Ka's tomb in the
Umm el-Qa'ab
29.
Scorpion II
–
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
Scorpion II
–
Head of king Scorpion on his mace head
Scorpion II
–
The
Scorpion Macehead,
Ashmolean Museum.
30.
Narmer
–
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
Narmer
–
Close-up view of Narmer on the
Narmer Palette
Narmer
–
Chambers B17 and B18 in the
Umm el-Qa'ab constitute the tomb of Narmer.
Narmer
–
Narmer wearing the
Deshret crown of
Lower Egypt on the
Narmer Palette.
Narmer
–
Incised inscription on a vessel found at Tarkhan (tomb 414), naming king Narmer; Petrie Museum UC 16083.
31.
Menes
–
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
Menes
–
The cartouche of Menes on the
Abydos King List
32.
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
–
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
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
–
A plate created during the Early Dynastic period of Ancient Egypt. It depicts a man on a boat alongside a
Hippopotamus and a
Crocodile
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
–
Flag
33.
Hor-Aha
–
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
Hor-Aha
–
Faience vessel fragment inscribed with the
Horus-name Aha, on display at the
British Museum.
Hor-Aha
–
Mastaba attributed to
Neithhotep which is believed to have been built by Hor-Aha.
Hor-Aha
–
Hor-Aha's tomb comprises three chambers B10, B15 and B19, shown in inset. B14 could be the tomb of Hor-Aha's wife
Benerib.
Hor-Aha
–
Cylinder vessel of Hor-Aha from Saqqara, 1st dynasty;
Kestner-Museum.
34.
Djer
–
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
Djer
–
Djer
Djer
–
Iti, cartouche name of Djer in the
Abydos king list.
Djer
–
Stone vase bearing the serekh of Djer,
National Archaeological Museum (France).
Djer
–
Small ivory label of Djer mentioning the name of a fortress or domain of the king "Hor-Djer-ib".
35.
Djet
–
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
Djet
–
The famous stela of king Djet which once stood next to his tomb in the
Umm el-Qa'ab.
Djet
–
Ita, cartouche name of Djet in the
Abydos king list.
Djet
–
Fragment of an object bearing the serekh of Djet and the name of a court official Sekhemkasedj,
Egyptian Museum.
36.
Merneith
–
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
Merneith
–
Tomb stela of Merneith from the
Umm el-Qa'ab.
Merneith
–
Segment of King list from tomb of Den at Saqqara, Merneith is mentioned twice as King's Mother Merneith (mwt-nsw mr nt)
37.
Den (pharaoh)
–
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
Den (pharaoh)
–
“MacGregor-Label” from Den's tomb in Abydos, EA 55586
Den (pharaoh)
–
Sepati, cartouche name of Den in the
Abydos king list.
Den (pharaoh)
–
Fragment of an ivory label showing pharaoh Den wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Discovered in the tomb of Den, now in the
Egyptian Museum.
Den (pharaoh)
38.
Anedjib
–
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
Anedjib
–
Pharaoh Anedjib on a stone bowl fragment
Anedjib
–
Cartouche name Merbiape from the
Abydos King List
Anedjib
–
Seal impression of king Anedjib
Anedjib
–
Stone vessel fragment bearing Anedjib
serekh.
39.
Semerkhet
–
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
Semerkhet
–
Alabaster vase of Semerkhet, the inscription reads King Iry-Nebty visits the house-of-the-pleased-king, oil jars for it,
National Archaeological Museum (France).
Semerkhet
–
Semsu, cartouche name of Semerkhet in the
Abydos king list.
Semerkhet
–
Pottery sherd inscribed with Semerkhet's serekh name, originally from his tomb, now in the
Petrie Museum, UC 36756.
Semerkhet
40.
Sneferka
–
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
Sneferka
–
Slate fragment bearing Sneferka's serekh from
Saqqara
41.
Horus Bird (Pharaoh)
–
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
Horus Bird (Pharaoh)
–
Horus name of "Horus-Bird" inscribed on fragment P.D.IV n.108 found in
Djoser 's pyramid complex at
Saqqara.
42.
Second Dynasty of Egypt
–
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
Second Dynasty of Egypt
–
Dynasties of Ancient Egypt
43.
Hotepsekhemwy
–
Hotepsekhemwy is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who was the founder of the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is not known, the Turin canon suggests an improbable 95 years while the Ancient Egyptian historian Manetho reports that the reign of Boëthôs lasted for 38 years, Egyptologists consider both statements to be misinterpretations or exaggerations. They credit Hotepsekhemwy with either a 25- or a 29-year rule, Hotepsekhemwys name has been identified by archaeologists at Sakkara, Giza, Badari and Abydos from clay seal impressions, stone vessels and bone cylinders. Several stone vessel inscriptions mention Hotepsekhemwy along with the name of his successor Raneb, the Horus name of Hotepsekhemwy is the subject of particular interest to Egyptologists and historians, as it may hint at the turbulent politics of the time. The Egyptian word Hotep means peaceful and to be pleased though it can also mean conciliation or to be reconciled, so Hotepsekhemwys full name may be read as the two powers are reconciled or pleasing in powers, which suggests a significant political meaning. In this sense, the two powers could be a reference to Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt as well as to the major deities Horus, from the reign of Hotepsekhemwy onward it became a tradition to write the Horus name and the nebty name in the same way. It is thought that some kind of philosophic background affected that choice, since the Horus name reveals a clearly defined, horus- and nebty names being the same might also indicate, that the Horus name was adopted after ascending the throne. The name of Hotepsekhemwys wife is unknown, egyptologist Wolfgang Helck points to the similar name Bedjatau, which appears in a short king list found on a writing board from the mastaba tomb G1001 of the high official Mesdjeru. The signs of two Sekhem sceptres were misread as a leg and a drill, a similar phenomenon might have occurred in the case of King Khasekhemwy, where the two sceptres in the Horus name were misread as two leg-symbols or two drill-signs. The Abydos king list imitates this Old Kingdom name form of “Bedjatau”, the names Netjerbau and Bau-hetepju are problematic, since Egyptologists cant find any name source from Hotepsekhemwys time that could have been used to form them. Little is known about Hotepsekhemwys reign, contemporary sources show that he may have gained the throne after a period of political strife, including ephemeral rulers such as Horus Bird and Sneferka. The plundering of the cemetery and the unusually conciliatory meaning of the name Hotepsekhemwy may be clues of a dynastic struggle, seal impressions provide evidence of a new royal residence called Horus the shining star that was constructed by Hotepsekhemwy. He also built a temple near Buto for the little-known deity Netjer-Achty, the white crown is a symbol of Upper Egypt. This is thought to be another clue to the origin of Hotepsekhemwys dynasty, Egyptologists such as Nabil Swelim point out that there is no inscription from Hotepsekhemwys reign mentioning a Sed festival, indicating the ruler cannot have ruled longer than 30 years. The ancient Egyptian historian Manetho called Hotepsekhemwy Boëthôs and reported that during this rulers reign a chasm opened near Bubastis, the location of Hotepsekhemwys tomb is unknown. Egyptologists such as Flinders Petrie, Alessandro Barsanti and Toby Wilkinson believe it could be the giant underground Gallery Tomb B beneath the funeral passage of the Unas-necropolis at Saqqara, many seal impressions of king Hotepsekhemwy have been found in these galleries
Hotepsekhemwy
–
Stone vase bearing Hotepsekhemwy's serekh,
National Archaeological Museum (France).
Hotepsekhemwy
–
Cartouche name of Hotepsekhemwy in the Abydos King List (cartouche no. 9).
Hotepsekhemwy
–
Bone cylinder inscribed with the serekh of Hotepsekhemwy.
Hotepsekhemwy
–
Entrance to the gallery tomb beneath the Unas passway.
44.
Nebra (Pharaoh)
–
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
Nebra (Pharaoh)
–
Cartouche name of Nebra in the Abydos King List (cartouche no. 10)
Nebra (Pharaoh)
–
Statue of Hotepdief, priest of the mortuary cults of the first 3 rulers of the dynasty,
Hotepsekhemwy, Nebra and
Nynetjer. The serekh of Nebra is the middle one on the shoulder of the priest.
45.
Nynetjer
–
Nynetjer is the Horus name of the third early Egyptian king during the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown, the Turin Canon suggests an improbable reign of 96 years and Egyptian historian Manetho suggested that Nynetjers reign lasted 47 years. Egyptologists question both statements as misinterpretations or exaggerations and they generally credit Nynetjer with a reign of either 43 years or 45 years. Their estimation is based on the reconstructions of the well known Palermo Stone inscription reporting the years 7–21, according to different authors, Nynetjer ruled Egypt from c.2850 BC to 2760 BC or later from c.2760 BC to 2715 BC. Nynetjer is one of the best archaeologically attested kings of 2nd dynasty and his name appears in inscriptions on stone vessels and clay sealings in large numbers from his tomb at Sakkara. A large number of bearing his name were also found in the tomb of king Peribsen at Abydos. However, the datings of some inscriptions, especially those made of black ink, writing experts and archaeologists such as Ilona Regulski point out that the ink inscriptions are of a somewhat later date than the stone and seal inscriptions. She dates the ink markings to the reigns of kings such as Khasekhemwy and Djoser, in fact, alabaster vessels and earthen jars with black ink inscriptions with very similar font design showing Nynetjers name were found in Peribsens tomb. Nynetjers name also appears on an inscription near Abu Handal in Lower Nubia. This might represent a clue that Nynetjer sent an expedition into this region. Nynetjer is commonly identified with the Ramesside cartouche names Banetjer from the Abydos King List, Banetjeru from the Sakkara table, the Palermo Stone inscription presents an unusual goldname of Nynetjer, Ren-nebu, meaning golden offspring or golden calf. Most of the information known about Nynetjers reign are found on the fragments of the Annal Stone of the 5th dynasty. The Palermo Stone lists the events, 7th year, Escort of Horus. 8th year, Appearance of the king, stretching the cords for Hor-Ren, Flood level,1.09 metres 10th year, Appearance of the king of Lower- and Upper Egypt, Race of the Apis bull. 12th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, second celebration of the Sokar feast, 14th year, First celebration of Hor-seba-pet, Destruction/Foundation of the cities of Schem-Re and Ha Flood level,2.15 metres. 16th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, second Race of the Apis bull, 18th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, third celebration of the Sokar feast. 20th year, Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt, offering for the kings mother, the Cairo Stone gives the years 36–44. The surface of the slab is damaged
Nynetjer
–
Fragment of a vase of Nynetjer discovered in the tomb of
Seth-Peribsen which may have been part of the equipment of a boat of the king, depicted below his name.
Nynetjer
–
Cartouche of Nynetjer in the Abydos King List (no. 11).
46.
Ba (pharaoh)
–
Ba, also known as Horus Ba, is the serekh-name of an early Egyptian or ancient Egyptian king who may have ruled at the end of the 1st dynasty, the latter part of 2nd dynasty or during the 3rd dynasty. Neither the exact length of his reign nor his position is known. Very little is known about king Ba, the few archaeological evidences only assure the existence of such a ruler, but they give no further information. In 1899 scientist Alessandro Ricci published a drawing of a serekh with a leg as hieroglyph inside. The picture was seen in Volume No.35 of the Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde series, according to Ricci the serekh was found in a rock inscription at Wadi Maghareh, Sinai. The egyptologists Jaroslav Černý and Michel Baude found out, that Ricci were referring to the inscription of king Sanakht. Ricci simply had misinterpreted the signs used for Sanakhts name -an upright sign of a loop, the zig-zag shaped sign for water. Egyptologists such as Černý and Peter Kaplony think that king Ba might be identical to the likewise sparsely attested king Horus Bird, Černý and Kaplony think that both kings names have the same transcription, Ba. In this case Horus Ba and Horus Bird would be the historical figure. Černý and Kaplonys theory is not commonly accepted, in contrast, Egyptologists such as Nabil Swelim think that Horus Ba was an immediate successor of 2nd dynasty king Nynetjer. He points to the form of Nynetjer in the Abydos kinglist. Swelim therefore believes that the Horus name of Ba was erroneously intermingled with the name of Nynetjer. Francesco Raffaele, Horus SNEFERKA - Horus Bird - Horus SEKHET - Horus BA
Ba (pharaoh)
–
Serekh of Horus Ba.
47.
Nubnefer
–
Nubnefer is the birth name of a king who may have ruled during the 2nd dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The exact length of his reign is unknown and his position is unclear. Therefore, Egyptologists such as Peter Kaplony, Jochem Kahl and Francesco Tiradritti believe that Nubnefers reign should be chronologically set close to that of Nynetjer, Nubnefers name does not appear in any further contemporary or posthumous document. Egyptologists such as Battiscombe Gunn and Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards believe that the name Nubnefer could be the name of king Raneb. In contrast egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Toby Wilkinson think that Nubnefer was the successor of Nynetjer. Peter Kaplony identifies Nubnefer as a king who have ruled between the kings Wadjenes and Senedj, Francesco Raffaele, Nwbnefer, Neferkara and Neferkaseker
Nubnefer
–
Fragment of black
schist presenting Nubnefer´s name beside the building ″Menti Ankh″ (left).
48.
Horus Sa
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Horus Sa was a possible early Egyptian pharaoh who may have reigned during the 2nd or 3rd dynasty of Egypt. His existence is disputed, as is the meaning of the artifacts that have been interpreted as confirming his existence, Horus Sa is known from vessel fragments with black ink inscriptions showing his name. These vessels were found in the east galleries beneath Djosers pyramid at Saqqara, the inscriptions are short and written in cursive handwritings. In all cases the name Horus Sa does not appear within a serekh, the name Horus Sa always appears within the inscription Ḥwt-k3 Ḥrw-z3, regularly found together with the names of Inykhnum and Maa-aper-Min, two high-ranking officials who served in the Ka-house. During the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, the House of the Ka was a forerunner of the mortuary temple, a further inscription Ḥwt-k3 Ḥrw-z3 was found in the 1980s at Saqqara in the area of the tomb of Maya and very close to that of Meryra-Meryneith. Maya and Meryra-Meryneith were both late 18th dynasty court officials who reused 2nd dynasty tombs for themselves, some 1500 years after the death of their original owners, jürgen von Beckerath, Dietrich Wildung and Peter Kaplony proposed that Sa is a short form of the Horus-name Sanakht. Thus, Helck proposed that Horus Sa is the Horus-name of another ruler of the 2nd dynasty, Weneg. The Egyptologist Jochem Kahl recently challenged this hypothesis, identifying Weneg with Raneb, alternatively, Kaplony reconstructed the Horus-name of Weneg from the Cairo fragment of the Palermo stone as Wenegsekhemwy. In both cases, Horus Sa cannot be the Horus-name of Weneg and the two would not designate the same king, however, Kaplonys hypothesis has been undermined by the discovery of clay seals of Djoser in Khasekhemwys tomb, indicating that the former immediately succeeded and buried the latter. Horus Sa could instead be the Horus-name of Senedj or another 2nd dynasty king, ruling in Memphis during the period following the reign of Nynetjer. However, Egyptologists such as Jean-Philippe Lauer, Pierre Lacau and Ilona Regulski call for caution of the reading of the inscriptions. Especially the bird-sign at the top of the Ka-house might also depict a swallow, Ilona Regulski prefers the reading as a Horus-bird, though she doesnt explicitly see it as the name of a king. She dates the inscriptions to the end of Khasekhemwys reign, the burial place of Horus Sa is unknown. Nabil Swelim associated Horus Sa with the enclosure of Gisr el-Mudir in west Saqqara. This hypothesis has not gained acceptance and the Gisr el-Mudir has been attributed to various second dynasty kings. Friedman, Barbara Adams & K. M. Cialowicz, Egypt at its origins, studies in memory of Barbara Adams. Proceedings of the international Conference „Origin of the State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt“, Kraków, peeters Publishers, Leuven 2004, ISBN 90-429-1469-6
Horus Sa
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Vessel fragment bearing the inscription Ḥwt-k3 Ḥrw-z3.
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Weneg (pharaoh)
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Weneg, also known as Weneg-Nebty, is the throne name of an early Egyptian king, who ruled during the second dynasty. Although his chronological position is clear to Egyptologists, it is unclear for how long King Weneg ruled and it is also unclear as to which of the archaeologically identified Horus-kings corresponds to Weneg. The name ‘Weneg’ is generally accepted to be a nebti- or throne name, introduced by the crest of the Two Ladies, Wenegs name appears in black ink inscriptions on alabaster fragments and in inscriptions on schist-vessels. Seventeen vessels bearing his name have been preserved, eleven of them were found in the galleries beneath the step pyramid of king Djoser at Sakkara. The symbol that was used to write Wenegs name is the object of significant dispute between egyptologists to this day, the so-called weneg flower is rarely used in Egyptian writing. Mysteriously, the flower is often guided by six vertical strokes. The meaning of these strokes is unknown, so it seems that the weneg flower was somehow connected with the Egyptian sun and death cult. But the true meaning of the flower as a kings name remains unknown, since Wenegs name first became known to Egyptologists, scholars have been trying to match the nebti name of Weneg to contemporary Horus-kings. The following sections discuss some of the theories, egyptologist Jochem Kahl argues that Weneg was the same person as king Raneb, the second ruler of the 2nd dynasty. He points to a vessel fragment made from an igneous material and he believed he had found on the pot sherd weak, but clear, traces of the weneg-flower beneath the inscribed name of king Ninetjer. On the right side of Ninetjers name the depiction of the Ka house of king Raneb is partially preserved, the complete arrangement led Kahl to the conclusion that the weneg flower and Ranebs name were connected to each other and king Ninetjer later replaced the inscription. Kahl also points out that king Ninetjer wrote his name mirrored, kahls theory is the subject of continuing debate since the vessel inscription is badly damaged and thus leaves plenty of room for varying interpretations. Egyptologists such as Nicolas Grimal, Wolfgang Helck and Walter Bryan Emery identify Weneg with king Sekhemib-Perenmaat and their theory is based on the assumption that Sekhemib and Seth-Peribsen were different rulers and that both were the immediate successors of king Ninetjer. But this theory is not commonly accepted, because clay seals of Sekhemib were found in the tomb of king Khasekhemwy, the clay seals set Sekhemibs reign close to Khasekhemwys, whilst the Ramesside name Wadjenes is placed near the beginning of 2nd dynasty. Egyptologists such as Peter Kaplony and Richard Weill argue that Weneg was a king from other kings of the period. They suggest that Weneg succeeded Ninetjer and his name is preserved in Ramesside kinglists under the name Wadjenes and their assumption is firstly based on the widely accepted theory that Ramesside scribes interchanged the weneg-flower with the papyrus haulm, changing it into the name Wadjenes. Secondly, Kaplony and Weills theory is based on the inscription on the Cairo stone and they believe that the name Wenegsekhemwy is preserved over the third line of year events. This theory is not widely accepted, as the Cairo stone is badly damaged
Weneg (pharaoh)
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BM EA 35556, the stone vessel used by Jochem Kahl to equate Weneg with Raneb.
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