1.
Semerkhet
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Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st dynasty. This ruler became known through a legend handed down by ancient Greek historian Manetho. Manetho named Semerkhet Semêmpsés and credited him with a reign of 18 years, Egyptologists and historians now consider both statements as exaggerations and credit Semerkhet with a reign of 8½ years. This evaluation is based on the Cairo Stone inscription, where the complete reign of Semerkhet has been recorded, additionally, they point to the archaeological records, which strengthen the view that Semerkhet had a relatively short reign. Semerkhet is well attested in archaeological records and his name appears in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, alabaster, breccia and marble. His name is preserved on ivory tags and earthen jar seals. Objects bearing Semerkhets name and titles come from Abydos and Sakkara, Semerkhets serekh name is commonly translated as companion of the divine community or thoughtful friend. The latter translation is questioned by scholars, since the hieroglyph khet normally was the symbol for body or divine community. Semerkhets birth name is more problematic, the reading and meaning of this special sign is disputed, since it doesnt appear in this form before king Semerkhet. Indeed, the hieroglyph of the man is extremely rare. It appears only twice in relief inscriptions depicting ceremonial processions of priests, Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson, Bernhard Grdseloff and Jochem Kahl read Iry-Netjer, meaning divine guardian. During the Old Kingdom period, this word is written with uniliteral signs of a netjer flag, some contemporary ivory tags show the Nebty name written with the single eye symbol only. Thus, the scholars also read Semerkhets throne name as Iry and this reconstruction is strengthened by the observation that Semerkhet was the first king using the Nebty title in its ultimate form. For unknown reason Semerkhet did not use the Nebuy title of his predecessor and it seems that he felt connected with the Two Ladies, a title referring to the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, both the female equivalents of Horus and Seth. The Nebty title in turn was thought to function as an addition to the Nisut-Bity title. Scribes and priests of the Ramesside era were also confused, because the archaic ideogram that was used during Semerkhets lifetime was very similar to the sign of an old man with a walking stick and this had been read as Semsu or Sem and means the eldest. It was used as a title identifying someone as the head of the house, the Royal Table of Sakkara omits Semerkhets throne name. The reason for that is unknown, but all kings from Narmer up to king Den are also missing their throne names, virtually nothing is known about Semerkhets family
2.
Hotepsekhemwy
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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
3.
Anedjib
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Anedjib, more correctly Adjib and also known as Hor-Anedjib, Hor-Adjib and Enezib, is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 1st dynasty. The Egyptian historian Manetho named him Miebîdós and credited him with a reign of 26 years, egyptologists and historians now consider both records to be exaggerations and generally credit Adjib with a reign of 8–10 years. Adjib is well attested in archaeological records and his name appears in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, alabaster, breccia and marble. His name is preserved on ivory tags and earthen jar seals. Objects bearing Adjibs name and titles come from Abydos and Sakkara, Adjibs family has only partially been investigated. His parents are unknown, but it is thought that his predecessor, king Den, Adjib was possibly married to a woman named Betrest. On the Palermo Stone she is described as the mother of Adjibs successor, definite evidence for that view has not yet been found. It would be expected that Adjib had sons and daughters, a candidate for being a possible member of his family line is Semerkhet. It means The two lords and refers to the state patrons Horus and Seth. It also symbolically points to Lower- and Upper Egypt, Adjib is thought to have legitimised his role as Egyptian king with the use of this title. Clay seal impressions record the foundation of the new royal fortress Hor nebw-khet, Stone vessel inscriptions show that during Adjibs reign an unusually large number of cult statues were made for the king. At least six objects show the depicting of standing statues representing the king with his royal insignia, but recent investigations suggest that every object showing the Hebsed and Adjibs name together were removed from king Dens tomb. It would seem that Adjib had simply erased and replaced Dens name with his own and this is seen by egyptologists and historians as evidence that Adjib never celebrated a Hebsed and thus his reign was relatively short. Egyptologists such as Nicolas Grimal and Wolfgang Helck assume that Adjib, as Dens son and rightful heir to the throne, Helck additionally points to an unusual feature, All Hebsed pictures of Adjib show the notation Qesen written on the stairways of the Hebsed pavilion. Possibly the end of Adjibs reign was a violent one, Adjibs burial site was excavated at Abydos and is known as Tomb X. It measures 16.4 x 9.0 metres and is the smallest of all royal tombs in this area, Adjibs tomb has its entrance at the eastern side and a staircase leads down inside. The burial chamber is surrounded by 64 subsidiary tombs and simply divided by a wall into two rooms. Until the end of the 1st dynasty, it would seem to have been a tradition that the family and court of the king committed suicide and were then buried alongside the ruler in his necropolis
4.
Ivory
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Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks and teeth of animals, that can be used in art or manufacturing. It consists mainly of dentine ), one of the structures of teeth. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is the same and it has been valued since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, and dominoes. Elephant ivory is the most important source, but ivory from mammoth, walrus, hippopotamus, sperm whale, killer whale, narwhal, elk also have two ivory teeth, which are believed to be the remnants of tusks from their ancestors. The national and international trade in ivory of threatened species such as African and Asian elephants is illegal, the word ivory ultimately derives from the ancient Egyptian âb, âbu, through the Latin ebor- or ebur. Both the Greek and Roman civilizations practiced ivory carving to make large quantities of high value works of art, precious religious objects, Ivory was often used to form the white of the eyes of statues. There is some evidence of either whale or walrus ivory used by the ancient Irish, solinus, a Roman writer in the 3rd century claimed that the Celtic peoples in Ireland would decorate their sword-hilts with the teeth of beasts that swim in the sea. Adomnan of Iona wrote a story about St Columba giving a sword decorated with carved ivory as a gift that a penitent would bring to his master so he could redeem himself from slavery. The Syrian and North African elephant populations were reduced to extinction, the Chinese have long valued ivory for both art and utilitarian objects. Southeast Asian kingdoms included tusks of the Indian elephant in their annual tribute caravans to China, Chinese craftsmen carved ivory to make everything from images of deities to the pipe stems and end pieces of opium pipes. The Buddhist cultures of Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, Ivory was prized for containers due to its ability to keep an airtight seal. It was also carved into elaborate seals utilized by officials to sign documents. In Southeast Asian countries, where Muslim Malay peoples live, such as Malaysia, Indonesia, in the Philippines, ivory was also used to craft the faces and hands of Catholic icons and images of saints prevalent in the Santero culture. Tooth and tusk ivory can be carved into a vast variety of shapes, examples of modern carved ivory objects are okimono, netsukes, jewelry, flatware handles, furniture inlays, and piano keys. Additionally, warthog tusks, and teeth from sperm whales, orcas and hippos can also be scrimshawed or superficially carved, Ivory usage in the last thirty years has moved towards mass production of souvenirs and jewelry. In Japan, the increase in wealth sparked consumption of solid ivory hanko – name seals – which before this time had made of wood. Prior to the introduction of plastics, ivory had many ornamental and practical uses and it was formerly used to make cutlery handles, billiard balls, piano keys, Scottish bagpipes, buttons and a wide range of ornamental items. Ivory can be taken from dead animals – however, most ivory came from elephants that were killed for their tusks, for example, in 1930 to acquire 40 tons of ivory required the killing of approximately 700 elephants
5.
Abydos, Egypt
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Abydos /əˈbaɪdɒs/ is one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, and also of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26°10 N, in the ancient Egyptian language, the city was called Abdju. The English name Abydos comes from the Greek Ἄβυδος, a name borrowed by Greek geographers from the city of Abydos on the Hellespont. These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in times it became desirable to be buried in the area. Today, Abydos is notable for the temple of Seti I. It is a chronological list showing cartouches of most dynastic pharaohs of Egypt from Menes until Seti Is father, the Great Temple and most of the ancient town are buried under the modern buildings to the north of the Seti temple. Many of the structures and the artifacts within them are considered irretrievable and lost. Abydos was occupied by the rulers of the Predynastic period, whose town, temple, the temple and town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of the thirtieth dynasty, and the cemetery was used continuously. The pharaohs of the first dynasty were buried in Abydos, including Narmer, who is regarded as founder of the first dynasty and it was in this time period that the Abydos boats were constructed. Some pharaohs of the dynasty were also buried in Abydos. The temple was renewed and enlarged by these pharaohs as well, funerary enclosures, misinterpreted in modern times as great forts, were built on the desert behind the town by three kings of the second dynasty, the most complete is that of Khasekhemwy. From the fifth dynasty, the deity Khentiamentiu, foremost of the Westerners, Pepi I constructed a funerary chapel which evolved over the years into the Great Temple of Osiris, the ruins of which still exist within the town enclosure. Abydos became the centre of the worship of the Isis and Osiris cult, during the First Intermediate Period, the principal deity of the area, Khentiamentiu, began to be seen as an aspect of Osiris, and the deities gradually merged and came to be regarded as one. Khentiamentius name became an epithet of Osiris, King Mentuhotep II was the first one building a royal chapel. In the twelfth dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut into the rock by Senusret III, associated with this tomb was a cenotaph, a cult temple and a small town known as Wah-Sut, that was used by the workers for these structures. Next to that cenotaph were buried kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, the building during the eighteenth dynasty began with a large chapel of Ahmose I. The Pyramid of Ahmose I was also constructed at Abydos—the only pyramid in the area, thutmose III built a far larger temple, about 130 ft ×200 ft. He also made a way leading past the side of the temple to the cemetery beyond
6.
Stele
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A stele is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected in ancient Western culture as a monument. Grave steles were often used for funerary or commemorative purposes, Stelae as slabs of stone would also be used as ancient Greek and Roman government notices or as boundary markers to mark borders or property lines. The surface of the stele usually has text, ornamentation, or both, the ornamentation may be inscribed, carved in relief, or painted. Traditional Western gravestones may technically be considered the equivalent of ancient stelae. The most famous example of an inscribed stela leading to increased understanding is the Rosetta Stone, an informative stele of Tiglath-Pileser III is preserved in the British Museum. Two steles built into the walls of a church are major documents relating to the Etruscan language, unfinished standing stones, set up without inscriptions from Libya in North Africa to Scotland were monuments of pre-literate Megalithic cultures in the Late Stone Age. The Pictish stones of Scotland, often carved, date from between the 6th and 9th centuries. An obelisk is a kind of stele. The Insular high crosses of Ireland and Britain are specialized steles, totem poles of North and South America that are made out of stone may also be considered a specialized type of stele. Gravestones, typically with inscribed name and often with inscribed epitaph, are among the most common types of stele seen in Western culture. Most recently, in the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin, the memorial is meant to be read not only as the field, but also as an erasure of data that refer to memory of the Holocaust. Steles have been the medium of stone inscription in China since the Tang dynasty. Chinese steles are generally rectangular stone tablets upon which Chinese characters are carved intaglio with a funerary, commemorative and they can commemorate talented writers and officials, inscribe poems, portraits, or maps, and frequently contain the calligraphy of famous historical figures. During the Han dynasty, tomb inscriptions containing biographical information on deceased people began to be written on stone tablets rather than wooden ones, erecting steles at tombs or temples eventually became a widespread social and religious phenomenon. Emperors found it necessary to promulgate laws, regulating the use of funerary steles by the population, Steles are found at nearly every significant mountain and historical site in China. The First Emperor made five tours of his domain in the 3rd century BC and had Li Si make seven stone inscriptions commemorating and praising his work, of which fragments of two survive. One of the most famous mountain steles is the 13 m high stele at Mount Tai with the calligraphy of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang commemorating his imperial sacrifices there in 725. A number of stone monuments have preserved the origin and history of Chinas minority religious communities
7.
Seth-Peribsen
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Seth-Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch, who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt. His chronological position within this dynasty is unknown and it is disputed who ruled both before and after him, the duration of his reign is also unknown. Peribsens royal name is a subject of curiosity for Egyptologists because it is connected to the deity Seth rather than Horus, the debate continues over why Peribsen chose this name. However, newer evidence and evaluations tend to show that the Egyptian kingdom was unified, seal impressions from tombs of this era reveal great changes in the titles held by high officials, pointing to a reduction of their power. Thus, Peribsens reign was in fact a time of cultural, existing negative views about Peribsens existence are based on Ramesside king lists, such as the Abydos King List, the Saqqara King List and the Royal Canon of Turin, which all omit Peribsens name. These, however, are known to have been redacted nearly 1500 years after his death and these tombs report Peribsens name correctly and their existence demonstrate that Peribsen was seen as a legitimate pharaoh, not subject to damnatio memoriae as Akhenaten later would be. Historians and Egyptologists therefore consider the possibility that Peribsens name was forgotten in time or that his name was preserved in a distorted, misspelled form. Peribsens Tomb was discovered in 1898 at Abydos and it was well preserved and showed traces of restoration undertaken during later dynastic periods. The serekh for Peribsen was found pressed in earthen jar seals made of clay and mud and in inscriptions on alabaster, sandstone, porphyry and these seals and vessels were excavated from Peribsens tomb and at an excavation site in Elephantine. One clay seal with Peribsens name was found inside the mastaba tomb K1 at Beit Khallaf, two large tomb stelae made of granite were found at his burial site. Their shape is unusual and they appear unfinished and rough, Egyptologists suspect that this was done deliberately, but the reasons are unknown. A cylinder seal of unknown provenance shows Peribsens name inside a cartouche, another seal of the same material shows Peribsens name without a cartouche, but with the royal title Nisut-Bity instead. Peribsens name is unusual, in that Seth, not Horus, was his patron deity and this goes against the Egyptian tradition of a king choosing the falcon-shaped deity Horus as his royal patron. Traditionally, the Horus name of the king was written within a serekh, instead, Peribsen chose to have the Set animal, representing Seth, on his serekh. Like Horus, Seth was a popular deity during the dynastic period. He became the god of darkness and chaos afterward, during the much later Late Period of Ancient Egypt, although Peribsen is the only known pharaoh to have the Set animal preside alone over his serekh, he is not the only king to associate himself with Seth. Examples include the 13th dynasty pharaoh Seth Meribre, the 19th dynasty rulers Seti I and Seti II, the following sections discuss some of the theories that they put forth. Peribsens actions were thought to be similar to those of the much later 18th dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten, Newberry proposed that the priests of Horus and Seth fought each other in the Manner of a war of the roses during the second half of the Second dynasty
8.
Pharaoh
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The word pharaoh ultimately derive from the Egyptian compound pr-ˤ3 great house, written with the two biliteral hieroglyphs pr house and ˤ3 column, here meaning great or high. It was used only in larger phrases such as smr pr-ˤ3 Courtier of the High House, with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace. From the twelfth dynasty onward, the word appears in a wish formula Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health, but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person. During the reign of Thutmose III in the New Kingdom, after the rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period. During the eighteenth dynasty the title pharaoh was employed as a designation of the ruler. From the nineteenth dynasty onward pr-ˤ3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. f, the term, therefore, evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the ruler, particularly by the twenty-second dynasty and twenty-third dynasty. For instance, the first dated appearance of the pharaoh being attached to a rulers name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun and this new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-second dynasty kings. Shoshenq I was the successor of Siamun. Meanwhile, the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as pr-ˤ3 continued in traditional Egyptian narratives, by this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence Herodotus derived the name of one of the Egyptian kings, Φερων. In the Bible, the title also occurs as פרעה, from that, Septuagint φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō, both -n stem nouns. The Quran likewise spells it فرعون firawn with n, interestingly, the Arabic combines the original pharyngeal ayin sound from Egyptian, along with the -n ending from Greek. English at first spelt it Pharao, but the King James Bible revived Pharaoh with h from the Hebrew, meanwhile in Egypt itself, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ prro and then rro. Scepters and staves were a sign of authority in ancient Egypt. One of the earliest royal scepters was discovered in the tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The scepter with the longest history seems to be the heqa-scepter, the earliest examples of this piece of regalia dates to pre-dynastic times. A scepter was found in a tomb at Abydos that dates to the late Naqada period, another scepter associated with the king is the was-scepter. This is a long staff mounted with an animal head, the earliest known depictions of the was-scepter date to the first dynasty
9.
Umm El Qa'ab
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Umm El Qaāb is the necropolis of the Early Dynastic kings at Abydos, in Egypt. Its modern name means Mother of Pots, as the area is littered with the broken pot shards of offerings made in earlier times. The cultic ancient name of the area was pkr or pkr District of the poker-tree or Opening of the poker-tree, the tombs of this area were first excavated by Émile Amélineau in the 1890s and more systematically by William Matthew Flinders Petrie between 1899-1901. P – Peribsen A seal found in this tomb contains the first full sentence written in hieroglyphs, V – Khasekhemwy This tomb was on a massive scale, with several interconnecting mud-brick chambers, and the actual burial chamber being constructed of dressed limestone blocks. When excavated by Petrie in 1901 it contained a scepter made from sard and banded with gold, limestone vases with golden covers, human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with the first dynasty. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals thought to have been sacrificed, the people and animals sacrificed, such as asses, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. It appears that Djers courtiers were strangled and their tombs all closed at the same time. For unknown reasons, this ended with the conclusion of the dynasty. Media related to Umm El Qaab at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
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The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt. It symbolises worldly power and holy might and also acts as a sort of mission statement for the reign of a monarch. The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom, the Horus name is the oldest form of the pharaohs name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title, the Horus name was usually written in a serekh, a representation of a palace façade. The name of the pharaoh was written in hieroglyphs inside this representation of a palace, typically an image of the falcon God Horus was perched on top of or beside it. At least one Egyptian ruler, the 2nd dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus and he was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Seth and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh, by the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh. The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet and this particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun nebty. Also known as the Golden Horus Name, this form of the name typically featured the image of a Horus falcon perched above or beside the hieroglyph for gold. The meaning of this title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaohs eternal Horus name. Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh, the pharaohs throne name, the first of the two names written inside a cartouche, and usually accompanied the title nsw-bity. The term nsw-bity It has been suggested that the Berber term for strong man, the epithet neb tawy, Lord of the Two Lands, referring to valley and delta regions of Egypt, often occurs as well. This was the name given at birth and it was first introduced to the set of royal titles in the Fourth Dynasty and emphasizes the kings role as a representative of the solar god Ra. For women who became pharaoh, the title was interpreted as daughter also. Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, Middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Cairo, London, and New York, The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. The Great Name, Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, Egyptian Grammar, Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs
