1.
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
2.
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
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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
3.
Amenemhat IV
–
See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name. Amenemhat IV may have been the son, grandson or step-son of his predecessor and his reign started with a two-year coregency with Amenemhat III and was seemingly peaceful. He undertook expeditions in the Sinai for turquoise, in Upper Egypt for amethyst and he also maintained trade relations with Byblos as well as the Egyptian presence in Nubia. Amenemhat IV built some parts of the temple of Hathor at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai, Amenemhat IVs tomb has not been identified, although the Southern Mazghuna pyramid is a possibility. Amenemhat IV was the son of a woman named Hetepi, consequently, her relation to Amenemhat III is unknown and she may have been non-royal. The relation of Amenemhat IV to Amenemhat III is similarly uncertain, similarly, while Manetho states that he married his half-sister Sobekneferu, this claim is not yet supported by archaeological evidence. In particular, Sobekneferu is not known to have borne the title of Kings Wife, instead, the egyptologist Kim Ryholt proposes that Amenemhat IV was adopted by Amenemhat III and thus became Sobekneferus step-brother, thereby explaining the Manethonian tradition. Amenemhat may have died without a heir, which could explain why he was succeeded by Sobekneferu. However, some egyptologists, such as Aidan Dodson and Kim Ryholt, have proposed that the first two rulers of the 13th Dynasty, Sobekhotep I and Amenemhat Sonbef, were his sons, amenenmhat IV may have been Sobeknefrus spouse, but no evidence currently substantiates this hypothesis. Amenemhat IV first came to power as a junior coregent of his predecessor Amenemhat III, the coregency is well attested by numerous monuments and artefacts where the names of the two kings parallel each other. The length of this coregency is uncertain, it could have lasted one to seven years. The Turin Canon, a king list redacted during the early Ramesside period, records Amenemhat IV on Column 6, Row 1, and credits him with a reign of 9 years,3 months and 27 days. Amenemhat IV is also recorded on Entry 65 of the Abydos King List and Entry 38 of the Saqqara Tablet, in spite of the Turin canon, the duration of Amenemhats reign is uncertain. It was given as eight years under the name Ammenemes in Manethos Aegyptiaca, in any case, Amenemhats rule seems to have been peaceful and uneventful. Amenemhat IV is well attested by contemporary artefacts, including a number of scarab-, four expeditions to the turquoise mines of Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai are dated to his reign by in-situ inscriptions. The latest took place in his year on the throne and could be the last expedition of the Middle Kingdom, since the next inscription dates to Ahmose Is reign. In his Year 2, Amenemhat IV sent another expedition to mine amethyst in the Wadi el-Hudi in the south of Egypt, the leader of the expedition was the assistant treasurer Sahathor. A gold plaque showing Amenemhat IV offering to a god may also originate there, two fragments of a stela depicting him and dating to his Year 7 were found at Berenice on the Red Sea
Amenemhat IV
–
Small
gneiss sphinx inscribed with the name of Amenemhat IV and reworked in
Ptolemaic times on display at the
British Museum.
Amenemhat IV
–
The remains of the Southern Mazghuna pyramid, possibly Amenemhat IV's tomb.
4.
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep
–
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period, who reigned for at least three years c.1800 BC. His tomb was believed to have discovered in Abydos in 2013. Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep is well attested by contemporary sources, first, he is mentioned on the Kahun Papyrus IV, now in the Petrie Museum. This establishes that Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep reigned close in time to Amenemhat III, smaller artifacts mentioning Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep comprise a cylinder seal from Gebelein, an adze-blade, a statuette from Kerma and a faience bead, now in the Petrie Museum. During a 2013 excavation in Abydos, a team of archaeologists led by Josef W. Wegner of the University of Pennsylvania discovered the tomb of a king with the name Sobekhotep. While Sobekhotep I was named as owner of the tomb on several press reports since January 2014, there is some dispute in Egyptology over the position of this king in the 13th Dynasty. The throne name Sekhemre Khutawyre appears in the Turin King List as the 19th king of the 13th Dynasty, however, the Nile level records and his appearance on a papyrus found at Lahun indicate that he might date to the early 13th Dynasty. In both monument types only kings of the late 12th and early 13th Dynasty are mentioned, based on his name Amenemhat Sobekhotep, it has been suggested that Sobekhotep was a son of the penultimate pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, king Amenemhat IV. Amenemhat Sobekhotep can be read as Amenemhats son Sobekhotep, therefore, Sobekhotep may have been a brother of Sekhemkare Sonbef, the second ruler of the 13th Dynasty. Other Egyptologists read Amenemhat Sobekhotep as a name, these being common in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasty. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800–1550 BC,336, File 13/1
Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep
–
Head of a statue, thought to represent Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, although other attributions have been proposed
5.
Wegaf
–
Khutawyre Wegaf was a pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt who is known from several sources, including a stele and statues. There is a general known from a scarab with the name who is perhaps identical with this king. A king with the name Khutawyre appears in the Turin King List as first ruler of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt. In particular, Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep is regarded by Ryholt and other Egyptologists, including Darrell Baker, as the first pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty, Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c. 1800-1550 BC
Wegaf
–
Drawing of the Rubensohn plaquette from Elephantine realized in 1907 by
Georges Legrain. The plaquette mentions Khutawyre Wegaf and a king Senwosret.
6.
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
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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
7.
Sobek
–
Sobek, in Greek, Suchos and from Latin Suchus, was an ancient Egyptian deity with a complex and fluid nature. He is associated with the Nile crocodile and is represented in its form or as a human with a crocodile head. Sobek enjoyed a longstanding presence in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, from the Old Kingdom through the Roman period and he is first known from several different Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, particularly from spell PT317. Unis has appeared as Sobek, Neiths son, Unis will eat with his mouth, Unis will urinate and Unis will copulate with his penis. Unis is lord of semen, who takes women from their husbands to the place Unis likes according to his hearts fancy. The origin of his name, Sbk in ancient Egyptian, is debated among scholars, though Sobek was worshipped in the Old Kingdom, he truly gained prominence in the Middle Kingdom, most notably under the Twelfth Dynasty king, Amenemhat III. Amenemhat III had taken a particular interest in the Faiyum region of Egypt, Amenemhat and many of his dynastic contemporaries engaged in building projects to promote Sobek – projects that were often executed in the Faiyum. In this period, Sobek also underwent an important change, he was fused with the falcon-headed god of divine kingship. This brought Sobek even closer with the kings of Egypt, thereby giving him a place of prominence in the Egyptian pantheon. The fusion added a level of complexity to the god’s nature, as he was adopted into the divine triad of Horus. Sobek-Horus persisted as a figure in the New Kingdom, but it was not until the last dynasties of Egypt that Sobek-Ra gained prominence and this understanding of the god was maintained after the fall of Egypts last native dynasty in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. The entire Faiyum region – the Land of the Lake in Egyptian – served as a center of Sobek. Most Faiyum towns developed their own localized versions of the god, such as Soknebtunis at Tebtunis, Sokonnokonni at Bacchias, at Karanis, two forms of the god were worshipped, Pnepheros and Petsuchos. There, mummified crocodiles were employed as cult images of Petsuchos, Sobek Shedety, the patron of the Faiyums centrally located capital, Crocodilopolis, was the most prominent form of the god. Extensive building programs honoring Sobek were realized in Shedet, as it was the capital of the entire Arsinoite nome and it is thought that the effort to expand Sobeks main temple was initially driven by Ptolemy II. Outside the Faiyum, Kom Ombo, in southern Egypt, was the biggest cultic center of Sobek, particularly during the Ptolemaic, located about 30 miles north of Aswan and was built during the Graeco-Roman period. The temple at this site was called the Per-Sobek, meaning the house of Sobek, Sobek is, above all else, an aggressive and animalistic deity who lives up to the vicious reputation of his patron animal, the large and violent Nile crocodile. Some of his common epithets betray this nature succinctly, the most notable of which being, he who loves robbery, he who eats while he also mates, however, he also displays grand benevolence in more than one celebrated myth
Sobek
–
This statue of Sobek was found at
Amenemhat III 's mortuary temple (which was connected to his
pyramid at
Hawara in the
Faiyum), serving as a testament to this king's devotion to Sobek.
Ashmolean Museum,
Oxford.
Sobek
–
This
Late Period (c. 400–250 BCE) statue shows Sobek bearing the falcon head of Re-Harakhti, illustrating the fusion of Sobek and
Re into Sobek-Re.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
Sobek
–
This relief from the
Temple of Kom Ombo shows Sobek with typical attributes of kingship, including a
was sceptre and royal kilt. The
ankh in his hand represents his role as an Osirian healer and his crown is a solar crown associated with one of the many forms of
Re.
Sobek
–
This Roman period box shows a king making an offering to a solar form of Sobek. It is thought that this box could have been used in such offering rituals.
Walters Art Museum,
Baltimore.
8.
Amenemhat III
–
See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name. Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC and his reign is regarded as the golden age of the Middle Kingdom. He may have had a coregency with his father, Senusret III. His daughter, Sobekneferu, later succeeded Amenemhat IV, as the last ruler of the twelfth dynasty, Amenemhat IIIs throne name, Nimaatre, means Belonging to the Justice of Re. He built his first pyramid at Dahshur, but there were construction problems, around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara, near the Faiyum. The pyramid at Dahshur was used as ground for several royal women. The mortuary temple attached to the Hawara pyramid may have known to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus as the Labyrinth. Strabo praised it as a wonder of the world, nevertheless, the kings burial was robbed in antiquity. His daughter or sister, Neferuptah, was buried in a separate pyramid 2 km southwest of the kings, the pyramidion of Amenemhet IIIs pyramid tomb was found toppled from the peak of its structure and preserved relatively intact, it is today located in the Cairo Egyptian Museum. There is very little evidence for military expeditions in the reign of the king, there is only one record for a small mission in year nine of the king. The evidence for that was found in an inscription in Nubia. The short text reports that a mission was guided by the mouth of Nekhen Zamonth who reports that he went north with a small troop. Many expeditions to mining areas are recorded under the king, there are two expeditions known to the Wadi el-Hudi at the southern border of Egypt, where Amethyst was collected. One of the dates to year 11, of the king. Two further to year 20 and to year 28, there were further mining expeditions to the Wadi Hammamat. These are dated to year 2,3,19,20 and 33 of the kings reign, the inscriptions of year 19 and 20 might be related to the building start of the pyramid complex at Hawara. They report the breaking of stone for statues, at the Red Sea coast, at Mersa was discovered a stela mentioning an expedition to Punt under Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III
–
Statuette head of Amenemhat III, now in the
Louvre
Amenemhat III
–
Statue from the
Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum
Amenemhat III
–
Pectoral of Amenemhat III, tomb of Mereret.
Amenemhat III
–
Pyramidion or Capstone of Amenemhat III's pyramid.
9.
Northern Mazghuna pyramid
–
The Northern Mazghuna Pyramid is an ancient Egyptian royal tomb which was built during the 12th or 13th Dynasty in Mazghuna,5 km south of Dahshur. The building remained unfinished, and it is unknown which pharaoh was really intended to be buried here since no appropriate inscription has been found. The pyramid was rediscovered in 1910 by Ernest Mackay and excavated in the year by Flinders Petrie. Subsequently, the pyramid was attributed to the female-pharaoh Sobekneferu, sister of Amenemhat IV. However, some such as William C. Hayes believed that the two Mazghuna pyramids were built during the 13th Dynasty, on the basis of some similarities with the pyramid of Khendjer.5 m. The hypogeum is similar to the one of the pyramid but much more tortuous. The entrance is on the north side, from there, a staircase leads down to a square chamber and then to another staircase an to the first quartzite blocking. After that, two chambers are connected by a passage with a second, still unsealed blocking. The never-used sarcophagus lid, a 42-ton quartzite slab, still awaits to be fitted in the chamber, all exposed quartzite, which was built in the pyramid, had been painted with red paint and sometimes also decorated with vertical black stripes. The function of a room behind the burial chamber remain unknown. From the pyramid complex the valley temple, the funerary temple, only a large portion of the causeway has been discovered, as well as another blocking stone, likely abandoned due to a change of the pyramids design. Mainz 1997, p.251, ISBN 3-8053-1142-7 Miroslav Verner, rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek 1998, pp. 472–474, ISBN 3-499-60890-1
Northern Mazghuna pyramid
–
Plan of the hypogeum
10.
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.
11.
Nefruptah
–
Neferuptah or Ptahneferu was a daughter of the Egyptian king Amenemhat III of the 12th dynasty. Her sister was the Pharaoh Sobekneferu, neferuptah is one of the first royal women whose name was written inside a cartouche. Although she never had the kings wife, she must have had a special status. Her titles included member of the elite, great of favour, great of praise, a burial for her was prepared in the tomb of her father at Hawara. However, she was not buried there, but in a pyramid at Hawara. Her tomb was found intact in 1956 and still contained her jewellery, the granite sarcophagus was inscribed with a short offering formula. Inside the sarcophagus were found the remains of two wooden coffins. The outer one was decorated with inscribed gold foil, identical inscriptions were found on the sarcophagus of Queen Hatshepsut, who lived about 300 years later. Her tomb is mentioned on a papyrus found at Lahun and she is depicted next to her father in the temple at Medinet Madi. Objects belonging to her include a sphinx of black granite and the fragment of a statue found on Elephantine, flinders Petrie, Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara, London 1890 N. Farag, The discovery of Neferwptah,1971
Nefruptah
–
Broad collar of Neferu-Ptah
12.
Hawara
–
Hawara is an archaeological site of Ancient Egypt, south of the site of Crocodilopolis at the entrance to the depression of the Fayyum oasis. The first excavations at the site were made by Karl Lepsius, Amenemhat III was the last powerful ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and the pyramid he built at Hawara is believed to post-date the so-called Black Pyramid built by the same ruler at Dahshur. It is this that is believed to have been Amenemhets final resting place, at Hawara there was also the intact tomb of Neferu-Ptah, daughter of Amenemhet III. This tomb was found about 2 km South of the kings pyramid, in common with the Middle Kingdom pyramids constructed after Amenemhat II, it was built of mudbrick round a core of limestone passages and burial chambers, and faced with limestone. From the pyramid entrance a sloping passageway with steps runs down to a small room, in the roof of this horizontal passage there was a concealed sliding trapdoor weighing 20 tons. He would assume that the blocking concealed the entrance and waste time removing it, in fact there was a second 20-ton trapdoor in the roof of the empty passage, giving onto a second empty passage, also at a right angle to the first. This too had a 20-ton trapdoor giving onto a passage at an angle to its predecessor. However this passage ended in a area of mud and stone blocking that presumably concealed the burial chamber. This, however, was a blind and merely filled a wide, despite these elaborate protective measures, Petrie found that none of the trapdoors had been slid into place and the wooden doors were open. The burial chamber was made out of a single quartzite monolith which was lowered into a chamber lined with limestone. This monolithic slab weighed an estimated 110 tons according to Petrie, a course of brick was placed on the chamber to raise the ceiling then the chamber was covered with 3 quartzite slabs. Above the burial chamber were 2 relieving chambers and this was topped with 50 ton limestone slabs forming a pointed roof. Then an enormous arch of brick 3 feet thick was built over the roof to support the core of the pyramid. The entrance to the pyramid is today flooded to a depth of 6 metres as a result of the waters from the Bahr Yusuf canal, queen Sobekneferu of the Twelfth dynasty also built at the complex. Her name meant most beautiful of Sobek, the sacred crocodile, among the discoveries made by Flinders Petrie were papyrus manuscripts, including a great papyrus scroll which contains parts of books 1 and 2 of the Iliad. com
Hawara
–
The Pyramid of
Amenemhet III at Hawara, from the east
Hawara
–
Map of archaeological sites in the
Faiyum, showing the location of Hawara
Hawara
–
Amenemhet III from his funerary temple (Cairo Museum)
Hawara
–
Petrie unearthed a number of vivid
Fayoum mummy portraits in 1911
13.
Sixth Dynasty
–
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt along with Dynasties III, IV and V constitute the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are as follows The pharaohs of this dynasty ruled for approximately 164 years, the Horus names and names of the Queens are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Dynasty VI is considered by authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Manetho writes that these kings ruled from Memphis, since their pyramids were built at Saqqara, Dynasty VI was founded by Teti, who had married Iput, commonly believed to be the daughter of the Dynasty V pharaoh Unas. Manetho claimed that Teti was eventually murdered by his own bodyguard, during this dynasty, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula to mine for turquoise and copper, as well as to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamat. The pharaoh Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to Punt and north to Byblos, and Pepi I sent expeditions not only to these locations, but also as far as Ebla in modern-day Syria. The most notable member of dynasty was Pepi II, who is credited with a reign of 94 years. With the growing number of inscriptions in non-royal tombs, our knowledge of the contemporary history broadens. For example, we hear of a plot against Pepi I. We also read a written by the young king Pepi II, excited that one of his expeditions will return with a dancing pygmy from the land of Yam. These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the power of the nobility
Sixth Dynasty
–
Tomb Relief of Iny
14.
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
15.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c.1700 BC, during the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt, to the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B. C, during Mentuhotep IIs fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, for this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south as far as the Second Cataract in Nubia and he also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, by means of ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name significantly is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin Papyrus claims that after Mentuhotep III came seven kingless years, despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I. Mentuhotep IVs absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne, while there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of 20 ships to pacify Upper Egypt, donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, from the 12th dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces which were raised for defence against invasion, however, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus. Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, in addition, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet Itj Tawy, or Amenemhet, the location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the citys necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
An
Osiride statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
The head of a statue of Senusret I.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Statue head of Senusret III
16.
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.
17.
Flinders Petrie
–
Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, FRS, FBA, commonly known as Flinders Petrie, was an English Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyptology in the United Kingdom, some consider his most famous discovery to be that of the Merneptah Stele, an opinion with which Petrie himself concurred. Petrie developed the system of dating based on pottery and ceramic findings. William Matthew Flinders Petrie was born in Maryon Road, Charlton, Kent, England, Anne was the daughter of Captain Matthew Flinders, surveyor of the Australian coastline, spoke six languages and was an Egyptologist. His father taught his son how to survey accurately, laying the foundation for his archaeological career, at the age of eight, he was tutored in French, Latin, and Greek, until he had a collapse and was taught at home. He also ventured his first archaeological opinion aged eight, when visiting the Petrie family were describing the unearthing of the Brading Roman Villa in the Isle of Wight. The boy was horrified to hear the rough shovelling out of the contents, and protested that the earth should be pared away, inch by inch, to see all that was in it and how it lay. All that I have done since, he wrote when he was in his seventies, was there to begin with. I was already in archaeology by nature, on 26 November 1896, Petrie married Hilda Urlin in London. They had two children, John and Ann and they originally lived in Hampstead, where an English Heritage blue plaque now stands on the building they lived in,5 Cannon Place. Their son was John Flinders Petrie, the mathematician, who gave his name to the Petrie polygon, when he died in 1942, Petrie donated his head to the Royal College of Surgeons of London while his body was interred in the Protestant Cemetery on Mt. Zion. World War II was then at its height, and the head was delayed in transit, after being stored in a jar in the college basement, its label fell off and no one knew who the head belonged to. It was identified however, and is now stored, but not displayed, the chair of Edwards Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Philology at University College London was set up and funded in 1892 by a bequest of Amelia Edwards following her sudden death in that year. Petries supporter since 1880, Edwards had instructed that he should be its first incumbent and he continued to excavate in Egypt after taking up the professorship, training many of the best archaeologists of the day. In 1913 Petrie sold his collection of Egyptian antiquities to University College, London. One of his students was Howard Carter who went on to discover the tomb of Tutankhamun, in his teenage years, Petrie surveyed British prehistoric monuments in attempts to understand their geometry. On that visit, he was appalled by the rate of destruction of monuments, impressed by his scientific approach, they offered him work as the successor to Édouard Naville. Petrie accepted the position and was given the sum of £250 per month to cover the excavations expenses, in November 1884, Petrie arrived in Egypt to begin his excavations
Flinders Petrie
–
Flinders Petrie, 1903
Flinders Petrie
–
Flinders Petrie by Philip Alexius de Laszlo, 1934 (detail)
Flinders Petrie
–
The distinctive black-topped Egyptian pottery of the PreDynastic period associated with Flinders Petrie's Sequence Dating System,
Petrie Museum
Flinders Petrie
–
A photograph Petrie took of his view from the tomb he lived in in Giza 1881
18.
Gezer
–
Gezer, or Tel Gezer is an archaeological site in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains at the border of the Shfela region roughly midway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. It is now an Israeli national park, in the Hebrew Bible, Gezer is associated with Joshua and Solomon. It became a major fortified Canaanite city-state in the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE and it was later destroyed by fire and rebuilt. The Amarna letters mention kings of Gezer swearing loyalty to the Egyptian Pharaoh, Gezer is listed in the Book of Jushua as a Levitical city, one of ten allotted to the Levite children of Kehoth - the Kohathites. Gezer was located on the fringe of the Shephelah region. It was strategically situated at the junction of the Via Maris, the coastal highway. These inscriptions from the 1st century BCE read boundary of Gezer, inhabitants of the first settlement at Gezer, toward the end of the 4th millennium BCE, lived in large rock-cut caves. In the Early Bronze Age, an unfortified settlement covered the tell and it was destroyed in the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE and abandoned for several hundred years. In the Middle Bronze Age, Gezer became a city, well fortified. The Canaanite city was destroyed in a fire, presumably in the wake of a campaign by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III, the oldest known historical reference to the city is to be found on an inscription of conquered sites at Thutmoses temple at Karnak. The Tell Amarna letters, dating from the 14th century BCE, the city-state of Gezer was ruled by four leaders during the 20-year period covered by the Amarna letters. Fortifications The tell was surrounded by a stone wall and towers. The wooden city gate, near the corner of the wall, was fortified by two towers. The exact purpose of these megaliths is still debated, but they may have constituted a Canaanite high place from the Middle Bronze Age, in the Late Bronze Age a new fortification wall, four meters thick, was erected. In the 14th century BCE, a palace was constructed on the western part of the tell. Toward the end of the Bronze Age, the city declined, Gezer is mentioned in the victory stele of Merneptah, dating from the end of the 13th century BCE. In 12th-11th centuries BCE, a building with many rooms. Grinding stones and grains of wheat found among the sherds indicate that it was a granary, local and Philistine vessels attest to a mixed Canaanite/Philistine population
Gezer
–
The Gezer High Place with massebot and basin
Gezer
–
Boundary of Gezer inscription
Gezer
–
Water system at Tel Gezer
Gezer
–
Replica of the
Gezer calendar in Gezer, Israel.
19.
Statue of Sobekneferu
–
The Statue of Sobekneferu was a sculpture of the Ancient Egyptian queen Sobekneferu, who reigned during the 12th dynasty. The bust with the rulers preserved face is the first known statue of the queen with a face, the sculpture was kept in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, but was lost in World War II. The bust was bought in 1899, the bust was about 14 cm high and made of greywacke. The identity of the woman shown was for a time unknown. The bust is today known from photographic images, but also from preserved plaster casts. The Egyptologist Biri Fay was able to locate the part of the statue. It is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the lower part of the statue is also uninscribed but shows on the throne the hieroglyphic signs uniting the two lands. This is a symbol and only attested for kings. Therefore, this shows a woman that ruled as king and must belong to Sobekneferu. There are several statues known belonging to this ruling queen, however, they are all without head
Statue of Sobekneferu
–
Bust of a women, now identified as Sobekneferu; Berlin Egyptian Museum 14475
20.
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
–
The Egyptian Museum of Berlin is home to one of the worlds most important collections of Ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the iconic Nefertiti Bust. Since October 2009, the collection is part of the reopened Neues Museum on Berlins Museum Island, the museum originated in the 18th century from the royal art collection of the Hohenzollern kings of Prussia. Alexander von Humboldt had recommended that an Egyptian section be created, initially housed in Monbijou Palace, the department was headed by the Trieste merchant Giuseppe Passalacqua, whose extensive collections formed the basis. A Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia led by Karl Richard Lepsius in 1842–45 brought additional pieces to Berlin, in 1850, the collections moved to its present-day home in the Neues Museum, built according to plans designed by Friedrich August Stüler. The Nefertiti Bust, discovered during the excavations by Ludwig Borchardt in Amarna, was donated to the museum by the entrepreneur Henri James Simon in 1920, it quickly became its best-known exhibit. After World War II, during which the Neues Museum was heavily damaged by strategic bombing, the main part remained in East Berlin and was displayed at the Bode Museum, while those artifacts evacuated to West Germany, including the Nefetiti Bust, returned to West Berlin. From 1967 to 2005, these items were housed vis-à-vis Charlottenburg Palace, the whole collection was reunited again after the Reunification of Germany, when it returned to Museum Island. The collection contains artefacts dating from between 4000BC to the period of Roman rule, though most date from the rule of Akhenaten, the most famous piece on display is the exceptionally well preserved and vividly coloured bust of Queen Nefertiti. The collection was moved from Charlottenburg to the Altes Museum in 2005 and was rehoused within the newly reconstructed Neues Museum on Berlins Museum Island in October 2009
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
–
Nefertiti bust
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
–
Figure of a girl with a cat and standing figure of a young woman, 18th Dynasty, c. 1380 and 19. Dynasty, Abusir el Meleq and Theben
Egyptian Museum of Berlin
–
Head of a statue of king
Ptolemaios X (reign 110-88 BC).;
21.
Semna
–
The region of Semna is 15 miles south of Wadi Halfa and is situated where rocks cross the Nile narrowing its flow—the Semna Cataract. There are three forts at Semna, Semna West, Semna East, and Semna South. The forts to the east and west of the Semna Cataract are Semna East and West, respectively, the Semna gorge, at the southern edge of ancient Egypt, was the narrowest part of the Nile valley. The rectangular Kumma fortress, the L-shaped Semna fortress and the smaller square fortress of Semna South were each investigated by the American archaeologist George Reisner in 1924 and 1928, the logs increased the vulnerability to fire and traces of fires can be seen in the walls. As a 12th Dynasty fort, Semna South is one of 17 Middle Kingdom Egyptian forts in Nubia built for the purpose of controlling trade traffic along the Nile, the Egyptian state placed great importance on control of Nubia and its goods. Thus, forts were built along the Nile to protect the waterway from nomadic tribes, the initial excavation of the fort was directed by Jean Vercoutter and Sayed Thabit Hassan Thabit with the Sudan Antiquities Service in 1956-1957. Further excavations of the fort and an adjacent cemetery were conducted by the Oriental Institute Expedition to Sudanese Nubia, under the direction of Dr. Louis Vico Žabkar, in 1966-1968. Today, the remains from Semna South are curated at Arizona State University. Semna South is located in the Batn-El-Hajar region of Nubia between the second and third cataracts, as its name implies, the Batn-El-Hajar is “characterized by ‘bare granite ridges and gullies’, a narrowed Nile run, and heavy deposits of wind-blown sand”. Semna is situated above a geological formation known as the Basement Complex, there is only a thin layer of fertile alluvial soil overlying this complex which results in poor agricultural potential. This excavation explored the majority of the fort and “made a limited trial digging” in the adjacent Meroitic cemetery, Vercoutter notes that their work was preliminary and by no means complete. Beginning in 1966 the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago continued excavating where Vercoutter, between 1966 and 1968 the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Expedition to Sudanese Nubia excavated the remainder of the Semna South fort and the adjacent cemetery. Detailed excavations were conducted of the walls, a church, a dump site. To the author’s knowledge, this was the archaeological excavation conducted at Semna South. During the 1956-1957 field season, Vercoutter and colleagues were able to interpret the building plan of the fort, the building is composed of the following features, a glacis, outer girdle wall, an inner ditch, a main wall, and an open inner space. They concluded that the fort was never inhabited permanently, rather and they found little evidence of Middle Kingdom occupation, but did discover ruins of a Christian settlement at Semna South. They concluded that the Christian settlement had been inhabited by a poor community. Excavations of the church, sometimes called the tomb, ” revealed that only a portion of the original structure still remained
Semna
–
Perspective view of a reconstruction of the Semna West Fort
Semna
–
Semna & Kumma forts view from west
22.
Labyrinth
–
In Greek mythology, the labyrinth was an elaborate structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur eventually killed by the hero Theseus, Daedalus had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. Even as the designs became more elaborate, visual depictions of the mythological Labyrinth from Roman times until the Renaissance are almost invariably unicursal, branching mazes were reintroduced only when garden mazes became popular during the Renaissance. In English, the labyrinth is generally synonymous with maze. As a result of the history of unicursal representation of the mythological Labyrinth, however, many contemporary scholars. In this specialized usage refers to a complex branching multicursal puzzle with choices of path and direction. A labyrinth in this sense has a route to the center and back. Unicursal labyrinths appeared as designs on pottery or basketry, as body art, the Romans created many primarily decorative unicursal designs on walls and floors in tile or mosaic. Many labyrinths set in floors or on the ground are large enough that the path can be walked, unicursal patterns have been used historically both in group ritual and for private meditation, and are increasingly found for therapeutic use in hospitals and hospices. Labyrinth is a word of Pre-Greek origin, which the Greeks associated with the palace of Knossos in Crete and this designation may not have been limited to Knossos, because the same symbols were discovered in other palaces in Crete. Labrys was a cult-word that was introduced from Anatolia, where such symbols have been found in Çatal Höyük from the Neolithic age. In Labraunda of Caria the double-axe accompanies the storm-god Zeus Labraundos and it also accompanies the Hurrian god of sky and storm Teshub. Labrys, however, comes from Lydian, not Minoan, the Linear B inscription
Labyrinth
–
Silver coin from
Knossos representing the labyrinth, 400 BC.
Labyrinth
–
Labyrinth at
Meis,
Galicia, possibly from the
Atlantic Bronze Age
Labyrinth
–
Roman mosaic picturing
Theseus and the
Minotaur.
Rhaetia,
Switzerland.
Labyrinth
–
Labyrinth among
rock drawings in Valcamonica,
Italy
23.
Herodotus
–
Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact, of these only fragments of Hecataeuss work survive yet they allow us glimpses into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories. In his introduction to Hecataeus’s work, Genealogies, This points forward to the ‘folksy’ yet ‘international’ outlook typical of Herodotus. Yet, one scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as “a curious false start to history” since despite his critical spirit. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a recorded by Eusebius. But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, Herodotus claims to be better informed than his predecessors by relying on empirical observation to correct their excessive schematism. For example, He argues for continental asymmetry as opposed to the theory of a perfectly circular earth with Europe. Yet, he retains idealizing tendencies, as in his notions of the Danube. His debt to previous authors of prose ‘histories’ might be questionable, however, this point is one of the most contentious issues in modern scholarship. It is on account of the strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics in early modern times branded him “The Father of Lies”. Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement, similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a “logos-writer”. Moreover, Thucydides developed a historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view, the interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus’s own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, modern accounts of his life typically go something like this, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus around 484 BC. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League, the epic poet Panyassis – a relative of Herodotus – is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. Herodotus expresses affection for the island of Samos, and this is an indication that he might have lived there in his youth. So it is possible that his family was involved in an uprising against Lygdamis, leading to a period of exile on Samos, Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect, yet he was born in Halicarnassus, which was a Dorian settlement
Herodotus
–
A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek
bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC
Herodotus
–
Fragment from the Histories VIII on
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099, early 2nd century AD
Herodotus
–
Relief of Herodotus by
Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1806),
Louvre, Paris
Herodotus
–
The statue of Herodotus in his hometown of
Halicarnassus, modern
Bodrum, Turkey.
24.
Herakleopolis Magna
–
Heracleopolis Magna or Heracleopolis is the Roman name of the capital of the 20th nome of ancient Upper Egypt. The site is located approximately 15 km west of the city of Beni Suef. In Ancient Egypt, Heracleopolis Magna was known in Egyptian as the House of the Royal Child, the Greek name meant City of Hercules, with the epithet great being added to distinguish it from other towns with that name. The Greek form became more common under the Macedonian Ptolemid dynasty, the Romans used a latinized form of the Greek name but the town was by then known locally as Ehnasya. This later developed into Hnas and Ahnas, the site is now known in Egyptian Arabic as Ihnasiya Umm al-Kimam and as Ihnasiyyah al-Madinah. Herakleopolis first came to prominence and reached its apogee of power during the First Intermediate Period, eventually after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Herakleopolis became the city of Lower Egypt and was able to exercise its control over much of the region. During this period, Herakleopolis often found itself in conflict with the de facto capital of Upper Egypt, ancient Thebes. Between the latter part of the First Intermediate Period and the early Middle Kingdom, the city became religious center of the cult of Heryshef, Heracleopolis Magna and its dynasty was defeated by Mentuhotep II in ca. 2055-2004 B. C. which ushered in the Middle Kingdom period, by the time of the Third Intermediate Period, Herakleopolis again rose in importance. There were many renovations and new constructions of the temple and mortuary centers that existed in the city, by the Ptolemaic period of Egypt, Herakleopolis was still an important religious and cultural center in Egypt. The site of Herakleopolis was occupied even into Roman times, near the Necropolis of Sedmet el-Gebel, houses dating to this period were found, which in and of itself implies a continued occupation of the area. The first person to undertake an excavation at Herakleopolis was the Swiss Egyptologist Edouard Naville. After excavating what he believed to be the entirety of the Temple of Heryshef, Naville came to the conclusion that he had found all that Herakleopolis had to offer. His friend Sir Flinders Petrie, on the hand, “. in 1879 suspected that the region already cleared was only a part of the temple, ”. Petrie discovered a great deal that Naville had not believed existed and he completed the excavation of the temple of Heryshef, and attempted to find other remains in an area around the temple. In so doing, he succeeded in discovering such previously unknown features as house remains from the Roman period of occupation and he also identified another temple that he attributed to the 19th Dynasty, as well as the aforementioned additions to the Temple of Heryshef associated with Ramses the Great. Other than archaeological features, the artefacts found by Petrie during his excavation are numerous, relating specifically to artefacts found at the end of the First Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Middle Kingdom, Petrie uncovered numerous pot sherds he associated with the 11th Dynasty
Herakleopolis Magna
–
Heracleopolis
Herakleopolis Magna
–
Partial view of the bas-relief from the north wall of a funerary chapel containing the tombs of district governor Neferkhau-(Nfr-khaU) and a woman named Sat-Bahetep (probably his wife)-(Sa-t, Ba-htp), dated between
9th and
11th dynasties. It shows a funerary food-offering ritual for Sat-Baheteps's
ka (between 2160 and 1990 BC).
25.
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
Royal titulary
–
Serekh containing the name of
Djet and an association with
Wadjet, on display at the
Louvre
Royal titulary
–
Praenomen of the
Cartouche of
Thutmose II preceded by Sedge and Bee symbols, Temple of
Hatshepsut,
Luxor
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.
Royal titulary
–
Royal titulary
26.
British Museum
–
The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
British Museum
–
British Museum
British Museum
–
The centre of the museum was redeveloped in 2001 to become the
Great Court, surrounding the original
Reading Room.
British Museum
–
Sir
Hans Sloane
British Museum
–
Montagu House, c. 1715
27.
Graffito (archaeology)
–
A graffito, in an archaeological context, is a deliberate mark made by scratching or engraving on a large surface such as a wall. The marks may form an image or writing, in archaeology, the term may or may not include the more common modern sense of an unauthorized addition to a building or monument. Sgraffito, a technique of partially scratching off a top layer of plaster or some other material to reveal a differently colored material beneath, is also sometimes known as graffito. Basic categories of graffiti in archaeology are, Written graffiti, or informal inscriptions, complex, merged, or multiple category graffiti. Twentieth century developments led to finding less common sources of information indicating the intricacies of the interrelationships of the pharaoh, his appointees, very Late Egyptian Demotic was used only for ostraca, mummy labels, subscriptions to Greek texts, and graffiti. The last dated example of Egyptian Demotic is from the Temple of Isis at Philae, the original Rotas Square was later made into the Sator Square. The Sator square is a Latin graffito found at sites throughout the Roman Empire and elsewhere. It is a palindrome- which forms a square that may be read in any direction. See Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas for alternative details, and Talk, the reason that the palindrome may only be a theory, is because the square may have to be read boustrophedonically. (See, Boustrophedon and the Ceram Ref. pg 30, (Note, reverse direction after the first tenet, to repeat tenet. Four entry points, one per side, renders the reading of the Magic Square, the Sator Square– Analysis, Diagrams & archaeological graffito example, The Sator Square has to begin at Rotas, so that it can end at Sator, basically, The Great Sower. See, The inscribed square Pilgrims to religious sites left numerous graffiti at the Egyptian site of Deir el-Bahri, large quantities of graffiti have been found in Athens during excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, nearly 850 were catalogued by Mabel Lang in 1976. They date from the eighth century BC through to the late Roman period, there are several types of graffiti found in British buildings dating from the medieval period. There is a range of graffiti to be found on medieval buildings. The Norfolk Medieval Graffiti Survey was established in 2010 with the aim of undertaking the first large-scale survey of medieval graffiti in the UK, the survey primarily looks at graffiti dating from the fourteenth to seventeenth centuries. Since 2010 a number of other county based surveys have been set up and these include Kent, Suffolk and Surrey. The examples below are from Saint Nicholas, the church of Blakeney. Ancient Maya graffiti Graffiti Ostracon Scarab artifact Ceram, C. W, the March of Archaeology, C. W. Ceram, translated from the German, Richard and Clara Winston, c 1958
Graffito (archaeology)
–
Example of
Demotic "Egyptian" script from a
Rosetta Stone Replica, 198 BCE.
Graffito (archaeology)
–
A
louse graffito at a
Rome gate
Graffito (archaeology)
–
Malta temple graffito: Mnajdra
Graffito (archaeology)
–
Khufu 's pyramid graffito, with his
cartouche name
28.
Nubia
–
Nubia is a region along the Nile river located in what is today northern Sudan and southern Egypt. It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2000 B. C. onward, and was home to one of the African empires. Nubia was again united within Ottoman Egypt in the 19th century, the name Nubia is derived from that of the Noba people, nomads who settled the area in the 4th century following the collapse of the kingdom of Meroë. The Noba spoke a Nilo-Saharan language, ancestral to Old Nubian, Old Nubian was mostly used in religious texts dating from the 8th and 15th centuries AD. Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, until at least 1970, the Birgid language was spoken north of Nyala in Darfur, but is now extinct. Nubia was divided into two regions, Upper and Lower Nubia, so called because of their location in the Nile river valley. Early settlements sprouted in both Upper and Lower Nubia, Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti, or The Land of the Bow, since the Nubians were known to be expert archers. Modern scholars typically refer to the people from this area as the “A-Group” culture, fertile farmland just south of the Third Cataract is known as the “pre-Kerma” culture in Upper Nubia, as they are the ancestors. The Neolithic people in the Nile Valley likely came from Sudan, as well as the Sahara, by the 5th millennium BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the Neolithic revolution. Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to be suggestive of a cult, typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa. Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa are early examples of what seems to be one of the worlds first astronomical devices, around 3500 BC, the second Nubian culture, termed the A-Group, arose. It was a contemporary of, and ethnically and culturally similar to. The A-Group people were engaged in trade with the Egyptians and this trade is testified archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the graves of the A-Group people. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools, faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots. Around 3300 BC, there is evidence of a kingdom, as shown by the finds at Qustul. The Nubian culture may have contributed to the unification of the Nile Valley. The earliest known depiction of the crown is on a ceremonial incense burner from Cemetery at Qustul in Lower Nubia. New evidence from Abydos, however, particularly the excavation of Cemetery U, around the turn of the protodynastic period, Naqada, in its bid to conquer and unify the whole Nile Valley, seems to have conquered Ta-Seti and harmonized it with the Egyptian state
Nubia
–
Nubians in worship
Nubia
–
Nubian woman circa 1900
Nubia
–
Head of a Nubian Ruler
Nubia
–
Ramesses II in his war chariot charging into battle against the Nubians
29.
Kumma (Nubia)
–
Kumma is an archaeological site in Sudan. Established in the mid-12th Dynasty of Egypt, it served as a fortress of ancient Egypt in Nubia, along with Semna, Kumma was built by Pharaoh Sesostris III. The forts protected the border between ancient Egypt and the southern areas, Kumma is situated about 365 kilometres south of Aswan, and 35 kilometres southwest of the second cataract of the Nile on the eastern bank. Semna is located on the other side, both locations are flooded today because of the Aswan High Dam on Lake Nubia. The salvaged temple of Khnum is rebuilt in the Sudan National Museum of Khartoum, dows Dunham, Jozef M. A. Janssen, Second Cataract Forts. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1960, fritz Hintze, Walter F. Reineke, Felsinschriften aus dem Sudanesischen Nubien. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-0500-0369-3, S. 98–102, stephan Johannes Seidlmayer, Historische und moderne Nilstände. Untersuchungen zu den Pegelablesungen des Nils von der Frühzeit bis zur Gegenwart, achet, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-9803-7308-8, S. 73–80
Kumma (Nubia)
–
Situation plan of Kumma and Semna.
Kumma (Nubia)
–
Semna and Kumma, view from the west, mid-19th century.
30.
Sekhem
–
For the alternative therapy sometimes referred to as Sekhem, see Seichim. The Sekhem-scepter is a type of ritual scepter in ancient Egypt and it is a symbol of authority and is often incorporated in names and words associated with power and control. The sekhem-scepter is related to the hrp-scepter and the aba-scepter, which are all represented with the hieroglyphic symbol. These scepters resembled a flat paddle on a papyrus-umble handle and its symbolic role may have originated in Abydos as a fetish of Osiris. The shape of the scepter might have derived from professional tools, being a symbol of power or might, the sekhem was frequently incorporated into various names. For example, that of the Third Dynasty Pharaoh Sekhemkhet, after the 3rd Dynasty, the sekhem appeared in the royal names of the pharaohs, and later in the titles of queens and princesses as well. When the king held a sekhem-scepter in his hand, he would usually hold a mace or censer in the left. From the earliest times, viziers and other officials of important rank held the sekhem, symbolizing the individuals successful life, such officials were often portrayed holding the scepter in the course of performing their duties. If they held the scepter in their hand, they would usually hold a staff in the left hand. The classic Egyptian funerary statue depicted the deceased with a staff in one hand, as a scepter of office, a pair of eyes were carved on the upper part of the staff. The Egyptian language word S-kh-m is the word for power, a procession of a woman with a boquet of flowers, followed by a harpist, from Medamud illustrates the use of the word. Osiris was often called the Great Sekhem or Foremost of Powers, hence, the sekhem was often used as a symbol of the underworld deity. This probably led to the scepter also becoming an emblem of Anubis, the sekhem-scepter was sacred to Anubis in the temple of Hu. Anubis is frequently depicted in his manifestation of a dog with the sekhem-scepter behind him. In such depictions, the scepter is often portrayed with an elongated head, the scepter was also associated with Khentimentiu, another deity who was especially associated with the royal cemetery. The sekhem was also utilized in temple and mortuary offering rituals, the officiant who presented the offerings often held it. In such cases the scepter was held in the hand and was waved four or five times over the offerings while ritual recitations were being made. A gilded sekhem scepter was found in Tutankhamuns tomb, on the back of this scepter were carved five registers depicting a slaughtered bull, which may indicate that the scepter was waved five times over the offering
Sekhem
–
Relief of the wall of
Trajan representing a procession of singers and musicians in the honor of the
Monthu at Medamoud.
Sekhem
–
Khasekhemwy, Pharaoh of 2nd Dynasty's
serekh.
31.
Harageh
–
Harageh is a modern village in Egypt at the entrance to the river oasis of the Fayum, close to El-Lahun. In archaeology Harageh is mainly known for a series of dating to several periods of Egyptian history. Reginald Engelbach excavated these cemeteries in 1913, the cemeteries belong to the Naqada-Period, to the First Intermediate Period, to the late Middle Kingdom and to the New Kingdom, a few Coptic stelae were discovered too. Especially the burials of the late Middle Kingdom belonged to wealthy people, perhaps the people of El-Lahun were buried here. Engelbach found stelae, inscribed coffins, canopic boxes and jars and many statues
Harageh
–
Canopic jar of Senebtisi, found at Harageh
32.
Hatshepsut
–
Hatshepsut was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, the first being Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut came to the throne of Egypt in 1478 BC. Officially, she ruled jointly with Thutmose III, who had ascended to the throne the year as a child of about two years old. Hatshepsut was the wife of Thutmose II, Thutmose III’s father. She is generally regarded by Egyptologists as one of the most successful pharaohs, according to Egyptologist James Henry Breasted she is also known as the first great woman in history of whom we are informed. Hatshepsut was the daughter and only child of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmose and her husband Thutmose II was the son of Thutmose I and a secondary wife named Mutnofret, who carried the title Kings daughter and was probably a child of Ahmose I. Hatshepsut and Thutmose II had a daughter named Neferure, Thutmose II fathered Thutmose III with Iset, a secondary wife. Today Egyptologists generally agree that Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh, Hatshepsut was described as having a reign of about 22 years by ancient authors. Josephus and Julius Africanus both quote Manethos king list, mentioning a woman called Amessis or Amensis who has identified as Hatshepsut. In Josephus work, her reign is described as lasting 21 years and nine months, dating the beginning of her reign is more difficult, however. Her fathers reign began in either 1526 or 1506 BC according to the high and low estimates of her reign, the length of the reigns of Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis II, however, cannot be determined with absolute certainty. With short reigns, Hatshepsut would have ascended the throne 14 years after the coronation of Tuthmosis I, longer reigns would put her ascension 25 years after Tuthmosis Is coronation. Thus, Hatshepsut could have assumed power as early as 1512 BC, or, Hatshepsut established the trade networks that had been disrupted during the Hyksos occupation of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, thereby building the wealth of the eighteenth dynasty. She oversaw the preparations and funding for a mission to the Land of Punt and this trading expedition to Punt was roughly during Hatshepsuts ninth year of reign. It set out in her name with five ships, each measuring 70 feet long bearing several sails, many trade goods were bought in Punt, notably frankincense and myrrh. Hatshepsuts delegation returned from Punt bearing 31 live myrrh trees, the roots of which were kept in baskets for the duration of the voyage. This was the first recorded attempt to transplant foreign trees and it is reported that Hatshepsut had these trees planted in the courts of her mortuary temple complex. Egyptians also returned with a number of gifts from Punt
Hatshepsut
–
Statue of Hatshepsut on display at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Hatshepsut
–
A tree in front of
Hatshepsut's temple, claimed to have been brought from
Punt by Hatshepsut's Expedition which is depicted on the Temple walls
Hatshepsut
–
Djeser-Djeseru is the main building of
Hatshepsut's mortuary temple complex at
Deir el-Bahri. Designed by Senemut, her
vizier, the building is an example of perfect
symmetry that predates the
Parthenon, and it was the first complex built on the site she chose, which would become the
Valley of the Kings
Hatshepsut
–
Colonnaded design of Hatshepsut temple
33.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
34.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
–
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, and the enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael Jacobs, Abrams publishes and distributes approximately 250 titles annually and has more than 2,000 titles in print. Abrams also distributes publications for the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate, Royal Academy, Vendome Press, Booth Clibborn Editions, Other Criteria, times Mirror acquired the company in 1966 and Harry Abrams retired in 1977. For many years, the company was under the direction of Paul Gottlieb until January 2001, Abrams had been acquired by La Martinière Groupe in 1997. Abrams Books publishes illustrated books on the subjects of art, architecture, photography, graphic design, interior and garden design, fashion, music, comic arts and graphic novels, and sports. The Abrams imprint is under the direction of Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Eric Himmel and Senior Vice President, crumbs Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country, Art Deco Architecture, Design, Decoration and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties, as well the bestselling 365 and Discoveries series. In Spring 2009, Abrams launched a sub-imprint devoted to comics and graphic novels, in addition to its own titles, Abrams distributes books for the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate, Royal Academy, Vendome Press, Booth Clibborn Editions, Other Criteria, and 5 Continents. Stewart, Tabori & Chang was founded in 1981 by Andrew Stewart, Lena Tabori, STC was purchased by Éditions de La Martinière in 2000 and is now an imprint of ABRAMS under the direction of Senior Vice President and Publisher Leslie Stoker. STC is a publisher of illustrated inspirational and practical titles, the house specializes in the categories of cooking, crafts, interior design, sports, green living, sports, pets, and popular culture. Some of STCs bestselling titles are Alton Browns Im Just Here for the Food, Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, Bunny Williamss Affair with a House, and Grandmother Remembers, which has sold 2 million copies. Abrams Books for Young Readers was launched in 1999, under the direction of Senior Vice President, the books range from story books to poetry to the fine arts and other nonfiction. Highlights of the list include the national bestsellers Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar and Tim Gunn, A Guide to Quality, 1976—1980, Office Mayhem, A Handbook to Practical Anarchy
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
–
Abrams Books
35.
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.
36.
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.
37.
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
38.
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).
39.
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
40.
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.
41.
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.
42.
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
43.
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
44.
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.
45.
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".
46.
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.
47.
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)
48.
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)
49.
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
Anedjib
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Pharaoh Anedjib on a stone bowl fragment
Anedjib
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Cartouche name Merbiape from the
Abydos King List
Anedjib
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Seal impression of king Anedjib
Anedjib
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Stone vessel fragment bearing Anedjib
serekh.
50.
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
Semerkhet
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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
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Semsu, cartouche name of Semerkhet in the
Abydos king list.
Semerkhet
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Pottery sherd inscribed with Semerkhet's serekh name, originally from his tomb, now in the
Petrie Museum, UC 36756.
Semerkhet
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