Egypt's First Rulers

The blog post for this week is written by Jeanne Whitehurst, who has completed her Certificate of Egyptology from the University of Manchester. She moved to Egypt over twelve years ago, just before the revolution. Initially, she lived in Luxor, overlooking Karnak Temple, but now she lives in Aswan overlooking the First Cataract. She was extremely fortunate to have worked with Ted Brock on the sarcophagus of Merenptah (KV 8) as a volunteer.

 

According to the ancient Egyptian tradition written by Manetho, Herodotus, and the ancient Egyptian king lists, the first Dynasty started with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt during the reign of King Menes. This is despite the fact that contemporary archaeological records do not mention him. It is now thought that it was a gradual process of unification with progressive rulers gaining more land to the north and south of the three main centres of Thinis (Abydos), Nekhen (Hierakonpolis, near to Edfu), and Naqada.

Firstly, who was Manetho, the man who gave us the tables of the thirty dynasties that is still used as the basic framework of ancient Egyptian history? He was a priest and a historian who used native sources as the basis for his book (fig. 1). Unfortunately, we do not have the original and instead have to rely on copies of later writers such as Julius Africanus and Eusebius Pamphilus, which contain discrepancies with the names etc. due to being copies.

Fig. 1: Abydos king list

The First Dynasty kings were buried at Umm el Qa’ab at Abydos (80 miles North of Luxor). This had been the burial site of rulers since the Predynastic era (fig. 2). The site was thought to be entrance to the afterlife. The name means “mother of pots” in Arabic since thousands of pots have been discovered there as offerings to the god Osiris, whose major cult centre is there. Additionally, as the first kings were buried there, it was assumed that this was the site of Osiris’s tomb.

Fig. 2: Umm el Qa’ab

One of the earliest kings was Iry-Hor, whose existence was debated until recently when many pot fragments were found bearing his name at his burial at Abydos (fig. 3). Additionally, and more surprisingly, his name has been found in Northern Egypt at Zawiyat el-Aryan (near Giza) and Wadi Ameyra in the Sinai. Does this mean he was the first king to rule a united Egypt? As there is no firm evidence, we cannot be certain, but it is a possibility.

Fig. 3: Pottery from the reign of Iry-Hor (Petrie Museum UC16089)

King Ka, or Sekhen, meaning to embrace (we are unsure of the meaning as hieroglyphs are in their infancy during this time) was the earliest known king with a serekh, denoting a ruler. A serekh is a replica of a palace façade with the kings name inside and Horus on the top. It was inscribed on a number of artifacts found at sites besides Abydos. Adaima in Upper Egypt and in the north Helwan, Tarkhan, Wadi Tumilat, and even Tel Lod in the Southern Levant. The number of artifacts bearing his name outside of Abydos is much greater than his predecessors, which could be another sign of conquering larger portions of land by Thinite kings.

Narmer is usually considered to be the first king of the First Dynasty who unified Egypt. His name has been found throughout Egypt and in Syria Palestine, indicating trade between Egypt and parts of the ancient Near East. A king named Scorpion, whose name is recorded on a ceremonial macehead (fig. 4) found at Hierakonpolis is sometimes interpreted as a predecessor to Narmer or a rival king, although there may be two kings called Scorpion.

 

Fig. 4: The Scorpion Macehead

The first kings and queens of Egypt in order of succession were Narmer, Aha, Djer, Djet, Queen Merneith (possibly acted as co-regent with her son, Den), Den, Anedjib, Semerkhet, and Qa’a. They would have ruled over a territory spanning a similar area to Egypt today with formal borders at Aswan in the south, the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and across to the modern-day Gaza Strip in the east. There are eight kings identified on the Palermo stone, eight on the Abydos kings list engraved during the reign of Seti I (1290–1279 BCE), but only three on the Saqqara canon.

Aha is sometimes called Hor-Aha (fighting hawk) and was known by Manetho as Athothis. The Apis Bull ceremony is mentioned in his reign. Djer, “the rescuer”, is the first to be given the nesu bity name meaning King of Upper and Lower Egypt, this name being Iti. He had a short reign of 5 to 10 years.

Djet, often called serpent or uadji, was known as Uenephes by Manetho. In the king lists he is referred to as Ita. His tomb at Abydos, designated “Tomb Z”, had the famous Louvre stela at its entrance (fig. 5). A rock inscription south of Edfu possibly shows his Horus name wearing the Double Crown, which would be the first depiction of this combined crown. He was possibly married to Merneith as there is evidence from Den’s tomb where she is attributed to be the king’s mother. Following the death of Djet, Merneith appears to have been a co-regent to her son, with her name being found on a funerary stela at Abydos, just like the kings.

Fig. 5: The stela of Djet

Den (Usaphais of Manetho) was given the nesu bity name of Semti, which is the first time it was ever used. He was certainly one of the most important kings of the Early Dynastic Period. He reigned for approximately 45 years, coming to the throne as a young child. His tomb (Tomb T) introduces a staircase and a large amount of granite from Aswan, which was innovative in tomb building at this time (fig. 6).

Fig. 6: The tomb of Den

Anedjib (Miebis of Manetho) was given the nesu bity name Merpibia. He celebrated his Sed-festival, but perhaps the most interesting thing from his reign is a large mastaba at Saqqara, which contains a mound with a burial chamber. This has often been suggested as the forerunner to the Step Pyramid of the Third Dynasty.

Semerkhet (Sempses of Manetho) was also buried at Abydos. Because his tomb shows evidence of burning, early Egyptologists thought he may have been an illegitimate king, but there is no evidence for this. Several jar labels found in the tomb mention trade with Libya during this time.  

While the relationship with his predecessors or successors is unknown, Horus Qa’a, the last king of the First Dynasty, had his tomb built next to Semerkhet’s and Den’s, which could be an indication that he was closely related to both kings. His tomb (Tomb Q) has an elaborate staircase, which allowed for his superstructure to be built before he died (fig. 7). A bowl fragment found at Saqqara (15 miles South of modern-day Cairo) mentions the first Sed-festival of Qa’a, which usually takes place after a 30-year reign. A large number of mastabas at Saqqara date to his reign, which suggests he ruled for some time. Seal impressions and other sources name him at Saqqara, Abusir, and Abydos, while a rock inscription found at el-Kab could point to a mining expedition in the Eastern desert. An ivory rod and vessels of Syrian-Palestinian origin were found at Saqqara, which suggests trade with this region. A carving on a gaming rod shows the king victorious over an Asiatic person, which could refer to a military campaign or it may be symbolic! With Qa’a, the gruesome practice of retainer sacrifice ends and the Second Dynasty pharaohs would mainly be buried in Saqqara instead of Umm el-Qa’ab.

Fig. 7: The tomb of Qa'a

The First Dynasty kings seem to have been the front-runners in many of the religious and regnal customs that would last for many millennia. The introduction of the serekh, the nesu bity title, the running of the Apis Bull, and the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

 

Bibliography:

Dodson, Aidan 2021. The first pharaohs: their lives and afterlives. Cairo; New York: American University in Cairo Press.