E
GYPT
’
S FIRST KING
Who is the first ancient Egyptian known to us by name? The origins of hieroglyphic writing have now been pushed back, beyond the beginning of the 1st Dynasty, into an era when Egypt was still a collection of competing kingdoms, not yet unified into a single nation-state. There are combinations of signs from this early period which may be names, but we cannot be sure, and in any case they are difficult to read. The rulers of Egypt’s predynastic period must, for the moment, remain anonymous. The first king whose ‘name’ is readable, and consistently written on objects ranging from simple sherds of pottery to a decorated stone mace-head, belongs at the very start of the dynastic sequence. His most famous artifact, a ceremonial palette from the temple at Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen), stands in the entrance hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, welcoming visitors at the start of their tour through 3,000 years of pharaonic culture. It has become an icon of the foundation of a great civilization; the king for whom it was made is recognized as the first in Egyptian history.
His name is Narmer – except that the reading ‘Narmer’ is almost certainly wrong. The two signs used to write the name, a catfish and a chisel, did indeed have the phonetic values ‘nar’ and ‘mer’ in later phases of hieroglyphic writing, but there are compelling reasons to think that they represented different sounds at this early period. Indeed, the ‘name’ Narmer may not be a name at all, rather, a combination of symbols associating the king with the fierce forces of nature (catfish) and their striking power (chisel). As such, it would belong within the dominant mode of expression found in prehistoric royal iconography. This explanation of Narmer’s name would support his identification as a transitional figure, whose reign spanned the predynastic past and the dynastic future, whose lasting achievement was to recast the ideology and iconography of royal power into new, lasting forms that would endure for the next three millennia.
What do we know about Narmer the man? He became king around 3000 BC and was almost certainly from the Upper Egyptian city of This (ancient Tjeni, near modern Girga); this was one of the early centres of Egyptian civilization and the capital of a kingdom which, by the closing years of the predynastic period, encompassed the northern part of Upper Egypt, most of Middle Egypt and parts of the Delta. Whether by diplomacy or force, Narmer extended his rule over the whole of Egypt, from the First Cataract to the fringes of the Delta. A key step in this process of territorial consolidation may have been Narmer’s marriage to a woman named Neithhotep. Judging from the location of her tomb, she was descended from the old royal family of Nagada (ancient Nubt), one of This’s rival centres in Upper Egypt which it may have conquered some years earlier. A strategic alliance between these two royal families would have been a good basis for building a wider political consensus. In this same vein, Narmer took pains to venerate the shrine of Horus at Hierakonpolis, the third major centre of Upper Egyptian power. Horus was not only the city’s local god, but was also the god of kingship. So paying homage to his cult served the dual purpose of reinforcing Narmer’s royal credentials while satisfying the elite of Hierakonpolis that their new ruler, if not a local man, intended to respect their traditions.
The two most impressive objects donated by Narmer to the temple of Horus were consummate examples of royal iconography, and powerful statements about the extent of royal power. The ceremonial macehead showed the king, enthroned beneath a canopy, watching a parade of prisoners and tribute, and observing rituals associated with the two localities – Buto (ancient Djebaut) in the northwestern Delta and Hierakonpolis itself in southern Upper Egypt – that symbolized the geographical extremes of his new realm. The decorated palette carried scenes of a similarly symbolic nature: the king smiting a bound captive, inspecting ranks of slain and decapitated enemies, tearing down the walls of a rebel stronghold. Whether the enemy was intended to represent a Delta chieftain or a foreign tribesman, the message was the same and crystal clear: as king of all Egypt, Narmer would brook no opposition. He would defend Egypt’s borders, but the quid pro quo was the unswerving loyalty of the entire populace. This uncompromising message was reinforced at Egypt’s southern frontier by the construction of a massive fortress on the island of Elephantine (ancient Abu) which both guarded the river approach from Nubia and towered over the local community. The authoritarian character of divine kingship had already been firmly established.
The xenophobia of state propaganda – on a cylinder seal from Hierakonpolis, Narmer is shown beating a group of Libyans, while an ivory fragment from his tomb shows a bearded Asiatic stooping in homage to the king – masked a more pragmatic attitude to foreign relations. The discovery of Egyptian pottery from the reign of Narmer at sites throughout the northern Delta and southern Palestine suggests active trade between the two regions. The royal court went to great lengths to obtain the valuable commodities it required to maintain its economic and political dominance. A series of inscriptions carved on an isolated rock outcrop in the heart of Egypt’s eastern desert bear witness to an expedition sent by Narmer to this remote region, probably in search of gold or high-quality stone.
Objects bearing Narmer’s name have been found at sites the length and breadth of Egypt, indicating a king whose authority was recognized over a greater area than any of his predecessors. Modern scholars have debated whether he, or his immediate successor Aha, should be accorded the position at the head of the 1st Dynasty. For the kings who came after Narmer, there was no such debate. The necropolis seals of both Den (no. 3) and Qaa, from the middle and end of the 1st Dynasty respectively, put Narmer first in the list of Egypt’s rulers. To them, Narmer was the undoubted founder figure. Five thousand years later, it seems churlish to disagree.
2 | Merneith
T
HE FIRST WOMAN TO HOLD THE REINS OF POWER
The king was a unique figure in ancient Egypt. Ideologically, he was above the rest of humanity and was considered the earthly incarnation of the celestial god Horus. Politically, he was head of state and government; he ruled by decree, and all departments of government were answerable to him. Without a king, Egypt – in both ideological and political terms – would founder. This created a problem when, as happened on occasions, a new monarch came to the throne as a child. Although religious tenets could accommodate a minor as a channel between human and divine spheres, the business of government needed direction by an adult individual. The solution was a regency. In practical terms, it was dangerous to entrust such power to one of the king’s male relatives, since such a figure might then go one step further and usurp the throne. It was far safer to appoint as regent the person who could have no such ambitions and who, in any case, symbolized the transition between the old and new reigns: the king’s mother.
The earliest attested regency in Egypt took place in the middle of the 1st Dynasty. The old king, Djet, had died, leaving the throne to his successor Den (no. 3). Since the new monarch was still a child, his mother Merneith governed in his place. She was the wife and mother of a king and may also have been a king’s daughter, born to the second ruler of the dynasty, Djer. Merneith’s period of office is the first certain instance of a woman holding the reins of power in Egypt. Of course, all official documents bore the name of the reigning king, despite his minority, so she is only sparsely attested by name: on three vessel fragments and a small ivory vessel from the Saqqara region. However, as de facto ruler of Egypt, Merneith was granted the privilege of a full mortuary complex in the ancestral royal burial-ground at Abydos (ancient Abdju). Her tomb was marked on the surface in the traditional manner, with a pair of large funerary stelae bearing the owner’s name in raised relief.
This architectural acknowledgment of Merneith’s regency seems to have been a decision taken personally by her son, Den, when he reached adulthood. His name features prominently on objects from Merneith’s burial and his recently discovered necropolis seal lists ‘the king’s mother Merneith’ alongside the previous rulers of the 1st Dynasty, starting with Narmer (no. 1). By contrast, the seal of Qaa, the last king of the dynasty, omits Merneith, indicating that, after her son’s reign, she was no longer accorded equal status with the de jure rulers of the period. But during her regency and for the remainder of her life as king’s mother, Merneith and Den clearly developed a strong bond. The son repaid his mother’s loyalty and support in the most suitable manner, with a tomb fit for a king.
3 | Den
R
EFORMING RULER OF THE
1
ST DYNASTY
Den is the best-attested king of the 1st Dynasty. Even taking into account his accession as a child, he enjoyed a lengthy reign: a recently discovered fragment of a limestone vessel from the southwest annex of his tomb mentions ‘the second occasion of the sed(-festival)’; the sed-festival was the royal jubilee, usually celebrated after thirty years of a reign and thereafter at more frequent intervals. Of course, a long tenure as king is not noteworthy in itself; but Den’s time on the throne was a period of exceptional innovation, of major cultural and material developments in almost every sphere, that helped Egypt take a further, decisive step on the path from nascent state to great civilization.
He declared his reforming agenda from the outset, starting with the royal titulary. Kings had previously been designated as being the incarnations of Horus and ruling under the protection of the Two Ladies, the patron goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt. To these two established titles, Den added a third, nesut-bity, literally ‘he of the reed and bee’. Best translated as Dual King, it signified the many dualities over which the monarch presided – divine and human, sacred and secular, Nile Valley and Delta, floodplain and desert, east and west – emphasizing that the harmony of opposites inherent in created order depended upon the person of the king for its continuation. This elaboration of the ideology of kingship was further reflected in the adoption of a new crown combining the white headdress of Upper Egypt and the red of Lower Egypt. Den signalled that he was going to be a king of both, of all.
Looking beyond the borders of Egypt, Den also inaugurated a new policy with regard to neighbouring lands. One of his secondary names, Zemti, means ‘of the desert’, and he seems to have taken a special interest in Egypt’s arid, northeastern frontier zone. There is evidence from his reign for military activity in southern Palestine (whether actual or ritual) and trade expeditions using the coastal route from the Delta. The fruits of such sustained contact can be seen in the large number of Syro-Palestinian vessels – presumably containing valuable oils and unguents – imported into Egypt during Den’s reign.
An intensification of foreign activity was matched by administrative reforms at home. An apparent increase in the number of high officials at Den’s court may reflect changes in the structure of government. Tighter royal control over the affairs of state required not just able administrators but also an accurate assessment of the country’s population and resources. Den saw to this as well: an entry from the middle of his reign, in the royal annals compiled in the late Old Kingdom (the so-called Palermo Stone), records a ‘census of all the people of the north, west and east’. To be of use, all this information had to be recorded and archived. It may be no coincidence that the earliest roll of papyrus from Egypt was found among the grave goods of Den’s Chancellor, Hemaka.
The end result of all this effort – increasing foreign trade, streamlining government, and improving the management of the economy – was the ability to devote greater resources to promoting kingship by fulfilling the sovereign’s traditional duties. Hence, the Palermo Stone records Den’s foundation of a new temple called ‘thrones of the gods’, while the king also engaged in other religious activities such as visiting important shrines, dedicating new cult images, and promoting rituals such as the running of the Apis bull. An overflowing royal treasury also allowed Den to commission new, more impressive royal monuments. At Abydos (ancient Abdju), his architects built a magnificent royal tomb with an important innovation: an entrance stairway giving access to the burial-chamber. This greatly facilitated the provisioning of the tomb, and was swiftly adopted throughout Egypt. As for Den’s funerary equipment, his craftsmen surpassed themselves. Stone vessels in a bewildering variety of forms – from imitation reed baskets to flowers – were a particularly fashionable product of the royal workshops. Under Den, Egyptian civilization reached a new level of sophistication.
4 | Khasekhemwy
H
ARBINGER OF THE
P
YRAMID
A
GE
The 2nd Dynasty is one of the most obscure periods of ancient Egyptian history. Not only are its monuments fewer, and less well known, than those of the preceding or succeeding dynasties, its kings are also mostly shadowy figures, barely attested in the written or archaeological records. A notable exception is the last king of the 2nd Dynasty, whose reign marked a crucial turning-point in the development of Egyptian civilization.
At the beginning of his reign, he adopted the Horus-name Khasekhem, ‘the power has appeared’; it was a prophetic statement, since he would be the most influential monarch for a century or more. He showed a particular interest in the city of Hierakonpolis (ancient Nekhen, modern Kom el-Ahmar), one of the early centres of the Egyptian monarchy, and in its local temple, dedicated to Horus, the god of kingship. Here, Khasekhem donated a range of votive offerings, including vessels of travertine and granite and two seated statues of himself, one in limestone and the other in siltstone. All these objects bore inscriptions, not merely naming their royal donor, but also making reference to military action against a northern foe. Each of the vessels is decorated with a representation of the vulture-goddess Nekhbet, protector-deity of Upper Egypt, standing on a ring containing the word ‘rebel’; an accompanying text describes the scene as ‘the year of fighting the northern enemy’. In a similar vein, the bases of Khasekhem’s statues carry inscriptions which show defeated enemies in contorted positions, labelled as ‘northern enemies 47,209’. Although these allusions to military action against Lower Egypt could represent a ritual act, it seems more likely that they refer to an actual historical event: a civil war with the north in which Khasekhem fought to regain control over the whole country.
Khasekhem’s battle for supremacy was not confined to confrontation with a northern enemy. A fragmentary stela from Hierakonpolis shows a defeated Nubian enemy, part of a scene of triumph labelled ‘humbling the foreign land’. It seems that the king had to contend with rivals to his throne from two directions. The struggle with Lower Egypt was eventually resolved in Khasekhem’s favour, and he marked his victory by changing his name to the dual form Khasekhemwy, ‘the two powers have appeared’; it was consciously modelled on the name of the 2nd Dynasty’s founder, Hetepsekhemwy, and thus announced a programme of national renewal. Khasekhemwy reinforced the message by adding to his name the epithet ‘the two lords are at peace in him’. It was a clear indication that the troubles of the early part of his reign were over. The country could now look forward to renewed peace and prosperity.
One of the immediate consequences of a return to domestic stability was an upsurge in Egypt’s international contacts. Trading links resumed with Byblos on the Lebanese coast, presumably to procure supplies of cedar-wood for ship-building. Sea-going craft allowed Egypt to engage in trade with its Mediterranean neighbours, and also to increase its political influence in the region. A stone block from the temple at Hierakonpolis, listing foreign countries, probably recorded tribute or enemies slain in battle; while a seal-impression preserves the earliest occurrence of the title ‘overseer of foreign lands’. Both suggest that Egypt under Khasekhemwy began a policy of conquering and annexing territory beyond its borders.
The increased revenue entering the royal treasury funded an upsurge in state construction projects. Khasekhemwy became a major patron of temple building in Upper Egypt, at sites from Elkab (ancient Nekheb) to Gebelein (ancient Inerty). At Hierakonpolis, in addition to extending the temple, he commissioned an enormous cult enclosure (now known as the Fort) to be built near the town. It was constructed from mudbrick, with walls several metres thick, and was decorated around the entrance gateway with reliefs in pink granite showing the king taking part in royal rituals. Highly visible from the surrounding area, the building acted as a focus for the celebration of the royal cult.
In a break with recent practice, Khasekhemwy decided to opt for the traditional, hallowed royal necropolis at Abydos (ancient Abdju) when planning his own funerary provision. His vast tomb made a greater use of dressed limestone – for the lining of the burial-chamber – than any previous monument, pointing the way to the extensive use of stone in his successor’s reign. The grave goods were no less impressive, bearing witness to the skill and sophistication of the royal workshops: dolomite limestone vases with sheet gold covers, a royal sceptre made from gold and the precious stone sard, and a bronze ewer and basin. These final items are the earliest bronze objects known from Egypt; the tin required for their manufacture must have come from Anatolia, and its procurement demonstrates the effectiveness of renewed trade with the eastern Mediterranean in Khasekhemwy’s reign.
Like his predecessors of the 1st Dynasty, Khasekhemwy chose to complement his tomb (designed for security) with a funerary enclosure (designed for publicity) situated on the low desert, facing the town of Abydos. It is known today as the Shunet el-Zebib (‘storehouse of raisins’ in Arabic, reflecting its more recent use) and is a truly impressive structure. More than 4,500 years after it was built, it still towers over the surrounding landscape. Its eastern wall, closest to the town, was decorated with alternating recesses and buttresses, to resemble the façade of the royal compound at Memphis (ancient Ineb-hedj, ‘white wall’) and hence to proclaim its kingly associations. In this and other respects, Khasekhemwy’s enclosure paved the way for the funerary monument built by his successor, Djoser (no. 5).
