Egypt: History - Dynasty II (Second Dynasty)

Second Dynasty

Manetho's SECOND DYNASTY of nine kings from Thinis presents even more intractable problems than its predecessor !o"r of the Manethonian names are recogni#able$ despite grave distortion$ in the %amesside king&lists$ tho"gh it needed a demonstration of great ac"men to sho' ho' Manetho's Tlas originated in a (ing )eneg kno'n onl* from fragments of bo'ls stored in the "ndergro"nd galleries of the Step +*ramid The king&list en"merate eleven kings in place of Manetho's nine$ b"t of these onl* fo"r find confirmation in the mon"ments The order of the first five kings is established 'ith certaint*$ b"t the e,isting remains ignore -oethos and (aiechos and offer "s in their stead a .otepsekhem"i and a Nebre' The former name is interesting$ for it signifies 'The T'o +o'ers are pacified' and 'e shall soon find evidence that e,pression implies recover* from a precedent condition of t"rmoil or anarch*/ the reason for the transition from D*n 0 to D*n 00 can th"s be divined Tho"gh -oethos is "nkno'n to the contemporar* hierogl*phs$ the form -ed1a" in 'hich the king&lists introd"ce it to "s is fo"nd on an Old (ingdom 'riting&board in front of five 'ell& kno'n kings of D*ns 02 and 2 )ith the third king of (e*n 00 'e reach a se3"ence of three kings$ namel* -inothris$ Tlas and Sethenes$ 'here the mon"ments$ the king&lists$ and Manetho are in agreement$ for -inothris is evidentl* the e,tended e3"ivalent of the hierogl*phic name 'hich to the e*e appears to read N"t1eren$ tho"gh scholars have arg"ed in favor of the transcriptions Ninet1er or Neterim" Concerning Tlas 'e have alread* spoken$ and Sethenes is "ndo"btedl* the Send to 'hom 'e shall ret"rn later/ a most c"rio"s name since it means 'the Afraid' 0t ma* here$ ho'ever$ be added that Ninet1er presides over the fo"rth line of the +alermo Stone in s"ch a 'a* as to sho' that he reigned not m"ch less that thirt* *ears )ith one e,ception of Nebka$ the remaining si, names in the king&lists are a m*ster*$ since not a trace of their bearers has been fo"nd else'here Neferkare$ Manetho's Nephercheres$ ma* indeed be fictitio"s$ since the reference to the s"n&god %e' in its termination seems to point to later times$ and there 'ere in fact monarchs so called in D*ns 20$ 2000$ and 440 Nor need there be an* perple,it* abo"t'Aha 'hich appears to be the correct reading in the T"rin Canon$ an isolated occ"rrence possibl* the res"lt of corr"ption of some kind On the other hand Neferkaseker$ ."d1efa$ and -eb* of the %amesside tradition cannot be dismissed 3"ite so easil*$ the more so since the Canon attrib"tes to them reigns of s"bstantial length 0t can onl* be s"pposed that the* 'ere deemed b* Manetho and his forer"nners to be s"perior to those of certain +haraohs of the so"th 'ho completel* ignored them To those +haraohs$ fo"r at most and possibl* onl* t'o$ 'e no' t"rn At 5mm el&(a'ab$ +etrie e,cavated at opposite ends of the protod*nastic cemeter* a small tomb belonging to a (ing +eribsen and an e,ceptionall* elongated one belonging to a (ing (hasekhem"i The first of the former monarch sho'ed the e,traordinar* feat"re of being s"rmo"nted b* the Seth&animal instead of the "s"al falcon of .or"s$ 'hile the second of (ha'sekhem"i e,hibited the Seth&animal and the .or"s&falcon face to face$ each 'earing the do"ble cro'n of 5pper and 6o'er Eg*pt E,planations 'hich have alread* been given$ as 'ell as the analog* of 7"een Neit .etep" commented "pon$ leave no do"bt as to the meaning of this proced"re$ and this is born o"t b* the name (ha'sekhem"i itself and b* the addition Neb"ihotpimef 'hich follo's as part of the name 0n translation the entire combination r"ns 'The T'o +o'ers are arisen$ the T'o 6ords are at peace in him' 0n other 'ords$ (ing (ha'sekhem"i no' embodies in himself the t'o gods bet'een 'hom hostilit* had arisen thro"gh +eribsen's rep"diation of his traditional ancestor in favor of that Deit*'s arch&enem* Clearl*$ great dist"rbances lie at the back of these revol"tionar* moves$ b"t it is impossible to diagnose their nat"re 0n the distant past$ .or"s had been partic"larl* associated 'ith the Delta$ 'hile the c"lt of Seth 'as locali#ed near Nakada 8Ombos9 in 5pper Eg*pt Yet it seems impossible to interpret the facts as a str"ggle bet'een T'o 6ands in 'hich +eribsen had to content himself 'ith being the r"ler of 5pper Eg*pt .ad their been s"ch a contest bet'een north and so"th$ 'o"ld not +eribsen have asserted his pretension to be the embodiment of .or"s all the more vigoro"sl*: A f"rther complication is that on certain sealings of +eribsen the Seth&like animal

is given the name Ash$ and this is kno'n to have belonged to the 6ib*an co"nterpart of the Ombite 0t 'as hinted that this cl"ster of kings might involve on t'o instead of fo"r and 'e m"st no' follo' "p on that possibilit* 0n the tomb of +eribsen there 'ere fo"nd 1ar&sealings of a .or"s Sekhem*eb$ and it 'as at first s"pposed that Sekhem*eb 'as the .or"s&name of +eribsen himself$ tho"gh s"ch a s"pposition 'as contradiction b* the presence of Seth on the serekh inmost of the sealings$ as 'ell as on the t'o fine granite stelae 'hich had stood in front of the tomb&chamber A s"bse3"ent dig$ a little distance a'a*$ bro"ght to light a king Sekhem*eb +erenma'e 'hom no' 'as "nderstood to be a predecessor of +eribsen 6ater the f"ll name 'as fo"nd on fragments from the Step +*ramid There is m"ch likelihood in ;rdseloff's g"ess that Sekhem*eb +erema'e 'as merel* the name of +eribsen before he abandoned his allegiance to .or"s in order to become the fervent 'orshipper of Seth More diffic"lt is the 3"estion of the .or"s (ha'sekhem 'hose mon"ments are confined to .ieraconpolis The* consist of a broken stela$ t'o great stone bo'ls$ and t'o seated stat"es of limestone and slate respectivel* The slate stat"e is the more complete$ b"t half the face is broken a'a*$ 'hence the feat"res are better seen on that of limestone no' in O,ford The pose$ the st*le$ and the 'orkmanship are s"ch as 'o"ld have been impossible at the beginning of D*n 00 and go far to'ards corroborating the position of this king to'ards its concl"sion The stela reveals 'ho these enemies 'ere Attached to the same bolsterlike oval as is seen on the palette of Na'rmer$ it clearl* indicates 6ib*an foes The design scratched on the bo'ls sho's the v"lt"re&goddess Nekhbe of El&(ab presenting to (ha'sekhem the s*mbol for the "nification of the T'o 6ands$ 'hile her hinder cla' rests on a circ"lar carto"che enclosing the signs for -esh This -esh is more likel* to be (ha'sekhem's personal name than the name of a con3"ered co"ntr* or chieftain The right side of the design is occ"pied b* the hierogl*ph for '*ear' accompanied b* the 'ords 'of fighting and smiting the northerners' On all these ob1ects the 'hite cro'n of 5pper Eg*pt is 'orn )hat 'as the relation of (ha'sekhem of .ieraconpolis to +eribsen on the one hand to (ha'sekhem"i on the other: The h*pothesis at present is that (ha'sekhem 'as the immediate s"ccessor of +eribsen$ 'hose name does not occ"r at .ieraconpolis$ and that he 'on back theDelta and 'as follo'ed b* (ha'sekhem"i -"t 'o"ld this later king$ if preceded b* a 'orshipper of .or"s$ have recalled in his name the former dissension bet'een .or"s and Seth: The possibilit* that the .or"s (ha'sekhem and the .or"s&Seth (ha'sekhem"i 'ere one and the same person cannot be r"led o"t S"ch a con1ect"re ass"ming that he preferred the latter form of his name 'hile the conflict 'ith +eribsen 'as still fresh in his mind$ b"t it is a serio"s ob1ection that (ha'sekhe"m"i has mon"ments of his o'n at .ieraconpolis distinct from those of (ha'sekhem$ the principal one being the great pink granite 1amb of a gate'a* bearing on the back the scene of an episode in some important fo"ndation ceremon* An ob1ection to regarding (ha'sekhem as a separate king intervening (ha'sekhem"i andD1oser$ the fo"nder of D*n 000$ is that a sealing fo"nd in (ha'sekhem"i's tomb at Ab*dos names a 3"een .epenma'e is named as 'mother of the (ing of 5pper and 6o'er Eg*pt' on a sealing in the great tomb of -ed (hallaf near Ab*dos 'here D1oser's prominence even prompted the g"ess that he might be the o'ner 0t has been conse3"entl* s"pposed that (ha'sekhem"i and .epena 'ere the act"al parents of D1oser The con1ect"re is tempting$ b"t if correct one is left 'ondering 'h* there sho"ld have been a change of d*nast* at this point -efore leaving the s"b1ect of (ha'sekhem"i it m"st be mentioned that the making of a copper stat"e of his record is in the fifth line of the +alermo Stone/ also that a breccia fragment 'ith his name 'as discovered at -*blos As has here more than once been pointed o"t$ little importance can be attached to small ob1ects fo"nd in distant parts$ b"t there is some solid evidence of dealings$ friendl* or other'ise$ bet'een these later kings of D*n 00 and the north Not onl* do there e,ist sealings giving +eribsen the epithet 'con3"eror of foreign lands'$ b"t there are also gro"nds for thinking that it 'as he 'ho introd"ced the c"lt of Sethinto the north&eastern Delta Concerning the fragmentar* stela of (ha'sekhem from .ieraconpolis 'e have alread* spoken/ conflict 'ith a 6ib*an enem* is there clearl* indicated Nothing more definite$ ho'ever$ can be learned abo"t the events of this tro"bled period That its kings did not fall into immediate disrep"te is evident from the inscription of some mastabas at Sa33ara 'hich pres"mable belong to D*n 02 0n one of them a certain Sheri declares himself to have been overseer of the priest of +eribsen in the necropolis$ in the ho"se of Send$ and in all his places More problematic are some broken pieces from the tomb of a prophet of that (ing Nebka 'hom the T"rin Canon

and the Ab*dos king&list place immediatel* before D1oser This king is named also in the stor* of the Magicians referred to above$ 'here$ ho'ever$ it seems to be implied that his reign fell bet'een those of (ings D1oser and Snofr" !rom 'hat has been alread* said Nebka co"ld not have been the predecessor of D1oser and Snofr" "nless he 'ere a s"ccessf"l rival of (ha'sekhem"i The nineteen *ears assigned to him remain a problem 0n the footnotes to the list of kings belo' ma* be read* the fantastic occ"rrences attrib"ted to the kings of D*n 00 b* Manethos 0t need hardl* be repeated that those occ"rrences are dra'n from the fictional literat"re 'hich 'as evidentl* one of the Eg*ptian historian's main so"rces of inspiration Manetho's totals of <=> *ears from D*n 0 and >?< for D*n 00 of co"rse cannot be tr"sted$ and 'e m"st again stress the improbable nat"re of the @=? *ears 'hich the +alermo Stone seemed to demand for the t'o d*nasties combined -"t ho'ever long or short the period$ it s"fficed to imprint "pon the civili#ation of Ancient Eg*pt the pec"liar stamp 'hich thenceforth disting"ished her remains so markedl* from those of the neighboring co"ntries The splendid efforts of +etrie and a highl* skilled bod* of later e,cavators have enabled scholars to observe step b* step the material developments 'hich transformed a semi&barbaro"s c"lt"re into one of great refinement and prodigio"s po'er$ b"t in the absence "ntil D*n 2 of ade3"ate 'ritten evidence the corresponding intellect"al and religio"s development have remained hidden )hen at last the +*ramid Te,ts and other s"ch material reveal something of Eg*ptian mind$ man* s"rvivals of past histor* are fo"nd embedded therein$ and the 3"estion then arises as to ho' far 'e can disentangle o"t of the conf"sed and comple, data the vario"s stages 'hich made Eg*pt 'hat she had b* this time become -"t before disc"ssing some of the vie's that have been e,pressed on this s"b1ect it 'ill be 'ell to recall 'hat the Eg*ptians themselves had to sa* abo"t their remote past No e,plicit statement dates from earlier than %amesside times$ 'hen the T"rin Canon f"rnishes "s 'ith an acco"nt in s"bstantial agreement 'ith that of Manetho 0n both a"thorities the oldest kings belong to the ;reat Ennead$ that famil* of nine deities 'hich the +*ramid Te,ts definitel* associates 'ith the theolog* of .eliopolis !or that reason$ the list o"ght ot have beg"n 'ith the s"n&god %e'&At"m$ b"t in Manetho$ 'hich is here alone preserved$ .ephaestos$ i e $ +tah of Memphis$ is placed before .elios$ s"ggesting that this partic"lar version 'as compiled in D*n 20$ the kings of 'hich came from that cit* After Agathodaemon 8the air&god Sh"9$ lost in the Canon$ there follo's in agreement there'ith Cronos 8the earth&god ;eb9$ then Osiris$ the T*phon 8Seth9 the m"rderer of Osiris$ and .or"s his father's avenger 0n both so"rces the goddesses Tephenis$ N"t$ 0sis$ and Nephth*s are omitted on acco"nt of their feminine se,$ b"t in earlier traditions the ;reat Ennead incl"ded them as the consorts of fo"r of the males$ tho"gh not attrib"ting to them reigns of their o'n Concerning these p"rel* m*thical r"lers no more need be said at present The* are s"cceeded in Manetho b* a n"mber of monarchs described as Demigod and as Dead Ones 8;reek 2ekves$ 6atin Manes9$ the h"man Menes then follo'ing at the head of D*n 0 The T"rin Canon$ 'hich had alread* placed a '.or"s of the ;ods' immediatel* after Seth$ names a second .or"s at the end of the divine d*nast*$ and apparentl* a third a little farther do'n After this a n"mber of broken lines concl"de 'ith the alread* mentioned '!ollo'ers of .or"s'$ these 3"alified as e,alted spirits$ the immediate predecessors of Menes No' Seth had rightl* diagnosed the Shems"&.or 8'!ollo'ers of .or"s'9 as the kings of .ieraconpolis and of -"to respectivel*$ b"t b* an oversight he omitted the most decisive proof of his contention This$ as ;riffith pointed o"t orall* to the present 'riter$ occ"rs in a hierogl*phic pap*r"s of %oman date 'hich "ndo"btedl* incorporates a mass of traditional lore familiar to the learned of the Cheops .ere 'e find side b* side t'o entries reading 809 'So"ls of +e 8-"to9$ !ollo'ers of .or"s as (ings of 6o'er Eg*pt'$ and 8<9 'So"ls of Nekhen 8.ieraconpolis9$ !ollo'ers of .or"s as (ings of 5pper Eg*pt' 0t 'o"ld be impossible to find an* more precise reminder of that concl"ding phase of pred*nastic histor* 'hich$ starting o"t from .ieraconpolis$ ended 'ith the con3"est of 6o'er Eg*pt b* Menes and 'ith the "nification of the T'o 6ands 0n the pap*r"s 1"st 3"oted$ the 'ord for '(ing of 5pper Eg*pt' 8ns't9 is 'ritten 3"ite normall* 'ith the reed$ and the 'ord for '(ing of 6o'er Eg*ptA 8bit*9 'ith the bee 0t falls into line 'ith the "ndo"bted tri"mph of Menes that in the insib*a&title of the +haraohs the reed sho"ld have priorit* in the hierogl*phic 'riting$ 1"st as in the nebt*&title of the ro*al tit"lar* 8ibid9 the v"lt"re&goddess of El&(ab has priorit* over the 6o'er Eg*ptian cobra&goddess Ed1o of -"to Odd as it ma* seem to readers "nac3"ainted 'ith old Eg*ptian

habits$ s"ch graphic precedence m"st be "nderstood as having a real historic significance 6astl*$ if an*one sho"ld still do"bt the realit* of a pred*nastic line of r"lers in -"to$ he m"st s"rel* be convinced b* the isolated mention in the +*ramid Te,ts of the '(ing of 6o'er Eg*pt 'ho are in +e'$ and b* the fact that it 'as 5pper Eg*pt$ not 6o'er Eg*pt$ 'hich gave to the lang"age its generic 'ord ns't for 'king' All these facts together corroborate and amplif* 'hat 'as ded"ced from 7"ibell's discoveries at .ieraconpolisB the separate kingdoms of Nekhen and +e 'ere "ndo"bted realities$ as 'as also their "nification b* Menes There remain$ ho'ever$ diffic"lties not to be lightl* br"shed aside C A )ilson has pointed o"t ho' "ns"itable both .ieraconpolis and -"to 'ere to become permanent ro*al residences$ the former to'n l*ing in an arid and infertile tract near the e,treme limit of 5pper Eg*pt$ 'hile the latter to'n 'as sit"ated almost like an island amid the 'ater* fens of the north'estern Delta )ilson's s"ggestion is that both ma* have become hol* cities and possibl* places of pilgrimage A m"ch more daring h*pothesis 'hich has obtained some pop"larit* of late m"st be resol"tel* combated This h*pothesis maintains that all the talk abo"t the T'o 6ands$ the contrasting of 5pper and 6o'er Eg*pt$ and other e,pressions of the kind$ are no more than fiction d"e to a s"pposedl* deep&rooted penchant of the Eg*ptian mind in favor of opposing d"alistic conceptions 0t is not necessar* to den* the ancient people's fondness for contrasted phrases like 'heaven and earth'$ 'man and 'oman'$ '-lack 6and and %ed 6and'$ b"t to dismiss as simple chimeras all statements relating to the t'o kingdoms is to fl* in the face of common sense A less fantastic$ b"t still 'rong&headed variant of the same contention$ is based "pon the ass"medl* 'ater&logged condition of the Delta in the cent"ries before Menes 0t is tr"e that before the constr"ction of dikes and other s"ch irrigational meas"res the gro'th of important to'ns there m"st have been diffic"lt and restricted Nevertheless$ the possibilit* of a ver* considerable 6o'er Eg*ptian kingdom is easil* proved +artic"larl* the 'estern side of the Delta had important cities as D*n 0 The temple of Neith of Sais is depicted on a tablet of 'Aha$ and another of the reign of D1er sho's a b"ilding at Dep$ one of the t'o mo"nds constit"ting the to'n of -"to A relief in the Step +*ramid ofD1oser records some ceremon* in connection 'ith 6etopolis 8A"sim9 onl* a fe' miles to the north&'est of Cairo The m"ltit"de of capt"red cattle seen on a slate palette implies a large pop"lation of o'ners The man* Delta nomes administered b* the 'ealth* nobleman Met1en to'ards the end of D*n 000 evidentl* had a long histor* behind them Osiris as the 'lord of D1ed"' 8-"siris in the middle of the Delta9 is perhaps not named m"ch earlier than D*n 20$ b"t that famo"s religio"s center is mentioned together 'ith the similarl* named D1ede 8Mendes9 in the +*ramid Te,ts$ and 'e cannot e,pect to be in possession of the earliest testimon* to their e,istence An attempt to sho' that .eliopolis cannot have been the capital of a prehistoric kingdom is hardl* likel* to find man* converts$ even if the assertion that s"ch a kingdom act"all* e,isted rests on a some'hat precario"s basis 6astl*$ the 'riting of the insib*a&title 'ith t'o separate 'ords for 'king' and of the nebt*& title t'o locall* contrasted goddesses need not be constr"ed as sho'ing that the t'o kingdoms 'ere of e3"al e,tent and importance All that can be taken as certain is the sim"ltaneo"s e,istence of both