Menes 3100-2850 B.C.
Also known as Aha and Scorpion, Menes was the first pharaoh of the 1st Dynasty in Egypt. He ruled some time between 3100-2850 B.C during the Protodynastic era of Egypt's history. This time period was characterized by “firm political structure of the land which was unified by the pharaoh” (Ancient Egypt-Narmers Palette). Menes was credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom. He may have accomplished this with military force and/or by peaceful means such as marriages or administrative measures. Besides unifying Egypt, Menes also founded the city of Crocodopolis where he built the first temple to Ptah (Menes), and also the city of Memphis, which he made his capitol. The city of Memphis was situated 28 km south of modern day Cairo on an island on the Nile River. This location was most likely chosen because it would make it easier to protect the city from invading armies, and also because it would allow the pharaoh to control the river delta and trade routes to Sinai and Canaan. The Greek Herodotus wrote about the construction of Memphis by Menes. His writings can be viewed at: http://www.touregypt.net/herodtusmenes.htm
During his reign Menes expanded the kingdom and its influence to the first cataract on the Nile, sent ambassadors to Canaan and Byblos in Phoenicia where he developed commercial trade links, and also attacked the Nubians to the south (Menes (Aha) 1st Dynasty). Menes had two wives, Queen Berenib and Neithotepe. Neithotepe was the mother of Menes' only son and heir, Djer. After Menes died, Neithotepe became regent until Djer came of age to rule Egypt. Menes died when he was sixty-three years old by either being attacked by “wild dogs and Nile crocodiles in Faiyum” (Menes) or by hippopotamus. His tomb is at Saqqara, which was a necropolis of Memphis.
Narmer
Also known as King Catfish, Narmer was the last ruler of the Egyptian Dynasty 0 and was later recognized as the 1st pharaoh of the 1st Egyptian Dynasty. He contributed to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and this unification is shown both on the Palette and Macehead of Narmer. After the unification of the two Egypts, all later pharaohs were known as “ruler of the two lands” or “King of Upper and Lower Egypt.”
This warrior-god-king of either Thinite or Hieraconpolite origins brought about economic growth and political stability in Egypt. He fought against the Delta rulers, kept trade going with the near eastern colonies, and kept military control over Egypt's boundaries (Narmer). Narmer was married to a princess from the north called Nithotep. It is not known whether this princess was the same woman who was married to the Pharaoh Menes, or if Narmer and Nithotep had any children. Narmer reigned for at least 35 years and his tomb is at Abydos in the double grave of B17-18, which was excavated by Petrie in 1900.
Controversy
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding whether these men are the same person or three separate people. This controversy is further discussed at Narmer, Menes, Aha controversy. Although there is evidence that suggests both, there has been no definitive conclusion either way. The evidence that suggests they were the same man lies in two artifacts recovered at Nahal Tillah and in Umm el-Ka'ab. The first artifact discovered was the Narmer Palette found in Quibell. The palette shows King Narmer unifying Upper and Lower Egypt; on one end of the palette Narmer wears the red crown of Lower Egypt and on the other the white crown of Upper Egypt. At first glance it would appear that this is evidence of Narmer being a separate being from Menes. However, the Greek historian Herodotus had written in his work that Menes was the ruler that unified Egypt and the founder of the first dynasty.
One possible explanation of the two individuals being one ruler was found at the site Nahal Tillah. At this site a sherd was found with the serekh of king Narmer. This serekh had the Horus names of the Egyptian kings, showing that the Egyptian kings had five royal names, in this sherd also were the signs for mn (Menes) without further title but adjacent to the Horus name of Narmer. This would lead to the conclusion that Menes' royal name included Narmer. The same sherd contains the name Aha that could signify that Aha was part of King Menes name. There is also the legend surrounding how Menes and Aha died. Both were said to have been attacked by a hippopotamus and killed. Whether a literal or representative hippo is not said but for both to have died in this same strange fashion seems highly unlikely. There is also the fact that both Menes and Aha have been credited with founding the city of Memphis.
Narmer Serekh Sherd ca. 3,000 BCE,
There is more evidence that these are three separate men. There seems to be some evidence that Menes was the ruler of lower Egypt at the time of the unification, lower Egypt was the more civilized of the two halves, and is created with building Memphis. Herodotus' history says that Menes (Min) was a great builder. Building Memphis required the damming of the Nile and the creation of a lake. He also built many temples in and around Memphis. Papyrus was invented during his reign, which led to the written evidence of his rule. His tomb has been located in Abydos with his mummy still intact.
The evidence that there was a king named Narmer exists in artifacts that bear his name and in written hieroglyphs from this period. The artifacts that have Narmer's name include the two mentioned above as well as a mace-head. Some of the explanations given for how Narmer and Menes could both be the unifier of Egypt are varied but the most reasonable seems to be that Narmer was king after Menes and was responsible for the unification of the governments of Upper and Lower Egypt. The surviving records of Narmer also show he was a great conqueror and possibly captured the land “Tjehenu,” or what is present-day Libya. With his many conquests inside and outside of Egypt, he became wealthy and probably created the elite upper class. His tomb has been identified in Umm Qa'ab; just north of the royal cemetery in which Menes tomb was found.
The Narmer Mace-head
Aha has the least amount of evidence relating to him and his reign. There is a commemoration with his name on it celebrating the Egyptian rule of the area surrounding the first cataract on the Nile. He founded the city of Crocodilopolis, supposedly after he was saved by a crocodile from a pack of wild dogs. He also was buried near Abydos, which has led to some of the controversy between Aha and Menes.
There was a story circulated for some time that Narmer was the grandson of Menes and Aha was his father. This could explain why Narmer is shown as the unifier of Egypt on the Palette and the Mace Head- perhaps he was trying to take credit for the accomplishments of his grandfather. It is also possible that Menes was the grandson and was responsible for misplacing of the Narmer Palette for so long. It could also explain why both Menes and Aha were credited with the founding of Memphis if Menes was the son or father of Aha and one of them tried to take credit for the others work.
We will probably never know for sure whether these were all the same man or three separate rulers. The evidence could go either way and the professional scholars disagree on most of the points listed above. There are some wonderful web sites that explore the controversy listed in the bibliography.
The Palette of Narmer
The Palette of Narmer is from the main deposit at Hierakonpolis in Egypt, and was found in the temple of Horus of Nekhen by J. E. Quibell and Green in 1899. It dates from the Predynastic period from about 3000-2920 B.C and is made of slate of approximately two feet one inch high. The palette is plain with low relief decorations on it and these decorations depict Narmer's capture of land and punishment of Northern rebels. These pictures could be a tribute to Narmer's success in his military victory over the Delta people or they could be used symbolically to show the Pharaoh's ability at overcoming evil. The daily use for the palette was to prepare eye makeup, which was used in ancient Egypt to protect the eyes against the effects of the sun's glare.
References
“Ancient Egypt-Narmers Palette” Anti Essays: History http://antiessays.bigwonk.com/show.php?cat=history&eid=638 09 Sept. 2003.
“Menes.” Crystalinks http://crystalinks.com/menes.html 09 Sept. 2003.
“Menes (Aha) Dynasty.” Tour Egypt http:///www.touregypt.net/01dyn01.htm 09 Sept. 2003.
“King Catfish, also called Narmer.” Tour Egypt http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/narmer.htm 09 Sept. 2003.
“Narmer.” Francesco Raffaele Egyptology http://members.xoom.virgilio.it/francescoraf/hesyra/narmer.html 09 Sept. 2003.
Herodotus Histories II, 99,1-4 Project Gutenberg
Levy, T.E., van den Brink, E.C.M., Goren, Y. and Alon, D.
1995 New Light on King Narmer and the Protodynastic Egyptian Presence in
Canaan. Biblical Archaeologist 58: 26-36.
www.VirtualEgypt.com
The Story of the Greatest Nations and World's Famous Events, vol. 1, Ellis, Edward: Horne, Charles Ph.D. 1913
http://www.merut.hypermart.net/narmer.html
Images
Narmer jar sherd at http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/narmer.htm
Narmer Mace head at http://www.ancient-egypt.org/kings/00y_scorpion/macehead.html
Menses at http://www.aldokkan.com/egypt/menes.htm
Narmer palette at http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/narmer.htm
Written by Holly Laite and Alison Thiele, 2002
 |
Archaeology of Egypt | History | Hieroglyphs |
| Religion | Daily Life | Links |