Nothing is known about Sekemib. But he was a pharaoh of the second Dynasty. Some scholars suggest that Sekemib reigned towards the end of the dynasty while others references to "Wadjenes" place this ruler near the beginning of the dynasty.
Peribsen (2751—2743)
Observed by three kings, sendji, neterka, neferkara, before khasekhemwy, Peribsen was the fourth king of the Dynasty 2. He was really not the legitimate heir of Nintejer. In fact, many historians believe that the king was an outsider who instigated coup against King Nintejer. King Peribsen used the designation of seth in his titles. Unfortunately, nothing from Peribsen's era is well documented except for his mortuary complex near Abydos.
King Peribsen was a ruler who had his roots in the South, and was probably ruling from there throughout his time on the throne. Not a single trace of him is base in Lower Egypt with an elision of a writing with his name discovered in Sakkara and brought there in afterward times. He was the first pharaoh to write his name within a cartouche as seen in a preserved cylinder seal now in the Egyptian museum in Turin in Italy.
He made a remarkable change in royal custom by putting the god Set on top of his serek, (picture right) thereby disregarding the old south Horus falcon that from earliest times had been the symbol of pharaoh. This move was plain a political,/religious statement and he thereby took side in the current conflict between the supporters of these gods.
Another King called Sekhemib-Perenmaat (see aabove) might have been a separate ruler, but most scholars take the view that this was the name of Peribsen before "conversion". "King Sekhemib" thus has no tomb in Abydos but the name has been got on labels in the domain inside and outside Peribsen's tomb. When he became king of Upper Egypt it might have been after civil war against Lower Egypt. His opponent might perchance have been king Sened and these two thus found each part of the Nile Valley. At some point Peribsen took over the whole country. We know this from inscriptions getting from his tomb in Abydos that tell about tribute, or conqueror?, concerning the town of Sethroë in the delta.
King Peribsen was a ruler who had his roots in the South, and was probably ruling from there throughout his time on the throne. Not a single trace of him is base in Lower Egypt with an elision of a writing with his name discovered in Sakkara and brought there in afterward times. He was the first pharaoh to write his name within a cartouche as seen in a preserved cylinder seal now in the Egyptian museum in Turin in Italy.
He made a remarkable change in royal custom by putting the god Set on top of his serek, (picture right) thereby disregarding the old south Horus falcon that from earliest times had been the symbol of pharaoh. This move was plain a political,/religious statement and he thereby took side in the current conflict between the supporters of these gods.
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| Vesse foundl in the tomb of Peribsen |
Neferkaseker
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| Cartouche of Neferkaseker |
Being a pharaoh not so well known (i.e. more or less unknown), Egyptologists have found a remarkable papyrus fragment from the second century A.D. written by demotic hieroglyphs. It deals with prospecting a temple in the Faiyum area and has a visible though damaged text that has been interpreted as: Na w-nfr-ka-skr by some scholars (picture left). The roll of the king in this text is not quite detectable, but the preparation of the building can have been guided by a sketch or depiction from Neferkaseker's time as a prototype. If so, that means an impressive persistence in the archives from the Department of Royal Constructions, spanning for 3000 years.
Neferkare
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| Cartouche of Neferkare |
In both the Saqqara and Turin lists he has the position between Sened and Neferkaseker and in Manteho's list he is in the same place under the Greek-formed name Nepherkheres. At the end of the Old Kingdom about dynasty 6 his name comes to light during various rulers. This shows that he and other more than or less unfamiliar kings from the same time, was far from forgotten by the generations that follow them. Picture at top right points the cartouche with Neferkare's name as it appears in the Saqqara list. It contains the signs KA with the put up arms (meaning soul) and Nefer (a sign possibly showing a belly and a windpipe) significant beautiful and the sun (or really solar god) Re.
Nubnefer (Unknown—2751)
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| Fragment show the name of Nubnefer |
His Horus-name (within a serek) has not been found and there might be a possibility that his found, so called nswt-bity name, is from another king. Egyptologist Helck made carefully estimations in the 1970s about Nubnefer's place, and came to the conclusion that he reigned close to pharaoh Ninetjer. His time in office appears to have been a very short one, and nothing is mentioned about him after his death, not regular indirectly.
One theory from others is that Nubnefer was the nswt-bity name of king Nebre (the predecessor of Ninejer), due to the fact that this name of his has never been got. The king Khaires from Manetho's list checks the best to Nubnefer only by its place and the following names, but the reign of 17 years is hard to trust unless his remains was deliberately erased by his followers. Kaires can be of another deep king who came to upset on a waterproofings in El-Kab got by English egyptologist Flinders Petrie. (Petrie 'Scarabs and Cylinders' pl. VIII; id. 'History' 7.ed p.26). His name can be read - Kara, (with the related element KA and R to Kaires) and this single piece of stiff is the only proof of his being.
Sened (2772—Unknwon)
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| Cartouche of King Sened |
Another remain with his name is from a private fourth dynasty tomb in Sakkara where a man named Shery has a title that tells that he is connected with the cult commemorating king Sened. This is 2 hundred years afterwards his death. The text also mentions king Peribsen who plausibly was Sened's vis-a-vis in the south part of the country at the same time. All other material sources science have about him are made in later times and one remarkable object in a statuette from 2000 years after his death made in the 800s BC.
Though considered to be very light by today's Egyptologists since he have left no remains of substance anywhere in Egypt, he obviously had a strong place in the heads of later Egyptian generations. The reason for this is so far secret to science. Another fact indicating in the same direction is that he was put in to the king-lists among the more famous colleagues of his. His name thus appears in the Abydos list (picture above right) and in the canon from a close tomb in Sakkara where he is depicted simply by a plucked goose (picture left). He is observed in the Canon of Turin as well, also there as a plucked goose.
Ninetjer (2815—2778)
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| Cartouche of King Nynetjer |
He is the best known of all kings from this early part of the second dynasty. Sealings with his name has been base in various places in Lower Egypt and most of all in Sakkara where one "nobility class" mastaba at the north escarp contained half a dozen. It probably belonged to one of his high officials. His name has also been discovered in big a mastaba from Giza, but just at one occasion in Upper Egypt - at Abydos. It was got on stone vessels from the tomb of the later king Peribsen who possibly had brought them down south from the Memphis field. Apart from all stone vessels his name only seems twice on other cases of objects: a small ivory label and a famous statuette of stone.
This fine cut little piece measurement 13,5 cm in height and 8,8 x 4,8 centimetres at the base, is made of a hard alabaster-like pit with a sheen towards greenish-yellow. It indicates the king sitting on his throne wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and at his bureau he's holding the crook and the flail. He is dressed in a tight fitting robe and this apparel is usually connected with the Sed-festival that took place every 20th year. He looks like a man in his older days. At both sides of the base his name is written by hieroglyphs not framed by a serek as established in upper left corner of the picture.
Most of the noesis about his deeds comes from the Palermo stone where his call is written above the boxes with the annual effects. These entries are from his 6th to his 20th year on the throne. Writing on rock vessels from Sakkara advise that his rule was at least 35 years long since a notation says that the biennial census had just been executed for the 17th time.
The notations about different celebrations are all exclude one referring to events from Lower Egypt. There are books of political events too, because in his 13th year in office he ordered his military forces to attack two unknown towns (Sm-r and Há). The name Há can also be read "northern land" suggesting a rebellion from some places in the delta, or disorder at the northern frontier.
Ninetjer's tomb has been base in Sakkara just south of Djoser's pyramid complex and about 150 thousand beside the tomb drifts of the give of the dynasty Hotepsekhemwy. Comparing the both structures gives at hand that Ninetjer's is well smaller and more irregular with corridors and rooms cut out almost haphazardly, maybe because bad excellent in the bedrock in some parts. The galleries from older pharaoh are, as they are depicted from sketches made in the beginning of the 1900s, almost too symmetrical and probably not entirely correct. One thing do the tombs have in common: incomplete corridors. Possibly did the work go on as long as the pharaoh lived start with the serious parts, and then finally ceased when he died.
Weneg (2778—2772)
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| Cartouche of Weneg |
His Horus-name (in a serek) is not known, but remaining form are base in a dozen inscriptions, most of them from Saqqara. Though his reign probably was a very short one (perhaps not more such then a couple of years) his name is recorded in later king lists wish from the temple in Abydos and the Sakkara list. This points that despite the miss of earthly remains he plausibly had a position in the legends for later contemporaries, when they were commemorating the pharaohs from the passed.
The scribes at that time misinterpreted his flower-sign (to be read: WNG) and replaced it with a papyrus plant making the sound: Wadj-nes, purposeful "fresh of tongue". This was transformed into Greek language (ougot-las) by Manetho, who gave the king the figure Tlas. In other words - a subversion on more than one occasion during the flow of time.
Because he had a very short rule we can hardly have that his tomb is a mass of black galleries like some of his predecessors. If he hasn't taken over an older structure and made it his own we can look for a monument of more modest size, maybe a mastaba of means.
The domain where to look for his tomb is probably about the other galleries east of the pyramid of Pharaoh Sekhemhkhet. This repository lies where the topography is unsuitable. A good think might be that the field to the east was assumed by superstructures (mastaba-like?) from dynasty 2 tombs, and that these were far in later times. The feet should then still be detectable, but this place has not been properly investigated. There are candidates to be his grave and in one mastaba (S3014) has even Weneg's name been base.
Reneb (Unknown-2815)
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| Cartouche of Reneb |
In the "Metropolitan Museum" in New York is a fine stela established of granite, and it is the most large remain of him. Though got in the town of Mit Rahina in the flood plain (the place of the old capital Memphis), the stela would have stood outside his tomb that obviously is to bee discovered in the Sakkara field. A possible structure that can bee the place of his last rest are the very large galleries under the funeral complex of king Djoser. Another theory that has been put forward, is that he took over this big resistance construction from his forerunner, and made it his own. In this case the galleries earlier had to belong to someone else, who is up to now unknown to Egyptology. By integration the sun and its god Re in his own name, Nebre started a tradition that should last for over 2000 years. An inscription on a black stone vessel gives the correct set for the first two kings of the dynasty. Their sereks are put beside every other led with the Horus falcon wearing the double crown and confronting a goddess. Second in line after the founder of the dynasty is king Nebre.
Hetepsekhemwy (2857-unknown)
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| Cartouche of Hotepsekhemwy |
Hetepsekhemwy was the first pharaoh of the 2nd Dynasty. His name is a reference to the gods Horus and Seth (The Two Mighty Ones at Rest). The king ruled Ancient Egypt for more than 35 years. During his epoch, an earthquake hit the vicinity of Bubastis in the Nile Delta. Some historians say that his brother started a military coup and threw him out of power. Pharaoh Hotepsekhemwy came to power in an unknown way and it is possible that he reached office by union to a princess. Thus we don't know if he was concerned to the old Thinite line of rulers or not. He is not thought to be the son of king Qáa, but possibly his son in law. Anyhow he made offerings and possibly took care of the old king's funeral, because sealings with his name have recently (1993) been found outside Qáa's tomb at Abydos. His name implies "the two powers are at ease" meaning that the struggle between the Horus and Set fractions in society was at peace. But this was barely more than a hope from his side, because this conflict should be a burden for generations and nearly tore Egypt apart.
He made a variety in picking his place burial by give the established Abydos cemetery and choose a position at the burial ground of the capital - Saqqara. This was made as a political move, maybe as a gesture of conciliation in the internal political struggle. Not only did he change place of burial - he made a totally new type of tomb with a new new design for his last resting place. It was a huge complex of underground galleries hewn out in the bedrock, a gigantic work of a type that never had been done in Egypt or anyplace else on Earth before. So this was a total change and break through in the technique of stone cutting and a milestone in human progress. It was got merely by accident in 1902 a bit south of the Djoser complex by the Italian archaeologist Barsanti. In the almost empty tomb numerous seals with the king's name could be saved, and thereby placing the owner. The monument seems to be in an incomplete stadium though the grave chamber and side room were completed. Around 20 minor rooms around the king's bedroom might have been made for his staff of servants. Previous ground zero is left of a superstructure (if there ever existed one) and later constructions have been built upon it perhaps unaware of its existence.
Burial place of Hetepsekhemwy:
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| Entrance to the tomb of Hetepsekhemwy |
Either the tomb was built for and used by Hotepsekhemwi and Reneb left his varnish impressions when he buried his forerunner, and brought the required funerary offerings
Historical Periods of Ancient Egypt
The historical periods of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early predynastic settlements of the north Nile Valley to the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Pharaonic Period is dated from some 3150 BC, when Lower and Upper Egypt became a unified state, until the country drop under Greek govern in 332 BC. Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the dynasty of the governing of each pharaoh. The dating of events is still a field of research. The conservative dates are not put up by any reliable good date for a couple of about three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology.
- Predynastic Period
- Early Dynastic Period (Dynasties 1- 2)
- Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3-6)
- First Intermediate Period (Dynasties 7-11)
- Middle Kingdom (Dynasties 12-13)
- Second Intermediate Period (Dynasties 14-17)
- New Kingdom (Dynasties 18-20)
- Third Intermediate Period (Dynasties 21-25)
- Late Period (Dynasties 26-31)
Late Period
Just fter 671 BC on, Memphis and the Delta area got the target of many attacks from the Assyrians, who expelled the Nubians and handed over power to node kings of the Dynasty 26. Psamtik I was the first to be established as the king of the full of Egypt, and he brought increased stability to the country during a 54-year reign from the new capital of Sais. Four successive Saite kings continued taking Egypt successfully and peacefully from 610-526 BC, holding the Babylonians away with the help of Greek mercenaries. By the end of this period a new power was growing in the Near East: Persia. The pharaoh Psamtik III had to present the might of Persia at Pelusium; he was defeated and briefly escaped to Memphis, but ultimately was captured and then executed.
Persian domination:
Achaemenid Egypt can be broken into 3 eras: the first period of Persian military control when Egypt became a satrapy, followed by an separation of independency, and the second and last period of occupation. The Persian king Cambyses assumed the formal title of Pharaoh, called himself Mesuti-Re ("Re has given birth"), and sacrificed to the Egyptian gods. He established the dynasty 27. Egypt was then joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Cambyses' heirs Darius I the Great and Xerxes followed a similar policy, visited the country, and warded off an Athenian approach. It is likely that Artaxerxes I and Darius II visited the country as well, although it is not attested in our sources, and did not prevent the Egyptians from feeling unhappy. During the war of sequence after the reign of Darius II, which broke out in 404, they revolted under Amyrtaeus and found their independence. This unique ruler of the dynasty 28 died in 399, and power went to the Twenty-ninth dynasty. The Thirtieth Dynasty was showed in 380 BC and lasted until 343 BC. Nectanebo II was the last native king to rule Egypt. Artaxerxes III (358–338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a short period (343–332 BC). In 332 BC Mazaces passed over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid Empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley.
Ptolemaic dynasty:
About 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon captured Egypt with little underground from the Persians. He was received by the Egyptians as a savior. He visited Memphis, and got on a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle held him to be the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the value which he showed for their faith, but he named Greeks to virtually all the senior puts up in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealthiness of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the stay of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces out to Phoenicia. He left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Alexander never returned to Egypt. Following Alexander's dying in Babylon in 323 BC, a sequence crisis erupted among his generals. Initially, Perdiccas governed the empire as strong for Alexander's half brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon, and then as strong for both Philip III and Alexander's baby son Alexander IV of Macedon, who had not been born at the time of his father's death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexander's best companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy governed Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the corporate kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Great's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully held Egypt against an intrusion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322 BC-301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of King. As Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour), he established the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for about 300 years.
The later Ptolemies assumed Egyptian customs by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public memorials in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian spiritual life. Hellenistic culture expanded in Egypt well after the Muslim conquest. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were taken in foreign and civil warfares that led to the disdain of the kingdom and its appropriation by Rome.
Persian domination:
Achaemenid Egypt can be broken into 3 eras: the first period of Persian military control when Egypt became a satrapy, followed by an separation of independency, and the second and last period of occupation. The Persian king Cambyses assumed the formal title of Pharaoh, called himself Mesuti-Re ("Re has given birth"), and sacrificed to the Egyptian gods. He established the dynasty 27. Egypt was then joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Cambyses' heirs Darius I the Great and Xerxes followed a similar policy, visited the country, and warded off an Athenian approach. It is likely that Artaxerxes I and Darius II visited the country as well, although it is not attested in our sources, and did not prevent the Egyptians from feeling unhappy. During the war of sequence after the reign of Darius II, which broke out in 404, they revolted under Amyrtaeus and found their independence. This unique ruler of the dynasty 28 died in 399, and power went to the Twenty-ninth dynasty. The Thirtieth Dynasty was showed in 380 BC and lasted until 343 BC. Nectanebo II was the last native king to rule Egypt. Artaxerxes III (358–338 BC) reconquered the Nile valley for a short period (343–332 BC). In 332 BC Mazaces passed over the country to Alexander the Great without a fight. The Achaemenid Empire had ended, and for a while Egypt was a satrapy in Alexander's empire. Later the Ptolemies and then the Romans successively ruled the Nile valley.
Ptolemaic dynasty:
About 332 BC Alexander III of Macedon captured Egypt with little underground from the Persians. He was received by the Egyptians as a savior. He visited Memphis, and got on a pilgrimage to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle held him to be the son of Amun. He conciliated the Egyptians by the value which he showed for their faith, but he named Greeks to virtually all the senior puts up in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealthiness of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the stay of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces out to Phoenicia. He left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Alexander never returned to Egypt. Following Alexander's dying in Babylon in 323 BC, a sequence crisis erupted among his generals. Initially, Perdiccas governed the empire as strong for Alexander's half brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon, and then as strong for both Philip III and Alexander's baby son Alexander IV of Macedon, who had not been born at the time of his father's death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy, one of Alexander's best companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy governed Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the corporate kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Great's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully held Egypt against an intrusion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and the surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322 BC-301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of King. As Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour), he established the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for about 300 years.
The later Ptolemies assumed Egyptian customs by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public memorials in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian spiritual life. Hellenistic culture expanded in Egypt well after the Muslim conquest. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were taken in foreign and civil warfares that led to the disdain of the kingdom and its appropriation by Rome.
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