Famous Pharaohs

Nubnefer (Unknown—2751)

Fragment show the name of Nubnefer

Pharaoh Nubnefer is a shadowy figure during this unknown part of the second dynasty. His existence, presented by pharaoh's name and royal titles, has only been good in a couple of fragmentise from two places in the galleries deep the Step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara. They both are incised parts of broken stone vessels and his name has by some scholars been read reverse - Nefernub (picture right).

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)

Cartouche of King Sened

When pharaoh Sened was in power Egypt was likely divided once again into its southern and northern parts, with him as the king in North (Lower) Egypt from the capital Memphis. There are no contemporary remains of him, not even the smallest writing is got so far. A possible exception is a block of stone with his name on it, that was discovered and reused as building material in the mortuary temple of fourth dynasty king Khafre (Khefren) at Giza. This piece might just be of second dynasty origin and thus contemporary to 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)

Cartouche of King Nynetjer

King Ninetjer was the third king of the 2nd Dynasty, and took Memphis as his capitol. He ruled ancient Egypt for about 40 years and he was known for his festivals and some temples. Historican Manetho gives Ninetjer a prevail of 47 years and calles him in a Greek way - Binothris. The change to a b-sound was made in later times when an additional sign (a ram) with that value was put to the king's name. Writings from his own time only content the flag and the weavy line (serek in picture right). From Eygptian canyons his name therefor is to be read: Baneteren, Baneteru and Neteren (cartouche from Abydos list in picture left).

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)

Cartouche of Weneg

After Ninetjer something passed to the Egyptian society that made many centralised functions collapse or disdain. During this period of unrest a few names pop up on scanty fragments and among them a king called Weneg. He was likely the pharaoh preceding Ninetjer at least in Lower Egypt, because a partitioning of the country for a short period cant be taken out.

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)

Cartouche of Reneb

Worshiped mendes, and apis copper at memphis, but primarily re. Reneb or Nebra was the second king in the Dynasty 2. Reneb held Egypt after a coup to reverse his brother. His royal seals were discovered at Saqqara and near Hermopolis. Nothing some is known from archaeological stays of pharaoh Nebre who is another rather shadowy strong from the second dynasty. There is also a dispute about his call because he used to be called Nebre meaning: "Re is (my) lord". In the later years of the 1900s however scholars begun to favour the opposite order Nebre meaning: "Lord of the son". Which of the reading that is right is difficult to tell, but unimportant for his identification.

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)

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:

Entrance to the tomb of Hetepsekhemwy

The subterranean structure thought to be the latest 2nd Dynasty royal tomb at Sakkara is based at what is now named the Unas cemetery. Part of its galleries are close located underneath the Unas Pyramid and it is amazing that 5th Dynasty tomb-builders did not accidentaly stumble upon it. Seal impressions found inside the social system and showing the Horus names of Hotepsekhemwi and his heir Reneb can good one of two things:

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.

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.

Third Intermediate Period

Afterward the death of Ramses XI, his heir Smendes governed from the city of Tanis in the north, while the High Priests of Amun at Thebes had good rule of the southern of the country, whilst set nominally recognizing Smendes as king. In fact, this division was less important than it seems, since both priests and pharaohs came from the same family. Piankh, assumed hold of Upper Egypt, ruling from Thebes, with the north set of his control close at Al-Hibah. (The High Priest Herihor had passed before Ramses XI, but also was an all-but-independent swayer in the latter days of the king's rule.) The country was once once again split into 2 parts with the priests in Thebes and the Pharaohs at Tanis. Their rule seems to be without any other distinction, and they were replaced without any looking struggle by the Libyan kings of the Twenty-Second Dynasty. Egypt has long had bonds with Libya, and the first king of the new dynasty, Shoshenq I, was a Meshwesh Libyan, who attended as the commanding officer of the armies below the last ruler of the Twenty-First Dynasty, Psusennes II. He unified the country, putting hold of the Amun clergy under his own son as the High Priest of Amun, a post that was antecedently a hereditary appointment. The scant and irregular nature of the written shows from this period indicate that it was mobile. There appear to have been many subversive groups, which finally led to the creation of the Twenty-Third Dynasty, which ran contemporary with the latter part of the Twenty-Second Dynasty. After the detachment of Egypt from Nubia at the end of the New Kingdom, a native dynasty took control of Nubia. Below king Piye, the Nubian founder of Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, the Nubians forced north in an effort to crush his Libyan opponents ruling in the Delta. He managed to attain power as far as Memphis. His opposite Tefnakhte finally submitted to him, but he was provided to remain in power in Lower Egypt and founded the passing Twenty-Fourth Dynasty at Sais.

Egypt was reunified by the Twenty-Second Dynasty founded by Shoshenq I around 945 BC, who derived from Meshwesh immigrants, primitively from Ancient Libya. This brought constancy to the country for well over a century. After the rule of Osorkon II the country had again splintered into two lands with Shoshenq III of the Twenty-Second Dynasty controlling Lower Egypt by 818 BC while Takelot II and his son (the future Osorkon III) ruled Middle and Upper Egypt. The Nubian kingdom to the south took full reward of this division and political imbalance. Piye engaged a campaign from Nubia and defeated the combined might of different native-Egyptian swayer such as Peftjaubast, Osorkon IV of Tanis, and Tefnakht of Sais. Piye established the Nubian Twenty-Fifth Dynasty and appointed the defeated swayer to be his provincial governors. He was followed first by his brother, Shabaka, and then by his 2 sons Shebitku and Taharqa.

The international prestige of Egypt rejected well by this time. The country's international allies had fallen under the sphere of shape of Assyria and from about 700 BC the question became when, not if, there would be war between the 2 states. Taharqa's reign and that of his successor, Tanutamun, were filled with constant conflict with the Assyrians against whom there were numerous victories, but finally Thebes was occupied and Memphis sacked.

New Kingdom

Possibly as a result of the foreign govern of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a cushion between the Levant and Egypt, and gain its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into Nubia and made wide districts in the Near East. Egyptian armies pushed Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria.

Eighteenth Dynasty:

This was a time of great wealthiness and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and best-known Pharaohs ruled at this time. Hatshepsut was a pharaoh at this time. Hatshepsut is different as she was a female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian history. She was an hard and competent leader, extending Egyptian trade south into present-day Somalia and northern into the Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years through a combination of gross propaganda and deft political skill. Her co-regent and heir Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") extended Egypt's army and managed it with great winner. Late in his reign he ordered her figure hacked out from her memorials. He fought against Asiatic souls and was the most made of Egyptian pharaohs. Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple of Karnak accepting the Luxor temple which lay of two pylons, a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a different temple to the goddess Ma'at.

Nineteenth Dynasty:

Ramses I reigned for two years and was succeeded by his son Seti I. Seti I carried on the work of Horemheb in reconstructing power, control, and honor to Egypt. He likewise was sure for making the temple complex at Abydos. Arguably Ancient Egypt's power as a nation-state upset during the reign of Ramses II (the Great) of the 19th Dynasty. He ruled for 67 years from the years of 18 and carried on his immediate predecessor's work and created many more splendid temples, such as that of Abu Simbel on the Nubian border. He sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been made by 18th Dynasty Egypt. His efforts of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II and was caught in history's first recorded military ambush. Ramses II was famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and concubines; the tomb he built for his sons (many of whom he outlived) in the Valley of the pharaohs has tried to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt. His immediate heirs continued the campaigns, though an progressively careful court complicated matters. Ramses II was succeeded by his son Merneptah and then by Merenptah's son Seti II. Seti II's throne seems to have been disputed by his half-brother Amenmesse, who may have temporarily governed from Thebes. Upon his dying, Seti II son Siptah, who may have been afflicted with poliomyelitis during his life, was appointed to the throne by Chancellor Bay, an Asiatic commoner who served as vizier behind the scenes. At Siptah's early death, the throne was assumed by Twosret, the dowager queen of Seti II (and possibly Amenmesses's sister). A period of anarchy at the close of Twosret's short reign saw a native reaction to foreign control leading to the performance of the chancellor, and placing Setnakhte on the throne, establishing the Dynasty 20.

Twentieth Dynasty:

The last "great" king from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be Ramses III, the son of Setnakhte who reigned three decenniums after the time of Ramses II. In Year 8 of his rule, the Sea People, invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramses III sunk them in two great land and sea battles. He claimed that he incorporated them as open people and established them in Southern Canaan, although there is prove that they forced their way into Canaan. Their front in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states in this area such as Philistia afterwards the break of the Egyptian Empire. He was also compelled to fight offensive Libyan tribesmen in two leading campaigns in Egypt's Western Delta in his Year 6 and Year 11 respectively. The heavy cost of these battles slowly exhausted Egypt's treasury and put up to the gradual decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. The severity of these difficultness is stressed by the fact that the first known labour strike in recorded history occurred during Year 29 of Ramses III's reign, when the food rations out for the Egypt's favored and elite royal tomb-builders and craftsmen in the village of Deir el Medina could not be purveyed. Something in the air kept much sunlight from reaching the ground and also got global tree development for almost two full decenniums until 1140 BC. One advised cause is the Hekla 3 blast of the Hekla volcano in Iceland, but the dating of that event remains in dispute.

Next Ramses III's last there was endless fuss between his heirs. 3 of his boys would go on to assume power as Ramses IV, Ramses VI and Ramses VIII respectively. However, at this time Egypt was likewise increasingly beset by a series of drouths, below-normal flooding levels of the Nile, famine, civil agitation and official subversion. The power of the last king, Ramses XI, grew so weak that in the south the High Priests of Amun at Thebes got the effective defacto rulers of Upper Egypt, while Smendes controlled Lower Egypt even before the death of Ramses XI. Smendes would finally found the dynasty 21 at Tanis.

Second Intermediate Period and the Hyksos

Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Ancient Egypt erstwhile again fell into disorder between the end of the Middle Kingdom, and the begin of the New Kingdom. This period is greatest known as the time the Hyksos (an Asiatic people) made their appearing in Egypt, the reigns of its kings comprising the Fifteenth and Dynasties 16. The Dynasty 13 proved unable to hold onto the risky land of Egypt, and a rustic governing family located in the marshlands of the west Delta at Xois broke away from the central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty. The splintering of the land accelerated after the rule of the Thirteenth Dynasty pharaoh Neferhotep I.

Hyksos first seem during the rule of the Dynasty 13 pharaoh Sobekhotep IV, and by 1720 BC took hold of the town of Avaris. The schemes of the established account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is kept in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis, the founder of the Dynasty 15. In the last decades, however, the thought of a simple migration, with little or no force involved, has got some support. Under this theory, the Egyptian swayer of Dynasty 13 were unable to stop these new migrants from travelling to Egypt from Asia because they were standard kings who were struggling to cope with various domestic troubles including possibly famine. The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in the east Delta with their local Egyptian vassals. The Hyksos Fifteenth Dynasty rulers showed their capital and seat of government at Memphis and their summertime residence at Avaris. The Hyksos kingdom was cantered in the eastern Nile Delta and Middle Egypt and was limited in size, never passing south into Upper Egypt, which was under hold by Theban-based swayer. Hyksos telling with the south seem to have been primarily of a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have knew the Hyksos rulers and may perhaps have provided them with protection for a period.

About the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes held its independence from the vassal dynasty in Itj-tawy and set itself up as the Dynasty 17. This dynasty was to prove the salvation of Egypt and would eventually lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two close kings of this dynasty were Tao II the Brave and Kamose. Ahmose I completed the conquering and expulsion of the Hyksos from the delta region, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully confirmed Egyptian power in its once subject districts of Nubia and Canaan. His reign marks this beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom.

Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom is the period in the ancient Egypt chronology stretching from the establishment of the Dynasty 11 to the end of the Dynasty 14, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC nearly.

The period being two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which governed from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was cantered around el-Lisht. These 2 dynasties were primitively considered to be the full extent of this unified kingdom, but historians now consider the 13th Dynasty to leastways partly belong the Middle Kingdom. The latest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom observed their line to a nomarch of Thebes, (Intef the Great, son of Iku), who is referred in a figure of contemporary letterings. However, his immediate successor Mentuhotep II is advised the first pharaoh of this dynasty. An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II pictures that he was the first of this dynasty to claim to govern over the whole of Egypt, a take which brought the Thebeans into fight with the swayer of Herakleopolis Magna, the Dynasty 10. Intef undertook several campaigns north, and caught the important nome of Abydos.

Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasts to the 14th regnal year of pharaoh Nebhetepra Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were sunk, and the Theban dynasty started to consolidate their rule. Mentuhotep II is knew to have commanded campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independency on the First Intermediate Period. There is as well evidence for military actions against Palestine. The king reorganized the country and located a vizier at the head of civil governing for the country. Mentuhotep IV was the final pharaoh of this dynasty, and despite being free from various numbers of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record excursions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal repositories. The leader of this outing was his vizier Amenemhat, who is wide assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I, the first pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty. Amenemhet is wide assumed by some Egyptologists to have either seized the throne or taken power after Mentuhotep IV died unsuccessful.

Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt, knew as Itjtawy, thought to be located near the present-day el-Lisht, although the chronicler Manetho takes the capital continued at Thebes. Amenemhat forcibly pacified home unrest, curtailed the rights of the nomarchs, and is known to have at founded at least one effort into Nubia. His son Senusret I continued the policy of his father to retake Nubia and other territories lost during the First Intermediate Period. The Libyans were close under his forty-five year rule and Egypt's successfulness and security were assured. Senusret III (1878 BC – 1839 BC) was a warrior-king, leading his troops deep into Nubia, and built a series of massive forts throughout the country to establish Egypt's formal boundaries with the victorious areas of its territory. Amenemhat III (1860 BC – 1815 BC) is considered the last great pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. Egypt's population started to exceed food production levels during the rule of Amenemhat III, who then ordered the exploitation of the Faiyum and increased mining operations in the Sinaï forsake. He also invited Asiatic settlers to Egypt to labour on Egypt's monuments. Last in his reign the annual floods along the Nile began to fail, further straining the resources of the government. The Thirteenth Dynasty and Fourteenth Dynasty witnessed the slow decline of Egypt into the Second Intermediate Period in which about of the Asiatic settlers of Amenemhat III would savvy power over Egypt as the Hyksos.

First Intermediate Period

After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time knew as the First Intermediate Period, which is loosely thought to take a relatively obscure set of pharaohs running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth, and about of the Eleventh Dynasty. Most of these were future local monarchs who did not take such power out of their own limited domain, and none held power over the totally of Egypt. Though their governing was in form of Theocracy, they reliably respect other governments,. While there are next to no official records covering this period, there are a number of fictional texts known as Lamentations from the early period of the subsequent Middle Kingdom that may drop some light on what happened during this period. Some of these texts shine on the breakdown of rule, others allude to intrusion by "Asiatic bowmen". In frequent the stories focus on a society where the natural put of things in both company and nature was overthrown.

It is also highly probably that it was during this period that totally of the pyramid and grave complexes were hooked. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the beginning of the Middle Kingdom mummies are found dressed with magical pieces that were once individual to the pyramid of the kings of the sixth dynasty.

By 2160 BC a new line of pharaohs (the 9th and 10th Dynasties) consolidated Lower Egypt from their special in Herakleopolis Magna. A rival line (the Eleventh Dynasty) based at Thebes reunified Upper Egypt and a brush between the two rival dynasties was inevitable. Around 2055 BC the Theban forces defeated the Heracleopolitan Pharaohs, reunified the 2 Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh, Mentuhotep II marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the 3rd Dynasty complete to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC – 2134 BC). The royal capital of Egypt in the Old Kingdom was placed at Memphis, where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best knew, however, for the large number of pyramids, which were built at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is oftentimes referred to as (the Age of the Pyramids Builders). The first known pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser (2630–2611 BC) of the Third Dynasty, who placed the construction of a pyramid (the Step Pyramid) in Memphis' necropolis, Sakkara. It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states got known as nomes, ruled alone by the pharaoh. Later the former swayer were forced to accept the role of regulators or different work in tax collecting. Egyptians in this era worshiped their pharaoh as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was essential for their crops.

Old Kingdom and its royal power made their zenith below the Fourth Dynasty. Sneferu, the dynasty's yield, is believed to have approved at least 3 pyramids; piece his son and successor Khufu erected the Great Pyramid of Giza, Sneferu had more stone and brick went than any other pharaoh. King Khufu (Greek Cheops), his son Khafra (Greek Chephren), and his grandson Menkaura (Greek Mycerinus), all reached long fame in the building of their pyramids. To direct and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a concentrated government with big powers, and Egyptologists believe the Old Kingdom at this time established this level of sophistication. Recent digs near the pyramids led by Mark Lehner have exposed a large city which appears to have put up, fed and provided the pyramid workers. Although it was once believed that slaves constructed these monuments, a theory based on the biblical Exodus account, study of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw structure on the pyramids, has showed they were built by a corvée of peasants got from across Egypt. They apparently worked while the yearly Nile flood reported their fields, also as a very big crowd of specialists, including stone cutters, painters, mathematicians and priests. The Fifth Dynasty started with Userkhaf (2465–2458 BC), who initiated reforms that vulnerable the central governing. After his rule civil wars arose as the powerful nomarchs (regional governors) no more belonged to the royal family. The worsening civil conflict sabotaged unity and physical government and also caused famines. The final blow came when a severe drought in the region that resulted in a drastic drop in hurry between 2200 and 2150 BC, which in turn prevented the rule flooding of the Nile. The result was the give of the Old Kingdom observed by decades of famine and strife.

Early Dynastic Period

The historical shows of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which occurred sometime about 3150 BC. According to Egyptian tradition Menes, thought to have merged Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first pharaoh. This Egyptian culture, traditions, art construction, architecture, and social structure was closely tied to religion, remarkably stable, and changed little over a period of nearly 3000 years. Egyptian chronology, which involves regnal years, started around this time. The conventional Egyptian chronology is the chronology accepted during the twentieth century, but it does not include any of the leading revision proposals that also have been made in that time. Even within a single work, archaeologists often will offer several possible dates or even different whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates showed here and in articles on particular swayer or topics related to ancient Egypt. There likewise are several manageable spellings of the names. Typically, Egyptologists separate the history of pharaonic civilization using a schedule laid out first by Manetho's Aegyptiaca [History of Egypt] that was written during the Ptolemaic era, during the 3rd century BC.

Prior to the union of Egypt, the land was settled with individual villages. With the early dynasties, and for some of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be known as the Two Lands. The rulers made a national governing and appointed royal governors.

Matching to Manetho, the 1st pharaoh was Menes, but archaeological findings support the view that the first pharaoh to claim to have united the two lands was Narmer (the last pharaoh of the Protodynastic Period). His name is known mainly from the famous Narmer Palette, whose pictures have been read as the act of uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Funeral applies for the elite resulted in the construction of mastaba tombs, which later got models for accompanying Old Kingdom buildings such as the Step pyramid.

Predynastic Period

This period predates the unification of the north and south parts of Egypt. Settlements were established beside the Nile River. By 3500 BC, Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt was the biggest Egyptian settlement with the busy town spread out on the Nile for over three km. Hieroglyphs made their first appearing toward the end of this period, about 3250 BC by the latest ideas.

Toward the end of this time, around 3250 to 3100 BC, a period sometimes denoted to by Egyptologists as Dynasty 0, there were pharaohs in Upper (Southern) Egypt with Narmer being of unique prominence. The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt is often attributed to a king called Menes or Narmer, who may be the same person.

The Narmer Palette points Narmer in battle and wear the crown of Upper Egypt on one side and the crown of Lower Egypt on the opposite side.

Tarkhan

Pottery jar from Tarkhan

Tarkhan was a site in the Faiyum part of the Nile, located on the western bank in an area named the lower valley. The necropolis there dates to the Old Kingdom Period (2575–2134 B.C.E.). Predynastic tombs were also constructed in Tarkhan, where mortuary regalia and the names of various rulers, accepting Narmer, were unearthed.

Seila

Pyramid of Seila

Seila was a site surrounding the Faiyum territory of Egypt, south of El-Lisht. A pyramid was erected on a abandon spur at Seila. This pyramid, credibly built by Huni (r. 2599–2575 B.C.E.), was made out of limestone blocks. The pyramid was fashioned with 4 steps and was 99 square ft at the base.

Sidment el-Gebel

Sidment el-Gebel, that is a direct for a series of necropolises south of the Fayum a few km west of the town of Ihnasya/Herakleopolis.

Near the Necropolis of Sedmet el-Gebel, houses dating to the Roman Egypt (30 BC–390 AD) period were discovered, which in and of itself means a continued occupation of the domain.

Meidum

Meidum Pyramid

Meidum, a site close the Faiyum served as a royal necropolis for the 3rd and Fourth Dynasties. A step Pyramid at Meidum was probably began by Huni (2599–2575 B.C.E.) and completed by Snefru (2575–2551 B.C.E.). This pyramid was put up on an earthen platform and was composed originally of eight layers. The construction gave some time afterwards, possibly as late as the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.). The outer casing, yet, was damaged and broke during construction. The mummies of several individuals were discovered in the leading debris. Inside transitions and chambers led to a vertical shaft and a burial room, which was lined with limestone. The remains of a wooden coffin were exposed in this corbeled chamber, and a mortuary temple was also found on the east side of the pyramid, holding two oval stelae. A causeway as well taken to a valley temple.

A series of Dynasty 4 (2575–2465 B.C.E.) mastaba tombs surround the pyramid, some holding amazing reliefs and statuary. The known Meidum geese paintings were part of the reliefs in the tomb of Neferma'at and his wife Atet. Nearby, the mastaba of Prince Rahotep and his married woman Nofret contained a different portrait style statue aggroup. The paintings and statues are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. A Dynasty 5 (2465–2323 B.C.E.) mummy was likewise found in Meidum.

Herakleopolis Magna

Heracleopolis Magna

Herakleopolis Magna, a site south of Meidum at the entrance to the Faiyum, now Ihnasiyah el-Medineh, originally called Nen-nesut, Nenen-nesut, or Ninsu by the Egyptians, Herakleopolis was the capital of the twentieth nome of Upper Egypt and the cult center for Harsaphes (Her-shef).

Herakleopolis dominion has been named that figure in telling to the Greek idol hero "Herakles" who Greeks paired with the main region idol "Hershef" or "Hersphes" which represents the head of a drive. Most of the region is located on the island between the Nile and Bahr Youssef, and bounded on the north by Arsinoite dominion, and Oxyrhynchites from the south and it match Herakleopolis region with current Beni Suef province, and even beyond. This region has a great grandness since prehistoric times; through private historic ages when it became the capital Herakleopolis Magna "Ehnasya" is the political capital of the country in the "Ehnasya age" during the epoch of the two families ninth and tenth, and continued until the Graeco-Romans time.

Ruined columns at
Herakleopolis Magna

The place was occupied as early as the 1st Dynasty (2920–2770 B.C.E.) but rose to prominence in the First Intermediate Period (2134–2040 B.C.E.). The name Herakleopolis Magna was added upon the site by the swayer of the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.). In the First Intermediate Period, Herakleopolis was the home of the Khety (Aktoy) clan. During the Khety period of rule (2134–2040 B.C.E.), a canal linked Herakleopolis Magna to Memphis. Montuhotep II rounded the site in 2040 B.C.E. when he started his campaign to reunify Egypt.

Harsaphes's temple, a ram-headed deity, was restored at Herakleopolis Magna by Ramses II (1290–1224 B.C.E.). A granite triad of Ramses II, Ptah, and Harsaphes was also erected in Herakleopolis Magna. An Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.) enshrine and a necropolis, Gebel El-Sidmant, are on the site.

Hawara

Pyramid of Amenemhat III at Hawara

Hawara was a royal necropolis in the south area of the Faiyum used by the Dynasty 12. The pyramidal complex of Amenemhet III (1844–1797 B.C.E.), a monument named the Labyrinth that served as the mortuary temple of the pyramid, was raised on the site. The temple reportedly contained 3000 chambers related by ranging passages, shafts, and corridors on subterranean levels. The burial chamber was designed out of a single part of quartzite, estimated by Herodotus in Egypt c. 450 B.C.E., as weighing different tons.

The Labyrinth had twelve covered courts, facing south and north. Herodotus toured the upper and lower levels and named the complex. All of the walls were decorated with reliefs, and white marble columns were used throughout. No causeway or valley temple was erected. Sobekneferu (1787–1783 B.C.E.), a manageable daughter of Amenemhet III, completed the pyramid for her father. Little rests of the structure. A nearby necropolis contained wax portraits and tombs dating to the later Greco-Roman Periods.

Hawara is the place of the massive pyramid of Amenemhat III, a twelve Dynasty (Middle Kingdom, 1204–1604 B.C.E.) pharaoh. The complex was knew in ancient times for its great labyrinth, a temple complex peripheral the pyramid, described by ancient travelers as a vast, obscure maze of streets and buildings. According to legend, it inspired Dedalus to create the labyrinth of Crete. Among other things, the Hawara labyrinth was the location of a temple to Sobek, the feared local crocodile deity.

Hawara was also a necropolis – nowadays famous for its strikingly realistic funerary portraits. Funerals were apparently a major business in Hawara, and most of the people involved in the takes in this case were connected to this industry. Calling themselves “god’s sealants and embalmers,” they owned parts in the necropolis of Hawara and nearby burial grounds, these parts were, in fact, transferable, just like real property.

El-Lahun (Kahun)

cartouche of Senusret II,
beside the pyramid of
Senusret II

A community structure at El-Lahun, started by Senwosret II (1897–1878 B.C.E.) of the Dynasty 12 (1991–1783 B.C.E.), Kahun was the abode of the workers and artisans involved in royal mortuary monuments. The site was involved by a gated mud-brick wall and widespread into three residential areas. A temple of Anubis was also found on the site, and a cache of varied papyri was discovered in the temple. Named Hotep-Senwosret, “Senwosret Is Satisfied,” and placed at the opening of the Faiyum, the site is known for a cache of jewelry discovered in the tombs of Princess (or perhaps queen) Sithathor Yunet and other family members sunk in the complex.

The place was divided into 3 sections, including a necropolis area for nobles and officials and a residential area on the eastern and on the west. Vast garners served the entire region. The treasury of papyri at Kahun disciplined hundreds of texts concerning legal matters, literature, mathematics, medicine, temple affairs, and vet information. The site was abandoned abruptly in a afterwards historical period, perhaps as a result of an quake or some other natural disaster.

El-Lisht

Pyramid of Amenemhet I at El-Lisht

Lisht or El-Lisht is an Egyptian village placed south of Cairo. It is the site of Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including two pyramids built by Amenemhat I and Senusret I. The two main pyramids were surrounded by smaller pyramids of extremities of the royal family, and many mastaba graves of high officials and their family members. They were constructed throughout the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties. The site is likewise known for the tomb of Senebtisi, found carefree and from which a set of jewelry has been recovered. The pyramid complex of Senusret I is the best preserved from this period. The coffins in the grave of Sesenebnef present the earliest versions of the Book of the Dead.

The ancient Egyptian site of el-Lisht can be base on the west bank of the Nile River, around 65 km south of the city of Cairo. It is a Twelfth Dynasty necropolis, close to the metropolis of Itj-Tawy.

The Eleventh Dynasty’s capital was located at the city of Thebes. The first king of the Twelfth Dynasty, Amenemhet I, went the capital from Thebes to a city close el-Lisht called Itj-tawy, because it was close to the mouth of the Fayyum, and well placed to control the 'Two Lands' of Upper and Lower Egypt.Another motive advised is land renewal and desire to increase the agricultural output for the area. The ruins of Itj-Tawy have never been conclusively placed, and the only locational prove discovered consists of pieces of clayware in the area it is thought to be in. However, Twelfth Dynasty rulers established pyramids at el-Lisht which are knew to researchers.

El-Lisht is the necropolis of the first two rulers of Dynasty Twelve, Amenemhet I and his son and successor Senusret I. These pyramids would have been open to those traveling to Itj-Tawy from the south. The more known of the two monumental complexes, that of Amenemhat I, featured an offer hall with a granite altar, carved with pictures of examples of the nomes (provinces) bringing offers to the pharaoh. However, the pyramid itself is in a sunk state, rising approximately 20 meter above ground level.

Tombs of El-Lisht:

Pyramid of Senusret I
Tomb of Senewosret-Ankh
Tomb of a certain Senusret, shaft of Hapy, found untouched
Tomb of Intef (?)
French tomb
Tomb of Imhotep
Tomb of Mentuhotep
Tomb, South-Khor A
Tomb, South-Khor B
Tomb A in South area
Tomb of Djehuty
Tomb of Ipi
Tomb D in South area
Tomb E in South area
Tomb of Sehetepibreankh
Pyramid of Amenemhat I
Tomb 384 of Rehuerdjersen
Tomb 400 of Intefiqer
Tomb 470 of Senimeru
Tomb 493 of Nakht
Tomb 758 of Senusret, shaft with undisturbed tomb of Senebtisi
Tomb 954
Tomb 956

Crocodilopolis

Crocodilopolis is an ancient Egyptian site, originally named Shedet, then Arsinoe, and now Medinet el-Faiyum. A custom states that AHA (King Menes; 2920 B.C.E.) established Crocodilopolis. The city attended as the capital of the Faiyum and was the cultic center for the crocodile deity Sobek. An agricultural central watered by the Bahr Yusef (the Joseph River, rewarding a local hero of Islam), the city also had a shrine honoring the goddess Renenet. A temple discovered on this site sees to the reign of Amenemhet III (1844–1797 B.C.E.), but it was probably complete by him, having been started by King Senwosret I (1971–1926 B.C.E.). There is some speculation that the red granite Obelisk at Abgig was once part of this temple. Ramses II (1290–1224 B.C.E.) restored the temple of Sobek. During the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.), the city was named for Queen Arsinoe and served as an important cultic center for Sobek. Visitors to the city fed crocodiles raised there. There were several mines in the field of Crocodilopolis, exploited throughout Egypt’s history. The site also had a sacred lake and baths.

Faiyum (El-Faiyum)

Faiyum, the region of Egypt once named Ta-she, the Land of the Lakes, and used in some eras as an agricultural center, the Faiyum was also called Pa-yuum and Pa-yom and was settled in Paleolithic times when hunters and gatherers came down from the arid plateaus of the area, drawn by the abundant game and grasses.

A natural low extending along the western side of the Nile River, the Faiyum had different Predynastic cultures, including Faiyum A and B. These cultures date to c. 4500 B.C.E. The Bahr Yusef, an Arabic name significant "Joseph's River" (not a biblical reference but one honoring an Islamic hero), left the Nile at Assiut, becoming a alternative stream. The Bahr Yusef was allowed by natural forces to figure the Faiyum but was not left with a natural route of exit, thus inundating the area and transforming it into lush fields, gardens, and marshes. The site of Crocodilopolis was the capital for the district, also called Shedet, and attended as a cult center for the god Sobek. Located on Lake Qarun, called Me-Wer by the Egyptians, Crocodilopolis was as well a haven for aquatic life-forms. Crocodiles were long, and in some eras tourists were allowed to feed them.

The rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) began reconstruction of this area. Seeing the need for increased agricultural output, these pharaohs started a series of hydraulic systems to reclaim acres of land. Amenemhet I (1991–1962 B.C.E.) expanded and deepened the channels, getting water to various parts of the Faiyum and establishing a true reservoir. During the annual inundations of the Nile, regulators installed at el-Lahun controlled the Faiyum water levels. Every January the sluices at el-Lahun were closed to enable repairs to be made on bridges and walkways. Amenemhet III (1844–1797 B.C.E.) erected dikes and keeping walls, with sluices down and canals that regulated the flow of water. In the process he provided Egypt with vast tracts of arable lands, all of which strengthened the economic base of the nation. The Faiyum, modified with such regulators, thus attended as an pinch reservoir in periods of great floods.

One of the most beautiful regions in the Nile Valley, the Faiyum was reclaimed again and again as an agricultural site. In the Ptolemaic Time (304–30 B.C.E.) the rulers developed the region and made it a leading agricultural and population center. Olive production was encouraged as the Greek Ptolemaics deemed the Faiyum olive the tastiest of all. At various times the territory great over 4,000 square mils. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.) renamed the nome containing the Faiyum Arsinoe, after his relation, Arsinoe.

Monuments in El-Faiyum:

Crocodilopolis

el-Lahun

el-Lisht

Hawara

Herakleopolis Magna

Meidum

Sidment el-Gebel

Seila

Tarkhan

Pharaohs of the 1st Dynasty

Little real history is known of the pharaohs of the early dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Their monuments, however, are some of the most examined artifacts in the world. Most of the tombs and artifacts have been discovered in Abydos.

List of the Pharaohs of the first dynasty:

Menes (Horus Aha)

Djer (Itit)

Mernieth

Djet (Wadj)

Den (Udimu)

Anendjib

Semerkhet

Qa'a

Sneferka

Unknown king

Iry-Hor

Iry-Hor

A piece of vessel from the tomb of Iry-Hor

Iry-Hor the last pharaoh in the 1st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt.

His burial place in Abydos. It contains two-chambered tomb, possibly one of he oldest disocvered at Abydos. Few funereary rests were found, icnlduing parts of ceramic with the pharaohs name.

Unknown Pharaoh

This unknown pharaoh between (king Sneferka) and pharaoh Iry-Hor. His tomb may be in Abydos.

Sneferka (2859—2857)

Sneferka, this ephemeral pharaoh belongs to the very end of the 1st dynasty, a period that apparently was a time of some imbalance in society. His name is only good twice - both from finds in Sakkara.

One is a fragmentise of schist found by British archaeologist Walter Emery in the dust at the escarpment north of King Djoser's funeral complex, when he was digging mastabas from the first dynasty. (Emery: Great Tombs III, pl. 38.1). The serek (to the right) contains the three hieroglyphs making the king's name, but in a slimly different order than in the other remain from his universe - a stone vessel found under the pyramid of king Djoser and published by Egyptologist Kaplony in MDAIK in 1988. His name is not showed in any of the kings' lists made during the further 2.500 years the Egyptian state should exist. This can mean that he was a probably unknown to later generations due to the fact that his reign was a very short and empty one and the remains were very few. That's the understanding why his position (unneurotic with king Bird above) cannot be showed with certainty

Qa'a (2889—2859)

Cartouche, and Restored tomb stele of King Qa'a

Most scholars believe that Qa'a was the last king of the 1st dynasty. We may also see his name as Kaa, or different other variations. Though Egyptologists often disagree on dating, our current best guess is that he lived from about 3100 to 2890 BC. While this information on Qa'a is highly limited, until Dreyer and Kaiser analysis their data and provide us with more information, low else is knew of this early Egyptian Pharaoh.. He was probably buried in Tomb Q at Abydos, where two regular royal funerary stelae bearing his name were found on the east side of the tomb. This tomb has been excavated on a number of several occations, first by Emile Amelineau in the 1890s, then Flinders Petrie and in 1991, by Gunther Dreyer and Werner Kaiser. The work done by this later German team revealed many little artifacts and architectural details that had been overlooked by earlier digs. These include thirty inscribed labels that describe the delivery of oil, probably made from berries or tree resins, and probably from the Syria-Palestine area.

Seal impressions and artifacts have also been discovered in Tomb Q with the name of Hetepsekhemwy, the first pharaoh of the second dynasty. This suggests that Hetepsekhemwy completed Tomb Q, and that there was no real break between the first and 2nd dynasties of Egypt. The change in dynasties from the 1st to the second was originally reported by Manetho without explanation. We also know of four tombs in Sakkara that date to this kings reign. The smaller part of two wooden statues were base in one of these tombs in a set of rooms on the north side. Some scholars believe this may have been an offering chapel, and that the mortuary temple in pyramid complexes may have got from this structure. Egyptologists have also discovered the stelae of two of Qa'a's officials, Merka and Sabef. These stelae have more complex inscriptions then earlier hieroglyphics, and may have signaled in increasing edification in the use of this writing.

Burial position of King Qa'a:

His tomb in abydos (tomb q) where two funerary stele mark his tomb, which also has notes from Hetepsekhemwy, his successor. The width of the funerary chamber about (10 x 5 m).

Semerkhet (2897—2889)

Semerkhet was the sixth pharaoh of the first Dynasty. He was the son of pharaoh Adjib and Queen Betrest, and for obscure reasons, only ruled for eight years. Egyptologists discovered very little, save for a black stela with Semerkhet's name carved on it. King Semerkhet was the fifth regent in the first dynasty, and he had he shortest time on the throne - eight and a half years. We know this for a fact because his full reign is documented on the Cairo Stone in the the Egyptian Museum. Regrettably the submissions from each year are only about ceremonies of different kinds and do not record any historical events.

Theories about his authenticity to kingship suggesting that he was an usurper has been put modern by scholars because he had the habit of recycling his predecessor's goods. At the graveyard at Abydos objects from Anedjib's time (and tomb?) was base in Semerkhet's where he had erased the original name and replaced it with his own. In a seal from his successor his name is wrote in the line with the other kings, telling that he was established as a king at least by his follower, who was his son (according to Manetho). A year label from Semerkhet reign was found in his follower's tomb at the re-excavation in the mid 1990s made by the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo (DAIK). His tomb in Abydos points a new feature: retainers' tombs attached directly to the thick walls of his own, and a door entry rather then a staircase leading to the grave chamber. This means that the whole construction was covered by the same superstructure, indicating that the retainers were buried at the same time, and thus probably sacrificed to the honor of their master.

King Semerkhet's Burial place:

Pharaoh Semerkhet's tomb in abydos. It was almost 29 x 31 meters, brick-lined burial chamber. Its Walls 1.5-1.8 m thick. Single chambered tomb, with 68 alternative burials.

Anendjib (2949—2897)

Cartouche name of Merbiape

Anedjib was the fifth king during the first dynasty. He kept Memphis as his capitol city throughout his 14 years of rule. Anedjib's crown carried the symbols of both Upper and Lower Egypt, a representation of the unification of the country associate his power. Historians, however, doubt that Anedjib really controlled the northern, due to the fact that the northern Nomes rebelled against him always throughout his reign. His wife, Queen Betrest, was the mother of King Semerkhet, who was his successor. The queen provided Anedjib with legitimacy and power since she was a related from the Memphite royal line. Anedjib is a swayer that not so often is known about. He was also called Enezib and Merbiapen and governed from Memphis. According to Manetho (Af.) who called him Miebidos, his reign was 26 years. He may have come to power by marriage to queen Betrest of the Memphite royal family and in that case he was not son of pharaoh Den. A struggle between the Lower Egyptian classes and the south seems to have been temporary solved by Anedjib whose name is the first of all kings in the Sakkara list. Maybe he was the first king not to be directly related to the Thinis line of pharaohs. However the theory that he was an supplanter (or his successor was) and wasn't established by all his generation, has some means, because his memorials were deliberately violated by his immediate follower on the throne. His name in a serek has been deleted and the new king's put there instead in many stone vessels found at Sakkara.

Likewise there his name has only been found in two other places in Egypt: Abydos and Helwan, and out its borders possibly at En Besor in southern Palestine. At Sakkara a great mastaba, plausibly for his prime minister, revealed a new architectural building within when it was dug out in the 1950s. In contrast his own tomb in Abydos was a crude small construction and so were the rows of 64 satellite tombs. This high number tells that though is rule seems to have been a step backwards for the country as a whole (internal struggle?) the pharaoh's power over the commoners was unbroken.

King Anendjib's Burial place:

His tomb in abydos (tomb x), very small with burial chamber of wood. 64 alternative burials. Its Walls about 1.3 –1.6 meters. It was take one of the lowest Egyptian royal tombs.