| Double Falcon | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dju?, Nebwy?, Horwy?, Hrwy? | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Serekh of Double Falcon. Redrawing of an inscription on a vessel found in el-Beda. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 32nd century BC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Scorpion I? | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Iry-Hor? | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Naqada III | ||||||||||||||||||||
Double Falcon (also possibly Dju, Nebwy, Hrwy, and Horwy [1] ) was a ruler of Lower Egypt from Naqada III. He may have reigned during the 32nd century BC. The length of his reign is unknown.
In 1910, Egyptologist M. J. Clédat discovered the first evidence of Double Falcon's existence. Clédat was excavating the site of el-Mehemdiah in the northeastern Nile Delta when a peasant brought him a jar and some incised fragments that he had uncovered during the planting of a palm-grove in nearby el-Beda. Investigating the site, Clédat soon discovered four serekhs of Double Falcon. [2] [3]
The next attestation of Double Falcon was discovered in 1912 during excavations by Hermann Junker on the site of Tura, where a tomb yielded a complete jar bearing a serekh topped by two falcons. [4]
More recently, serekhs of Double Falcon have been found in the Sinai Peninsula, [5] in Tell Ibrahim Awad in the eastern Delta, [6] in Adaima and Abydos in Upper Egypt, [7] and in the Palmahim quarry in southern Israel. [4] [6]
The concentration of Double Falcon's serekhs in Lower Egypt and the north-western Sinai indicates that his rule may have been limited to these regions. Nonetheless, the wider geographic presence of his serekhs, notably in Upper Egypt and the Southern Levant, suggests that the long-distance authority of the Naqada III kings had already commenced towards the end of the period, be it through trading or warfare. [4]
If the inscriptions on the recto side of the Libyan Palette are indeed royal names, Double Falcon may be listed alongside either Scorpion I or Scorpion II in the second row of inscribed symbols.
The serekh of Double Falcon is unique in its layout and composition. Firstly, it is the only serekh topped by two Horus falcons, facing each other. Secondly, the serekh does not have a name compartment, being filled by the vertical lines which usually represent the niched facade of a palace. The serekh also lacks the horizontal line that delimits the palace facade from the name of the ruler above. Finally, each falcon stands on its own peak. So-called "anonymous serekhs" have been found somewhat frequently all over Upper and Lower Egypt, some even finding provenance in Rafah, located in southern Palestine. [8] Many were discovered in the tombs of Abydos, namely in the tombs U-s and U-t. [9] In addition to the original Double Falcon serekh, M. J. Clédat also found a number of other similarly styled serekhs from artifacts at el-Beda, one of which he postulated represented a name of a queen, "Ka-Neith". [10] As for Double Falcon, a pharaoh, Clédat and fellow Egyptologists Günter Dreyer and Edwin van den Brink suspect that a deeper symbolism explains these peculiarities. The two falcons could represent Lower Egypt and the Sinai, as it seems that Double Falcon reigned over both regions. [3] Dreyer believes that the falcons stand on a representation of the "mountain sign" N26 of Gardiner's sign list:
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and reads the name as Dju (ḏw), so that the name of the king is represented by a pair of falcons on mountains above a plain serekh. [5] In contrast, Alejandro Jiménez Serrano reads the name as Nebwy (nb.wy), "the two lords", and sees a similarity with a much earlier palette [ clarification needed ] on display in the Barbier-Mueller Museum of Geneva. [11] [12]
Menes was a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt, credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt, and as the founder of the First Dynasty.
Narmer was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period, whose reign began at a date estimated to fall in the range 3173–2987 BC. He was the successor to the Protodynastic king Ka. Many scholars consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt. He also had a prominently noticeable presence in Canaan, compared to his predecessors and successors. Neithhotep is thought to be his queen consort or his daughter.
The Early Dynastic Period, also known as Archaic Period or the Thinite Period, is the era of ancient Egypt that immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in c. 3150 BC. It is generally taken to include the First Dynasty and the Second Dynasty, lasting from the end of the archaeological culture of Naqada III until c. 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom. With the First Dynasty, the Egyptian capital moved from Thinis to Memphis, with the unified land being ruled by an Egyptian god-king. In the south, Abydos remained the major centre of ancient Egyptian religion; the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilization, such as Egyptian art, Egyptian architecture, and many aspects of Egyptian religion, took shape during the Early Dynastic Period.
Djer is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid 31st century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, but was discarded by Émile Brugsch.
Hor-Aha is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, while others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have had a long reign.
Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji, was the fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty, successor of Djer. Djet's Horus name means "Horus Cobra" or "Serpent of Horus".
Scorpion II, also known as King Scorpion, was a ruler during the Protodynastic Period of Upper Egypt.
Iry-Hor was a predynastic pharaoh of Upper Egypt during the 32nd century BC. Excavations at Abydos in the 1980s and 1990s and the discovery in 2012 of an inscription of Iry-Hor in Sinai confirmed his existence. Iry-Hor is the earliest ruler of Egypt known by name and is sometimes cited as the earliest-living historical person known by name.
Nebra or Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd Dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon is damaged and the year accounts are lost. Manetho suggests that Nebra's reign lasted 39 years, but Egyptologists question Manetho's view as a misinterpretation or exaggeration of information that was available to him. They credit Nebra with either a 10- or 14-year rule.
Seth-Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch (pharaoh), who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt. His chronological position within this dynasty is unknown and it is disputed who ruled both before and after him. The duration of his reign is also unknown.
Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhet's reign. The archaeological records seem to support the view that Semerkhet had a difficult time as king and some early archaeologists questioned the legitimacy of Semerkhet's succession to the Egyptian throne.
Ka, also (alternatively) Sekhen, was a Predynastic pharaoh of Upper Egypt belonging to Dynasty 0. He probably reigned during the first half of the 32nd century BC. The length of his reign is unknown.
Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities. Naqada III is often referred to as Dynasty 0 or the Protodynastic Period to reflect the presence of kings at the head of influential states, although, in fact, the kings involved would not have been a part of a dynasty. In this period, those kings' names were inscribed in the form of serekhs on a variety of surfaces including pottery and tombs.
The Horus name is the oldest known and used crest of ancient Egyptian rulers. It belongs to the "great five names" of an Egyptian pharaoh. However, modern Egyptologists and linguists are starting to prefer the more neutral term: the "serekh name". This is because not every pharaoh placed the falcon, which symbolizes the deity Horus, atop his serekh.
Neithhotep or Neith-hotep was an ancient Egyptian queen consort who lived and ruled during the early First Dynasty. She was once thought to be a male ruler: her outstandingly large mastaba and the royal serekh surrounding her name on several seal impressions previously led Egyptologists and historians to the erroneous belief that she might have been an unknown king. As the understanding of early Egyptian writings developed, scholars learned that Neithhotep was in fact a woman of extraordinary rank. She was subsequently considered to be the wife of unified Egypt's first pharaoh, Narmer, and the mother of Hor-Aha.
In 1985, the German Archaeological Institute discovered seal impressions of a cylinder seal in the tomb of First Dynasty king Den. They were published by Günter Dreyer the following year. The impressions are the earliest confirmed king list for ancient Egypt.
Crocodile is the provisional name of a predynastic ruler, who might have ruled during the late Naqada III epoch. The few alleged ink inscriptions showing his name are drawn very sloppily, and the reading and thus whole existence of king "Crocodile" are highly disputed. His tomb is unknown.
Hedju Hor was a ruler in northern Egypt from the Predynastic Period. His true existence is unknown. The name Hedju Hor means 'the maces of Horus'.
Ny-Hor was a possible pharaoh from the Predynastic Period. His name means "The Hunter" according to egyptologist Werner Kaiser. He may have ruled during the 31st century BC.
Wash was possibly a pharaoh from the Predynastic Period in Ancient Egypt, approximately 5,000 years ago. As Wash is known only through his appearance as a captive of the pharaoh Narmer on the eponymous palette, his existence is contested.
