That the Early Dynastic state controlled Egypt is implied by the presence of Naqada culture in the Delta and the remains of a fortress on Elephantine Island at Aswan. Most of the archaeological information on the Early Dynastic comes from the tombs at Abydos and Saqqata. The massive tomb fields at Saqqata reveal the presence of kingship. Evidence of the first dynasty kings is found on pots, seals, labels and other artefacts. Hieroglyphic writing is used to keep the accounts of royal income and expenditure, and to record royal exploits. Taxes were collected in kind (wheat and cattle) and stored in royal storehouses and redistributed as the king saw fit. During the first dynasty (and Dynasty 0) there is evidence of Egyptian expansion into northern Sinai and southern Palestine.
Manetho describes the first two dynasties as ‘Thinite’, after Thinis, possibly near the modern town of Girga. The first known king of the first dynasty is Aha (r.c.3050-c.3020 BC). There may have been a brief regency by Neithhotep, presumably Narmer’s wife, at the beginning of Aha’s reign. Djer (r.c.3020-c.2980 BC) may have visited Buto and Sais, and made expeditions into Nubia, Libya and Syria/Palestine. All that is known about Djet (r.c.2980-c.2955 BC) is that there was an expedition to the Red Sea. Den (r.c.2955-c.2935 BC) may have come to the throne at an early age, with his mother, Merneith, if she was Djet’s wife, acting as regent. Den fought at least one battle in the ‘east’, presumably against some Bedouin in the eastern desert. Anedjib (r.c.2935-c.2925 BC) appears to have put down several uprisings in Lower Egypt. Manetho tells us that a great calamity befell Egypt during the reign of Semerkhet (r.c.2925-c.2915 BC), which has often been interpreted as that his reign may have been illegitimate. Qaa (r.c.2915-c.2890 BC) was the last king to appear to have had several of his retainers burnt with him.
The first king of the second dynasty was Hotepsekhemwy (r.c.2890-c.2850 BC). The change of dynasty may have been due to a shift of royal power to Memphis. Raneb (r.c.2850-c.2810 BC) appears to have been the first ruler to include a reference to the cult of Sun in his name; Raneb (or Nebra) means ‘Ra is Lord’, or ‘Lord of the Sun’. The end of the reign of Nynetjer (r.c.2810-c.2770 BC) seems to have been marked by poor harvests, internal tension and possibly civil war. It is possible that the power of Weneg (r.c.2770-c.2760 BC) and Sened (r.c.2760 c.2740 BC) was limited to the Memphite area. Peribsen (r.c.2740-c.2720 BC) was probably a usurper, and he and Sekhemib (r.c.2720-c.2705 BC) could have been the same person. Khasekhemwy (r.c.2705-c.2686 BC) was a native of Hierakonpolis. After winning a struggle against the north that had started during the reign of Peribsen, he began an energetic building policy.
The tombs of the early kings were surrounded by storerooms for goods and subsidiary graves for officials. The whole was finished off with a mastaba – a rectangular, mudbrick building, named after the Arabic word for ‘bench’, which it resembles when seen from a distance.
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