Menes

Menes ( ancient Greek Μῖνα ), is said to have ruled as ancient Egyptian King (Pharaoh) around 3000 BC, is of the supposed unification usually named after the later tradition as the founder of the first dynasty in the Early Dynastic period. The assessment as "first empire unifier " is unhistorical, since even under the Societies Festival understood his predecessor as ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Under some successors of Menes repeated unification is also occupied. Since first stable compounds are only attested end of the second dynasty, sees the Egyptology in Menes not the final kingdom unifier. For example, refer the Egyptologist Wolfgang Helck and Jochem Kahl in the context of under Menes first introduced annual royal annals to him mythological intended role as " first empire unifier ".

Problem

In late Egyptian sources King Menes is more represented as mythical figure than as a real live, real rulers. The name " Meni " emerged only around twelve hundred years after his supposed reign on why Egyptologists are facing the problem of being able to explore and capture a historical Menes. It arises for the Egyptology therefore the question of whether Menes can identify with any of the Early Dynastic kings, or whether it is not rather is a fictional legendary figure. The ancient histories of Herodotus and Manetho are no real help since they were written only in the fifth and third centuries BC. While Herodotus reported in his own words more by hearsay, Manetho used ancient Egyptian sources.

In the list of kings of Seti I. at Abydos and Turin Royal Canon all appear at the beginning of the royal collections, the name cartridges called " Meni ", " Teti ", " Iteti " ( Djer ) and " Itiu " ( Wadji ). It is the - probably heavily distorted - Birth name of the first four early dynastic rulers of Egypt. In particular, the assignment of these first four names to the early, Contemporary testified kings is very problematic for Egyptology, as the king names his lifetime of these rulers were actually handed in their era just as Horus name.

Is also problematic for the Egyptology that Menes was absolutely celebrated by the Egyptians of the New Kingdom and the Late Period as " the first king ", although findings from that time to 3400 BC show that in long before Menes both crowns of Egypt use were. Menes is always delivered as the founder of the era of the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom and is next to Mentuhotep II and Ahmose I as a central " form of the tradition."

Documents

The first evidence of the name " Menes " goes back to the time of Queen Hatshepsut in the eighteenth dynasty. A scarab seals shows on its underside embossed above the name " Meni " ( MNJ ) in the ring, including the names of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III ..

His name appears in the King List of Abydos from the time of Seti I., where he officially introduces the King List as the first name cartridges. The Turin Royal Canon " Meni " appears twice in a row on: Once as deified ancestor, then as the name of a deceased ruler. In the list of kings of Saqqara in the grave of the priest Menes Tjuloy not appear oddly. Menes appears, among other pharaohs, even in demotic, historical novels of the Greco -Roman period, what his reputation is up to this time.

Historical traditions

( "White Wall" original name Inebu - Hedj, Egyptian Men - nefer, " the good place " ) established after the Nile split and an artificial island was created Herodotus and Manetho, according under Menes was the city of Memphis. Manetho still adds to the, Menes whether by ross -faceted river monster ( hippo ) perished. He is said to have headed to Manetho also a military expedition abroad and won there.

Menes Manetho reigned after 62 years ( as Africanus ), 60 years ( Eusebius ) or 30 years ( Armenian version of Eusebius ).

Equating with contemporary rulers

Egyptologists and historians find it difficult today to identify Menes with one of the early dynastic rulers. The reason for this is the fact that the Egyptian rulers are always named by the Prädynastik to the middle of the 1st dynasty on Tonsiegeln, ivory plaques, stone vessels and reliefs with their Horus names.

However, in the king lists appear with her ​​maiden name, which is written in a cartouche since the 4th dynasty. This forces many scholars raised the question, whence eg Ramesside scribe in drawing up the lists of kings, the cartridge name for the first four rulers based where but at this time in public documents just only the Horus name was recorded in inscriptions.

In the past, has often tried to identify Menes with early dynastic rulers, especially the kings Narmer and Hor Aha moved it into the focus of research. Egyptologists such as William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Walter Bryan Emery and Wolfgang Helck attempted a comparison of the theories that speak for or against Narmer or Aha as historical examples of Menes in publications. In this case, the researchers focused particularly on the hieroglyph Mn, which seems to be equally on Tonsiegeln and ivory tablets under two rulers. For a long time see the most Egyptologists in the hieroglyph Mn name of a person, which is why it is due to the epigraphic position on seals and plaques most likely to be a Prince name.

Equating with Narmer

Narmer is depicted on ceremonial palettes with the white crown of the south (Ta - seti ) and the red crown of the North. In his time, so Egypt seems to have been already united. - Against this argument is the fact that Narmer had just successfully completed a military offensive against Lower Egypt, of course, he was represented as a winner with the royal insignia of his defeated opponent. This does not mean that he must have been already commonly accepted sole ruler of Egypt.

On a scepter knob from Hierakonpolis Narmer is represented in the commission of the Sed festival. Before him the divine reput shrine is built. Some Egyptologists as Percy E. Newberry see the " reput - cult image " the representation of a goddess or princess Neithotep, causing her to interpret this scene as a wedding ceremony. - Werner Kaiser and Günter Dreyer made ​​in this connection, however, to the fact that it was not a question a goddess, but a ritual effigy.

Equating with Aha

This theory follows the Cairo stone whose inscription provides evidence that between Aha and King Djer yet another ruler must have reigned for a very short time. Since King Djer is designated on the Cairo Stone as " Iteti ", the name " Meni " would be left only for Aha in this case because " Teti " an independent ruler seems to be. - Against this point is the fact that the Cairo Stone regarding the naming of names cartridges should be viewed with extreme caution, since the mere mention of the name cartridges is a serious anachronism, as during his lifetime Ahaz this titulary was unknown.

Ivory tablet of Ahaz grave call as the first hieroglyphic symbol rnpt ( Renpet, " year " ), represented by a bald Palmrispe. Thus, the first calendar of Egyptian history have survived to Ahaz labels. That might have commanded sufficient reason that the Egyptians of later epochs in Aha saw a " founder of the Annals " and thus the initiator for the Egyptian historiography. - Speaking against that clay seals from the grave of Queen Meritneith, the wife of King Wadji, the name " Narmer ", " Aha ", " Djer " and " Wadji " list. The rulers squad so not begin Aha, this was therefore not considered to Meritneiths times as first ruler of Egypt. One must not forget that the above-mentioned Renpet character only later became calendrical significance as a symbol for " year ", when it came to the collection of administrative data for the purpose of tax collection and ancestral ceremony.

In Saqqara is the Mastaba S. 3357, were found in the vessel fragments and ivory labels with the name of Aha. This mastaba is one of the oldest of its kind and Sakkara was the royal necropolis of Memphis. Since no ruler appears from before Aha and Menes is known as the founder of Memphis, it seems almost lie that only Aha may be responsible for the founding of Memphis and therefore should be the same as Menes. - Against this point is the fact that the founder of a capital must have been not necessarily buried in the local cemetery. King Khasekhemwy example (2nd Dynasty) in Hierakonpolis and Memphis, but was buried in Abydos.

Trivia

The ever apprehended both in literature on hornets and wasps, as well as in publications on insect sting allergies and on the Internet claim that Pharaoh Menes had died from the effects of a wasp sting, ultimately derives from a deliberate joke back in a textbook and does not correspond to the facts.