Ninetjer

Name of Ninetjer
	Stone fragment with the throne name of the Ninetjer, including a picture of a festival barge
	;
	;
	; ;
Throne name	style = "text-align: center"
Greek Manetho variants:	; Africanus : Binothris ; Eusebius : Biophis ; Eusebius, AV : Biophis

Ninetjer (actually: Ni-netjer ; also Hor-ni-netjer ) was the third ancient Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ) of the 2nd dynasty in the early dynastic period . Jürgen von Beckerath dates his reign from about 2785 to 2742 BC. Chr.

Thomas Schneider also sees Ninetjer as the third king of the 2nd dynasty, but does not commit to a specific period within this epoch, which he refers to the period from 2850 to 2740 BC. Dated.

Ninetjer is the best documented king of the 2nd Dynasty. Hardly any other ruler has found so many stone vessels and clay seals. Most of the information about his reign is provided by line 4 of the Palermostein , which chronologically lists the cultural and religious events for 14 years of his reign. Ninetjer was also the ruler with the longest reign in the 2nd dynasty.

Name and identity

Diorite fragment with the throne name of Ninetjer, on the right the name of the goddess Bastet (above)

Ninetjer is documented as the third ruler of the 2nd dynasty by contemporary artifacts from his tomb in Saqqara and the king lists as the successor to King Nebre . Based on the Ramessid king lists, King Wadjenes is regarded as the direct successor , although it remains unclear with which archaeologically documented Horus name this cartouche name is to be linked.

Both his Horus and the throne name were "Ninetjer". This peculiarity is typical of the 2nd dynasty and can also be observed in the names of Peribsen and Sechemib .

Evidence and Finds

Abydos

Saqqara ( tomb )

Sites and grave complex

Ninetjer is evidenced by numerous stone vases and clay seals from his grave complex in Saqqara .

Other stone vessels and clay seals with his name were discovered in large numbers in the galleries of the Djoser pyramid complex in Saqqara. However, the timing of inscriptions made with black ink is a matter of dispute. The Egyptologist Ilona Regulski dates the ink inscriptions to the time from Chasechemui to Djoser and also suspects that the vessels inscribed with ink originally come from Abydos . In fact, a few fragments of stone vessels with Ninetjers name were discovered in the tomb of Peribsen in Abydos.

The statuette of the priest Redjit comes from Memphis , on the back of which both the name Ninetjers and that of his two predecessors are carved. The figure thus confirms Ninetjer's chronological position and is therefore particularly important for Egyptology.

The statuette of a king with the white crown of Upper Egypt comes from a private art collection (Georges Michailidis collection) . The figurine is 13.5 cm tall and consists of pale, greenish shimmering alabaster . The figure is shown sitting on a throne and dressed in a skin-tight sed-fest robe. The throne name of the Ninetjer is engraved on the sides of the throne .

The artistic execution raises questions among Egyptologists. While researchers such as WK Simpson date the king figure to the 4th dynasty , other Egyptologists such. B. Günter Dreyer , Dietrich Wildung and Hourig Sourouzian for their authenticity.

Domination

Diorite vase with the name of Horus of the Ninetjer, on the right the "Palace of the White Crown"

Length of government and events

Most of what is known from Ninetjer's reign is depicted on the Palermo stone. The broken edge of the stone runs exactly diagonally through the 7th and 21st window; therefore the remains of the event described are missing. However, it can be assumed that the usual cattle count is mentioned here.

In addition, the years of government 36 to 44 have been preserved on the Kairostein . The Palermostein names the following events:

Annual entries for Ninetjer on the Palermostein, v. r. left to right: year 7-21

year	Events
Name band	Hor-Ninetjer , King of the Double Crown, the Golden Scion, ... (rest destroyed) ...
7th year	Escort of Horus [as the 3rd time of the cattle count] ... [rest is missing]
8th year	Appearance of the king of Upper Egypt; Stretching the string for the palace "House of the Name of Horus" Nile flood height 1.57 meters.
9th year	Escort of Horus as the 4th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 1.09 meters.
10th year	Appearance of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt; " Running of the Apis " ( pḥrr Ḥp ). Nile flood height 1.09 meters.
11th year	Escort of Horus as the 5th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 1.98 meters.
12th year	Appearance of the King of Lower Egypt; second celebration of the Sokar festival . Nile flood height 1.92 meters.
13th year	Escort of Horus as the 6th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 0.52 meters.
14th year	First ascent of "Hor-seba-pet" ( Horus the star in the sky ); Destruction / foundation of the cities “Shem-Re” ( the sun has come ) and “Ha” ( the northern one ) Nile flood height 2.15 meters.
15th year	Escort of Horus as the 7th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 2.15 meters.
16th year	Appearance of the King of Lower Egypt; second " running of the Apis " ( pḥrr Ḥp ). Nile flood height 1.92 meters.
17th year	Escort of Horus as the 8th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 2.40 meters.
18th year	Appearance of the King of Lower Egypt; third celebration of the Sokar festival . Nile flood height 2.21 meters.
19th year	Escort of Horus as the 9th time of the cattle count. Nile flood height 2.25 meters.
20th year	Appearance of the King of Lower Egypt; Sacrifice for the king's mother; Inspection of the " Festival of Eternity " Nile flood height 1.92 meters.
21st year	Escort of Horus [the 10th time of the cattle count] ... [the rest is missing].

The name of the Ninetjer was also found as a rock inscription at Abu Handal in Lower Nubia . This may indicate a military expedition to Nubia, which, however, cannot be further substantiated.

Clay seal of the Ninetjer with the mention of the "Fortress of the Natron House" (left)

There are different statements about the duration of Ninetjer's rule. The Turin royal papyrus attests to the high number of 96 years of reign, while the ancient chronicler Manetho speaks of 47 years. Modern research allows Ninetjer at least 43 years. This estimate is supported by the inscriptions on the Cairo stone, whose records immediately after the “21. Times of the cattle count ”(42nd year of government). Wolfgang Helck even awards Ninetjer 45 years. Under Ninetjer, the escort of Horus was supplemented by a count . This points to a new form of tax collection. The count remained in the following period. The escort of Horus was abandoned in the 3rd dynasty.

End of government

The troubled times after Ninetjer's death aroused the suspicion among Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck , Nicolas Grimal and Barbara Bell that the Egyptian Empire might have split into two parts after Ninetjer's death and was ruled separately for a time by two different kings.

However, it remains unclear when exactly Egypt split into two halves. The rulers Wadjenes and Sened named in the Ramessid king lists are presented as direct successors of Ninetjer in both Thinitic and Memphite annals, so they must have ruled equally over Upper and Lower Egypt. The division of the empire can therefore only have taken place under King Sened at the earliest.

Grave complex

Reconstructed segment of the Unas approach with roof

The Ninetjer's tomb is located in Saqqara under the path of the Unas pyramid and consists of several galleries that are connected by a complex system of corridors. The DAI has meanwhile carried out five more excavation campaigns . The Ninetjer's tomb galleries show great similarities with the tombs of Nebre and Hetepsechemui , which suggests that Ninetjer had his tomb built based on their model. In Saqqara there are also the private graves of high nobles, which also date from the reign of the Ninetjer.

The unusually large tomb of Ruaben (Mastaba S2302) contained numerous clay seals of the Ninetjer, so that it was previously assumed that the Mastaba S2302 was the tomb of the Ninetjer. In 2008 the fifth excavation led to the discovery of further burial chambers in the Ninetjer burial complex. To the north of the Unas-Aufweg was the mastaba of Nebkauhor , which was erected above the entrance ramp of the Ninetjer tomb .

Royal tomb of the Ninetjer in Saqqara (main corridor)

The entrance ramp is about 25 m long and leads to three galleries with a widely branching corridor system in an east-west direction. Further suspected burial chambers are to be uncovered during the next excavations. The northernmost gallery, with a height of 1.7 m and an area of 13.5 m × 1.35 m, has seven other small secondary chambers of different sizes. The smaller side chambers make an unfinished impression and were filled with sand, which partly trickled into the chambers. The wooden coffins found there belong to later burials. In the corridor to the middle gallery were laid out mummies , under which were burial objects of the Ninetjer, such as wine jugs, clay vessels and closures. In addition, 56 flint knives , 44 razors and 44 small blades were recovered. The find in the southern gallery, with an area of 6.4 m × 1.4 m, surprisingly revealed the mostly complete and original furnishings of grave goods, for example more than 50 wine jugs with seals from the Ninetjer, Tragnetze, transport objects made of wood, Beer bottles and strip-polished oval vessels.

Investigations of the newly found unrolled seals show that they come from Ninetjer. Some wine jugs probably date from the late 1st Dynasty . The objects found in earlier excavations, a woman's coffin as well as nine mummy masks and pictures of the deceased in festive costume during their lifetime, could be ascribed to the Ramessid period. The actual burial chamber of Ninetjer is at the southwest end of the complex, the ceiling of which has, however, collapsed. The remaining corridors and chambers are also in acute danger of collapsing. Overall, the grave complex has a circumference of 94 × 106 m.

reception

The ancient chronicler Manetho calls Ninetjer Binôthris and reports that he ruled for 47 years and he gave women the right to rule like kings . Egyptologists suspect that this could be an echo from the 0th and 1st dynasties , since at that time two queens, Neithhotep and Meritneith , appeared as possible sole rulers.

literature

Standard works

Jürgen von Beckerath : Chronology of the pharaonic Egypt. The timing of Egyptian history from prehistoric times to 332 BC BC (= Munich Egyptological Studies. Vol. 46). von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-2310-7 .
Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatross, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 .

Special literature

Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbook of the Egyptian king names (= Munich Egyptological studies. Vol. 20). Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-422-00832-2 .
Peter A. Clayton: The Pharaohs. Rulers and Dynasties in Ancient Egypt. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1998, ISBN 3-8289-0661-3 .
Günter Dreyer : The work of the DAI Cairo on the grave of King Ninetjer. In: Sokar. Vol. 11, 2005, ISSN 1438-7956 , pp. 4-5.
Walter B. Emery : Egypt. Early history and culture 3200–2800 BC Chr. Fourier, Wiesbaden 1980, ISBN 3-921695-39-2 .
Martin von Falck, Susanne Martinssen-von Falck: The great pharaohs. From the early days to the Middle Kingdom. Marix, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3737409766 , pp. 57-61.
Wolfgang Helck : Investigations on the thinite period (= Egyptological treatises. Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 .
Jochem Kahl : Inscriptional Evidence for the Relative Chronology of Dyn. 0-2. In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 94-115 ( online ).
Peter Kaplony : Inscriptions of the early Egyptian period (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen. Vol. 8, 3, ISSN 1614-6379 ). Volume 3. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1963.
Peter Kaplony: Stone vessels with inscriptions from the early days and the Old Kingdom (= Monumenta aegyptiaca. Vol. 1). Fondation égyptologique Reine Elisabeth, Brussels 1968.
Pierre Lacau , Jan-Phillip Lauer: La Pyramide à Degrés. Volume 4: Inscriptions Gravées sur les Vases (= Fouilles à Saqqarah. Vol. 17, ZDB -ID 343750-4 ). Fasc. 1: Planches. Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale, Cairo 1959, Fig. 19.
Hermann Ranke : The Egyptian personal names. Volume 1-3. Augustin, Glückstadt et al. 1935, 1952, 1977, online as PDF .
Rainer Stadelmann : The upper structures of the royal tombs of the 2nd dynasty in Saqqara. In: Paule Posener-Kriéger (ed.): Mélanges Gamal Eddin Mokhtar (= Bibliothèque d'étude 97, 2). Volume 2. Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Cairo 1985, ISBN 2-7247-0019-8 , pp. 295-307.
Jean Vercoutter : Légypte et la Vallée du Nil. Tome 1: Des origines à la fin de l'Ancien Empire. Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1992, ISBN 2-13-044157-2 .
Dietrich Wildung : The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. Volume 1: Posthumous sources on the kings of the first four dynasties (= Munich Egyptological Studies. Vol. 17). Hessling, Berlin 1969.
Toby AH Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London / New York NY 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 .
Toby AH Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt. The Palermo Stone and its associated Fragments. Kegan Paul International, London et al. 2000, ISBN 0-7103-0667-9 .

Web links

Commons : Ninetjer - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

↑ Term of office: 47 years.
↑ ^a ^{b Duration of} government: No information.
↑ What is meant is a founding ceremony.
↑ The reading of this passage is particularly contentious. Some Egyptologists interpret the rakes that reach into the walls as a “reg” sign, which means “to found ”, others believe that Ninetjer may have had previous buildings torn down or that rebellious principalities put down.
↑ What is meant is a death ceremony

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite age. P. 116 f.
^ Alan H. Gardiner : The royal canon of Turin. Griffith Institute, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-900416-48-3 , illustration I.
↑ Hermann Ranke: The ancient Egyptian personal names. P. 276.
^ Thomas Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. P. 168.
^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. P. 85.
↑ Wolfgang Helck: The dating of the vessel inscriptions from the Djoser pyramid. In: Journal of Egyptian Language and Antiquity. Vol. 106, No. 2, 1979, ISSN 0044-216X , pp. 120-132.
^ Ilona Regulski: Second Dynasty Ink Inscriptions from Saqqara. In: Stan Hendrickx et al. (Ed.): Egypt at its Origins. Studies in memory of Barbara Adams (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 138). Peeters et al., Leuven et al. 2004, ISBN 90-429-1469-6 , pp. 949-970.
^ WM Flinders Petrie : The royal tombs of the earliest dynasties: 1901. Part II (= Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Volume 21). Egypt Exploration Fund et al., London 1901 ( digitization ), Chapter II., Pp. 12–13, Fig. 8.
^ Henry G. Fischer: An Egyptian Royal Stela of the Second Dynasty. In: Artibus Asiae. Vol. 24, No. 1, 1961, ISSN 0004-3648 , pp. 45-56, here especially Fig. 1.
^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. P. 86, Fig. 3. 2.
↑ Dietrich Wildung: The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. P. 38 .; Hourig Sourouzian: Concordances et écarts entre statuaire et représentations à deux dimensions des particuliers de l'Époque Archaïque , in: N. Grimal (editor), Les critères de datation stylistiques à l'Ancien Empire , BdE 120 (1998), p. 305 -352.
^ Toby Wilkinson: Royal Annals. Pp. 119-129.
^ Government year according to: Siegfried Schott : Altägyptische Festdaten (= Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz. Treatises of the humanities and social sciences class 1950, 10, ISSN 0002-2977 ). Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur et al., Mainz et al. 1950, p. 59.
^ Péter Kaplony: Stone vessels. P. 68.
↑ Zbynek Zaba: The Rock Inscriptions of Lower Nubia. (Czechoslovak Concession) (= Charles University of Prague, Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology in Prague and in Cairo. Publications 1, ZDB -ID 447460-0 ). Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology in Prague and in Cairo, Prague 1974, pp. 30-31.
↑ Peter Kaplony: God's palace and fortresses of the gods in early Egyptian times. In: Journal of Egyptian Language and Antiquity. Vol. 88, 1963, pp. 5–16, here especially Fig. 3.
↑ Turin Kinglist ( Memento from January 12, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) Jacques Kinnaer - The Ancient Egypt Site: Turin kinglist
^ Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. P. 105.
^ Toby Wilkinson: Royal Annals. P. 204.
↑ Petra Andrassy: Investigations on the Egyptian state of the Old Kingdom and its institutions (= Internet = contributions to Egyptology and Sudan archeology XI ). Berlin / London 2008, ISBN 9781906137083 , p. 16 online .
↑ Herman A. Schlögl: The Old Egypt (= Beck'sche Reihe. Vol. 2305). 3. Edition. Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-48005-8 , pp. 77-78.
↑ Wolfgang Helck: The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. P. 45.
^ Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. Pp. 104-105.
^ J. Van Wetering: The Royal Cemetery of the Early Dynastic Period at Saqqara and the Second Dynasty Royal Tombs. In: Stan Hendrickx et al. (Ed.): Egypt at its Origins. Studies in memory of Barbara Adams (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. Volume 138). Peeters et al., Leuven et al. 2004, ISBN 90-429-1469-6 , pp. 1055-1080.
^ Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. Pp. 104, 175.

predecessor	Office	successor
Nebre	King of Egypt 2nd Dynasty	Wadjenes

personal data
SURNAME	Ninetjer
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bi-en-uter; Binutri; Hor Neterimu; Binothris
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	3rd Pharaoh of the 2nd Dynasty
DATE OF BIRTH	29th century BC BC or 28th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	29th century BC BC or 28th century BC Chr.

[4] Term of office: 47 years.

[E-5] {b Duration of} government: No information.

[16] What is meant is a founding ceremony.

[18] The reading of this passage is particularly contentious. Some Egyptologists interpret the rakes that reach into the walls as a “reg” sign, which means “to found ”, others believe that Ninetjer may have had previous buildings torn down or that rebellious principalities put down.

[19] What is meant is a death ceremony

[WoHe-1] Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite age. P. 116 f.

[2] Alan H. Gardiner : The royal canon of Turin. Griffith Institute, Oxford 1997, ISBN 0-900416-48-3 , illustration I.

[3] Hermann Ranke: The ancient Egyptian personal names. P. 276.

[6] Thomas Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. P. 168.

[7] Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. P. 85.

[8] Wolfgang Helck: The dating of the vessel inscriptions from the Djoser pyramid. In: Journal of Egyptian Language and Antiquity. Vol. 106, No. 2, 1979, ISSN 0044-216X , pp. 120-132.

[9] Ilona Regulski: Second Dynasty Ink Inscriptions from Saqqara. In: Stan Hendrickx et al. (Ed.): Egypt at its Origins. Studies in memory of Barbara Adams (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 138). Peeters et al., Leuven et al. 2004, ISBN 90-429-1469-6 , pp. 949-970.

[10] WM Flinders Petrie : The royal tombs of the earliest dynasties: 1901. Part II (= Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund. Volume 21). Egypt Exploration Fund et al., London 1901 ( digitization ), Chapter II., Pp. 12–13, Fig. 8.

[11] Henry G. Fischer: An Egyptian Royal Stela of the Second Dynasty. In: Artibus Asiae. Vol. 24, No. 1, 1961, ISSN 0004-3648 , pp. 45-56, here especially Fig. 1.

[12] Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. P. 86, Fig. 3. 2.

[13] Dietrich Wildung: The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. P. 38 .; Hourig Sourouzian: Concordances et écarts entre statuaire et représentations à deux dimensions des particuliers de l'Époque Archaïque , in: N. Grimal (editor), Les critères de datation stylistiques à l'Ancien Empire , BdE 120 (1998), p. 305 -352.

[14] Toby Wilkinson: Royal Annals. Pp. 119-129.

[15] Government year according to: Siegfried Schott : Altägyptische Festdaten (= Academy of Sciences and Literature, Mainz. Treatises of the humanities and social sciences class 1950, 10, ISSN 0002-2977 ). Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur et al., Mainz et al. 1950, p. 59.

[17] Péter Kaplony: Stone vessels. P. 68.

[20] Zbynek Zaba: The Rock Inscriptions of Lower Nubia. (Czechoslovak Concession) (= Charles University of Prague, Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology in Prague and in Cairo. Publications 1, ZDB -ID 447460-0 ). Czechoslovak Institute of Egyptology in Prague and in Cairo, Prague 1974, pp. 30-31.

[21] Peter Kaplony: God's palace and fortresses of the gods in early Egyptian times. In: Journal of Egyptian Language and Antiquity. Vol. 88, 1963, pp. 5–16, here especially Fig. 3.

[22] Turin Kinglist ( Memento from January 12, 2007 in the web archive archive.today ) Jacques Kinnaer - The Ancient Egypt Site: Turin kinglist

[23] Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. P. 105.

[24] Toby Wilkinson: Royal Annals. P. 204.

[25] Petra Andrassy: Investigations on the Egyptian state of the Old Kingdom and its institutions (= Internet = contributions to Egyptology and Sudan archeology XI ). Berlin / London 2008, ISBN 9781906137083 , p. 16 online .

[26] Herman A. Schlögl: The Old Egypt (= Beck'sche Reihe. Vol. 2305). 3. Edition. Beck, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-406-48005-8 , pp. 77-78.

[27] Wolfgang Helck: The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. P. 45.

[28] Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. Pp. 104-105.

[29] J. Van Wetering: The Royal Cemetery of the Early Dynastic Period at Saqqara and the Second Dynasty Royal Tombs. In: Stan Hendrickx et al. (Ed.): Egypt at its Origins. Studies in memory of Barbara Adams (= Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta. Volume 138). Peeters et al., Leuven et al. 2004, ISBN 90-429-1469-6 , pp. 1055-1080.

[30] Walter Bryan Emery: Egypt. Early history and culture. Pp. 104, 175.