Sideline

Nebtiname in hieroglyphics
Predynastics
4th dynasty	Nebti Nb.tj The two mistresses
Wadjet and Nechbet as "the two mistresses" each sitting on the Neb sign

The Nebtiname (also mistress name ) is one of the five names of the ancient Egyptian kings ( pharaohs ) in the royal statute and is already used as an epithet in the predynastics ; there, however, with a different hieroglyphic composition .

In the early dynasty , under King Hor Den ( 1st dynasty ), with the introduction of the subsequent unchanged neighbors, a closer connection between the subname and the throne name followed . Nevertheless, the side name did not form an official title during this period either. It was not until the 4th dynasty that the independent Nebtiname emerged in connection with the official introduction of the Nebtiname with the two goddesses Nechbet (for Upper Egypt) and Wadjet (for Lower Egypt).

Spellings

The regents adopted this name at the beginning of their rule. It was introduced with the symbols of the gods of the "two countries" ( Upper and Lower Egypt ):

1. an erect cobra , often wearing a lower Egyptian crown, for the goddess Wadjet.
2. a vulture , often with the Upper Egyptian crown for the goddess Nechbet.

Both sit on a basket each , the symbol for neb (Hieroglyph Gardiner V30), which means "Lord". The nebtiname is derived from the two existing neb characters and the two goddesses. The sign for neb also belongs to another designation of the king: "Lord of the two countries" (Neb-taui).

meaning

In the early days of ancient Egypt, conceptions of the world were dominated by a dualism according to which everything in nature was ordered. Even the world of gods was subject to this duality, and so every wholeness consisted of two complementary, opposing pairs (dual). However, this pronounced dualism can be found precisely in kingship and state, for example also in the name for the country Egypt itself: "the two countries".

Nebti is the presumed reading for the group of symbols that introduce this king name. Nebti is the dual of the female form Nebet (mistress), from male Neb (master) and is therefore called “the two mistresses”, although the group only contains two masculine Neb hieroglyphs . The title denotes the two main deities before the 1st Dynasty, when Egypt was still divided into two kingdoms:

1. the vulture goddess Nechbet of the Upper Egyptian city of Necheb (today el-Kab )
2. the cobra goddess Wadjet or Buto of the lower Egyptian city of Dep (today Buto)

Both cities were close to the then capitals Hierakonpolis and Pe, and therefore the goddesses received their great importance. Menes , founder of the 1st Dynasty, was believed to be the first to adopt the Nebti name to denote that he had united the two kingdoms.

Thus the meaning of the Nebti name for the king was twofold:

1. to document that he was in close relationship with the two protective goddesses and thus enjoyed their special protection,
2. also to confirm the fact that the whole country (both countries) was under a single rule.

See also

• Proper name
• Throne name
• Horus name
• Gold name
• Manetho
• Pharaoh

literature

• Wolfgang Helck , Eberhard Otto : Small Lexicon of Egyptology. 4th revised edition. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-04027-0 .
• Jürgen von Beckerath : Handbook of the Egyptian king names (= Munich Egyptological studies. Vol. 49). 2nd improved and enlarged edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6 , pp. 10-16.

Web links

Brief introduction of the royal statute in Egypt

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto: Small Lexicon of Egyptology. Wiesbaden 1999, p. 153.
2. ^ Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbook of the Egyptian king names. Mainz 1999.
3. ^ Alan Gardiner : Egyptian Grammar. Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd edition, reprinted. Griffith Institute - Ashmolean Museum, Oxford 2007, ISBN 978-0-900416-35-4 .