Neithhotep

Neithhotep in hieroglyphics
Proper name	Neithhotep (Neith hotep) Nj.t htp Neith is gracious
Real name	Neithhotepu Nj.t htpjw Neith is satisfied / reconciled (with) Neith
Alabaster vase with the name of Neithhotep

Neithhotep (also Neithotep or Hetepu-Neith ) was an early Egyptian queen of the 1st Dynasty , who lived at the side of King ( Pharaoh ) Narmer and died under King Aha .

Name and identity

The name of Neithhotep is clearly based on the Egyptian goddess Neith , who was particularly worshiped in the first half of the 1st dynasty. Their cult center was in Sais . In addition to Neithhotep, the names of some, especially female, people with links to Neith are preserved on monuments and artefacts : Queen Meritneith and the princesses Qaneith , Herneith and Ahaneith .

Archaeological finds have so far suggested that Neithhotep was the mother of King Aha, became Queen of Narmer in the last few years and died under Aha. Evidence for this are clay seals from her grave with the names of Narmer and Aha. Nothing is known about the identity of any further descendants. Newer inscriptions from Wadi Ameyra in the south of Sinai show that Neithhotep probably equipped a raw material expedition after King Aha. Accordingly, she would not have died under Aha.

Possible reign

Ivory label with the name of Neithhotep (Tomb of Aha)

Similar to Queen Meritneith , Neithhotep could also have ruled independently, since her name appears on clay seals from the grave of King Aha and her own in a serech , above which is not the Horus falcon , as usual , but the emblem of the goddess Neith. But serechs were usually reserved for male rulers. This thesis is supported not only by the Serechs but also by the unusual dimensions of their grave complex. A grave stele as in the case of Queen Meritneith has not yet been found. The thesis of autocracy was not universally accepted as the evidence so far was too scanty. But this thesis is supported in the light of the new inscriptions from Sinai. The interesting thing about the inscriptions is that they cover the period from the 0th Dynasty to the beginning of the 2nd Dynasty, about which very little is known overall.

The Egyptologists Werner Kaiser and Günter Dreyer have suggested that Neithhotep may be identical to King Teti , whose name traditionally appears in the lists of kings as the direct successor of Menes , the first ruler of Egypt. Kaiser and Dreyer suspect that the queen, as an independent regent, took over the leadership of her nephew, King Djer, because he was still a minor and therefore too young for the royal office. This assumption is supported by the entry of the name "Teti" in the Turin royal papyrus , according to which Teti I ruled for only 1 year and 45 days. The new Sinai inscriptions from Wadi Ameyra support the theory that the 1st King Narmer was followed by the 2nd King Menes alias Hor-Aha and after his death his widow Neithhotep alias Teti I ruled the country for one year and 45 days before King Hor-Djer took over the government. Thus Narmer probably established imperial unity through war, while Menes united the country through a common order.

Grave complex

Naqada ( tomb ) Helwan

Sites and grave complex

In the southern district of the pre-dynastic necropolis of Naqada there is a large tomb, the former superstructure ( mastaba ) of which has been destroyed by erosion today. The complex was excavated by Jacques de Morgan around 1897 and later examined again by Ludwig Borchardt . Initially, it was believed to be the tomb of the legendary Menes due to a controversial ivory label. The choice of the location for the tomb may indicate that Neithhotep came from northern Lower Egypt, especially since her name also points in this direction. That she was buried in Upper Egypt may indicate that Narmer married Neithhotep to consolidate the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

literature

• Walter Bryan Emery : Egypt - History and Culture of the Early Period . Fourier, Wiesbaden 1964, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 .
• Jaques de Morgan: Recherches sur les origines de l'Égypte. Volume 2: Ethnographie Préhistorique. Tombeau Royal de Negadah - avec la collaboration de Prof. Wiedemann, G. Jéquier and D. Fouquet. Leroux, Paris 1897 ( digitized version ) (French).
• Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th dynasty . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7 .
• Hermann A. Schlögl : Ancient Egypt: History and culture from the early days to Cleopatra . Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54988-8 .
• Toby AH Wilkinson : Early Dynastic Egypt - Strategy, Security and Society . Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-26011-6 .

Web links

• Joachim Willeitner : Queen Neithhotep. The first woman on the pharaonic throne . Online report on recent finds on Neithhotep at: Spektrum.de from March 1, 2016.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th dynasty . Wiesbaden 2001, p. 377.
2. ^ After Walter Bryan Emery
3. ^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. London 1999, p. 291.
4. ^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. London 1999, p. 70.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th dynasty. Wiesbaden 2001, pp. 31-33.
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Joachim Willeitner: The first woman on the pharaonic throne. In: Spectrum of Science, March 2016 edition ( online at Spektrum.de ).
7. ^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. London 1999, pp. 70 & 291.
8. ↑ Werner Kaiser: On the seal with the early royal names of Umm el-Qaab. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) No. 43, von Zabern, Mainz 1987, pp. 115-121.
9. ^ Günter Dreyer: Umm el-Qaab: Follow-up examinations in the early royal cemetery. 3rd / 4th Preliminary report. In: Communications from the German Archaeological Institute, Cairo Department. (MDAIK) 46, von Zabern, Mainz 1990, pp. 71-74.
10. ^ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. London 1999, pp. 6 & 70