Pen-abu

Name of pen-abu
Rock carving with the name Pen-abus from Qustul.
Horus name	Pen-abu Pn-3bw Great from the throne

Pen-abu (aka Hor-pen-abu ) was the Horus name of a predynastic king ( pharaoh ) before the ancient Egyptian 0th Dynasty . Information on the exact time of his reign or the duration of his rule is currently not possible.

Notes and evidence

Pen-abu's name appears on rock carvings by Gebel Sheikh-Suleiman and Qustul , as well as on ivory labels from the tombs of the kings Scorpio II and Ka in Abydos (there, however, without Serech ). A rhombic slate pallet with his name on it also comes from Qustul .

About the name

The unclean writing, especially in the rock carvings, raises questions about the actual reading of Pen-abu's name. Günter Dreyer , whose theory is more and more popular in Egyptology , and Ludwig D. Morenz are convinced of the representation of an elephant, although Morenz also offers the representation as a rhinoceros as an alternative . Besides the lion and the crocodile , both were the strongest and most dangerous animals that were still quite common in Egypt at that time. Toby Wilkinson, on the other hand, claims to have recognized the Gardiner symbol D24 ("edge" or "border"). Peter Kaplony reads the symbol as chent (“blessed”) and feels reminded of the domain “Hor-sixenti-dju” from the reign of King Djer ( 1st dynasty ).

See also

• List of pharaohs

literature

• Günter Dreyer : Umm El-Qaab. Volume I: The predynastic royal tomb Uj and its early written documents. In: Archaeological publications of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo. (AV) Vol. 86, von Zabern, Mainz 1998.
• Ludwig David Morenz : picture letters and symbolic signs. The development of the script of the high culture of ancient Egypt (= Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 205). Friborg 2004, ISBN 3-7278-1486-1 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Günter Dreyer: Umm el-Qaab. Vol. 1: The predynastic royal tomb Uj and its early written documents. P. 179ff.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Ludwig David Morenz: Image letters and symbolic signs. Pp. 91, 114 & 118.
3. ^ Günter Dreyer: Umm el-Qaab. Vol. 1, pp. 179ff.
4. ↑ Peter Kaplony : The inscriptions of the early Egyptian times. Volume III (= Egyptological treatises. [ÄA] Vol. 8). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1963, p. 8.

predecessor	Office	successor
unsure	Little King Before the 0th Dynasty	unsure