Red crown of the north

Red crown of the north in hieroglyphics
	Narmer palette

The ancient Egyptian red crown of the north has traditionally been assigned to Lower Egypt since the predynastic period . There is no doubt that the red crown of the north only symbolized Lower Egypt in the 1st dynasty under Wadji with geographic expansion.

background

Earlier guesses

In Egyptology , the assumption that the red crown already stood for Lower Egypt in primeval epochs was based on the depictions of Narmer when he unified the empire . Narmer wore the red crown there while he examined the supposedly defeated Lower Egyptians.

Black-rimmed clay vessel from the Naqada era around 3800 BC BC with the oldest depiction of the red crown of Lower Egypt

The conclusion from Narmer's communication that he " struck residents of the later Harpunengau " was transferred in Egyptology as a conjecture to all of Lower Egypt. However, so far there is no evidence that the defeated people were representative of Lower Egypt.

proof

In predynastic times , the red crown of the north still stands for the Upper Egyptian region of Naqada . It is already documented there on a fragment of a vessel from the Naqada I culture (around 3800 BC). Jochem Kahl, for example, points out the special fact that the red crown of the north meant the north of Upper Egypt in the early days. In addition, there was a direct connection to Seth for this region , since Naqada was his main place of worship.

The lower Egyptian equation used for the first time under King Wadji (around 2880 to 2870 BC) is documented in the changed appearance of the next name . While the crown goddess Nechbet , who represented Upper Egypt, can be seen on an annual tablet of Wadji , the snake goddess Wadjet , who comes from Buto , has been replaced by the red crown of the north.

literature

Jochem Kahl : Upper and Lower Egypt. A dualistic construction and its beginnings. In: Rainer Albertz (Ed.): Spaces and Limits. Topological concepts in the ancient cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean (= sources and research on the ancient world. Vol. 52). Utz, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-8316-0699-3 , pp. 3-28 ( online ).
Hubert Roeder: The bringing king. Approach to a redefinition of the ensu (nisut) and the white crown, a summary. In: Rolf Gundlach, Ursula Rössler-Köhler (Ed.): The Kingship of the Ramesside Period. Requirements - Realization - Legacy (= Egypt and Old Testament 36, 3). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 3-447-04710-0 , pp. 99-106.

Individual evidence

^ Toby AH Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London et al. 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 , pp. 149ff.
↑ Walter B. Emery , TGH James : Great tombs of the first dynasty. Excavations at Sakkara (= Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Society. Vol. 46, ISSN 0307-5109 ). Volume 2. Egypt Exploration Society, London 1954, p. 102, fig. 105.

[1] Toby AH Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London et al. 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 , pp. 149ff.

[2] Walter B. Emery , TGH James : Great tombs of the first dynasty. Excavations at Sakkara (= Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Society. Vol. 46, ISSN 0307-5109 ). Volume 2. Egypt Exploration Society, London 1954, p. 102, fig. 105.