Scheri (official)

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Scheri in hieroglyphics
Surname
N37
r 		i i

Sheri
Srj
Honorary title
M23 r
Aa1
t

Rech-nesu
Rḫ-nsw
acquaintance of the king
2nd title
m & r A6 A6 A6

Imi-ra-wabu
Jmj-r3-wʿbw
Head of the Wab priests
3rd title
m & r D32 U36 U36 U36

Imi-ra-hemu-ka
Jmj-r3-ḥmw-k3
Head of Ka servants
Scheri.png
Scheri's false door, upper cutout

Scheri was a high ancient Egyptian official and priest at the beginning of the 4th Dynasty . He was best known for his relief-decorated false doors and lintels, on which the names of the kings Sened and Peribsen (both regents of the 2nd dynasty ) appear. Because of these inscriptions, Scheri and his tomb are of great interest to Egyptology .

Office and Titulatures

Scheri held high offices. So he was:

  • Rech-nesu : "acquaintance of the king"
  • Wer-medj-schemau : "Great of the Ten of Upper Egypt "
  • Imi-ra-wabu-Peribsen-im-cheret-Sened-im-hut-im-isut-tefneb : "Head of the Wab priests of Peribsen in the necropolis of Sened, at its mortuary temple and all other seats"
  • Imi-ra-hemu-ka-Sened : "Chief of the Ka- Servants of Sened"
  • Imi-ra-hemu-ka-nesu : "Head of the King's Ka servants"
  • Hem-netjer -Sened-imi-rut-is : "Prophet of Sened and head of the gate to the magazine"
  • Tepi-saui : "First on the threshold (to the grave)"

Further inscriptions in connection with Peribsen's and Sened's names mention two relatives of Scheri: the “Wab priest of Peribsen”, Inkef and the “overseer of the Ka servants of Sened”, Si .

Interpretation of the attribution of Sened and Peribsen

The third title is particularly important for Egyptology, as Scheri describes himself as "Head of the Wab priests of Peribsen in the necropolis of Sened". This statement offers different interpretations. So she might indicate that kings Peribsen and Sened were one and the same person. In contrast, it can also mean that Sened and Peribsen were two different rulers and co-ruled peacefully at the same time. The latter thesis goes back to the assumption that Egypt was divided at the time of Sened and Peribsen. In the latter case, Sened donated a shrine or statue to his predecessor or co-regent .

Wolfgang Helck and Dietrich Wildung point out the fact that Sened's and Peribsen's names are both written in royal cartouches . Strictly speaking, this is an anachronism , since cartouches as a name seal only came into use with King Huni , perhaps the last ruler of the 3rd dynasty . Wildung also points out that "Peribsen" - and thus the name "Sened" - were originally used as nebtin names, so they were available as neutral ring names for Scheri, Inkef and Sij. They could therefore without hesitation mention them in their inscriptions, despite their preference for the Horus cult .

family

According to the funerary inscriptions, Scheri was in a relationship with a lady named "Chentitek". This bore the title of an "acquaintance of the king" ( Rechet-nesu ). A door post relief shows another lady named "Inet", whose family position is unclear. A certain Inkef and a certain Si are mentioned in the grave without a relationship being stated, but they certainly also belonged to the Scheri family.

dig

Sheri was buried in Saqqara . The location of his mastaba leads many Egyptologists to suspect that King Sened could also have been buried in Saqqara, as most of the funeral priests rest near their place of work. The interior of Scheri's tomb is richly decorated with reliefs and false doors . The inscriptions name his official title and show Scheri together with his wife to victims tables sitting or when receiving different offerings from different districts and domains .

See also

literature

Standard works

Special literature

  • Nicolas Grimal : A history of ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell, Weinheim 1994, ISBN 0-631-19396-0 , p. 55.
  • Wolfgang Helck : Investigations into the thinite age. (= Egyptological treatises. Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 .
  • Auguste Mariette : Les mastabas de l'ancien empire. Fragment du dernier ouvrage. Publié d'après le Manuscrit de l'Auteur par Gaston Maspero . Vieweg, Paris 1889, online .
  • Alexandre Moret : Fragments du mastaba de Shery: prête des rois Peribsen et Sened (= Monuments et mémoires. Vol. 25). Leroux, Paris 1921.
  • Michael Rice: Who is who in ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-15448-0 , pp. 181 and 190.
  • 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, ZDB -ID 500317-9 ). Hessling, Berlin 1969 (at the same time: Munich, Univ., Diss.).
  • Toby AH Wilkinson : Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London a. a. 2001, ISBN 0-415-26011-6 , p. 88.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Thomas Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs . Page 195; see also: Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der Ägyptischen Könignames . Page 172.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Dietrich Wildung: The role of Egyptian kings… pp. 44–49.
  3. ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite age. Pp. 105-107.
  4. ↑ a b c d Auguste Mariette: Les mastabas de l 'ancien empire . Pp. 92-94.
  5. ↑ Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Pp. 88-90.
  6. ↑ a b Alexandre Moret: Fragments du mastaba de Shery . Pp. 273-298.
personal data
SURNAME Scheri
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient Egyptian official
DATE OF BIRTH 28th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 27th century BC Chr.