Wadjesen

Wadjesen in hieroglyphics
Proper name	Wadjesen (Wadj sen) W3ḏ sn
1st title	Who-Maa Wr-M33 Who can see the great (= Horus)
2nd title	Is-inpu Js-jnpw Privy Councilor / Supreme Leader of Secrets
Name of the Wadjesen next to the mention of a Sed festival (place of discovery: Sakkara)

Wadjesen , also Wadj-sen , was an early Egyptian high official or, according to Wolfgang Helck , a possible crown prince of the 2nd dynasty , who was perhaps the heir to the throne of King ( Pharaoh ) Ninetjer .

Evidence and Identity

Wadjesen is evidenced by six vessel inscriptions made of burned-in black ink on alabaster vases , which come from the underground galleries of King Netjerichet ( 3rd dynasty ) from Saqqara . The inscriptions connect his name either with the Sed festival or with his titles.

Wadjesen's name is the subject of divergent views within Egyptology , as the arrangement of the characters on the vases makes the reading "Wadj-sen" likely. Egyptologists such as Peter Kaplony , Wolfgang Helck and Jürgen von Beckerath associate it with the contemporary Nebti name “ Weneg ” (also read “Uneg”), which was written with a flower that was difficult to interpret. They also equate both names ("Wadjesen" and "Weneg-Nebti") with the cartouche name of king Wadjenes from Ramessid king lists. The Egyptologists propose the kings Horus Sa and Sechemib as a possible name for Horus , which the Wadjesen might have assumed when they took over the throne .

Wolfgang Helck sees Wadjesen's court rank as “Crown Prince” secured by the title “Wer-Maa”, as this was an honorary title that was reserved for the eldest prince in the early days. The title "Is-Inpu", however, is extremely rarely attested, it appears for the first time under King Hor Den in the 1st Dynasty . A well-known official with this title was Sabu under King Qaa .

Wadjesen's grave is unknown.

literature

• Pierre Lacau, Jean-Philippe Lauer : La Pyramide à degrés, Vol. IV, Inscriptions gravées sur les vases. Cairo 1959, plate 19, no. 105, plate 20, no. 101–107.
• Bernard Grdseloff: Notes d'épigraphie archaique. In: Annales du Service des Antiquités de l'Égypte. (ASAE) No. 44. Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Cairo 1944, pp. 279–306.
• Wolfgang Helck : Investigations into the thinite age. (= Egyptological treatises. (ÄA) Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 .
• Wolfgang Schenkel : The ancient Egyptian suffix conjugation. Theory of the inner-Egyptian origin from noun actionis. In: Ägyptologische Abhandlungen. (ÄA) Vol. 32, Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1960, ISSN  0568-0476 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite age. Wiesbaden 1987, p. 215.