Egyptology ASU

The Seventh and Eighth Dynasties ruled for about 20-45 years (possibly from 2181 to 2160 BC[49]). The two dynasties consisted of several kings who ruled from Memphis over Egypt and, in any case, had only limited power due to the efficient feudal system into which the administration had developed.

Kings of the 8th Dynasty on the Abydos king list, from Netjerkare Siptah to Neferkamin.

Kings of the 8th Dynasty on the Abydos king list, from Nikare until Neferirkare.

The Old Kingdom quickly collapsed after the death of Pepi II from 6th Dynasty. He ruled for more than 64 years and perhaps up to 94 years, longer than any king in history. The last years of his rule were marked by his incompetence due to advanced age. The union of the two kingdoms collapsed and the regional leaders had to deal with the resulting famine.

The kings of the 7th and 8th Dynasties, who were the successors of the Sixth Dynasty, attempted to hold on to some power in Memphis, but owed much of it to more powerful chiefs. After 20 to 45 years, they were overthrown by a new dynasty of pharaohs based in Ahnasia. Some time after these events, a rival line based in Thebes revolted against their northern masters and against the unification of Upper Egypt. Around 2055 BC, Mentuhotep II, the son and successor of Pharaoh Entef III, defeated the pharaohs at Ehnasia and reunited the two kingdoms, thus beginning the Middle Kingdom.

(1) Introduction

The era that followed the 6th Dynasty until the emergence of the 11th Dynasty is considered one of the darkest eras in the history of Egypt, and historians have differed in estimating the length of this era. Professor Flinders Petrie estimated it at approximately 344 years, from the beginning of the 7th Dynasty to the 11th Dynasty, and Professor Breasted estimated it at approximately 315 years from the 7th Dynasty to the 10th Dynasty.

This era is barren in historical facts, and this is due to the lack of contemporary antiquities, especially during the era of the 7th and 8th Dynasties, and all that can be pointed out from the antiquities during the era of these two dynasties are some scarabs of the Pharaoh “Neferkare”, who is believed to be one of the pharaohs of the 7th Dynasty. As well as a cylinder of green jade stone attributed to the Pharaoh “Khendu”, and it is said that it was made by Syria, and this Pharaoh “Khendu” belongs to the kings of the 8th Dynasty, and a ring was also found for the Pharaoh “Neferkare Tallu”, Lord of the North, and decrees for the Pharaoh “Neferkahor” »

The 7th Dynasty of Egypt is considered the first dynasty of the First Transitional Period in the early twenty-second century BC. This dynasty ruled starting in 2181 BC.

A scarab belonging to a Pharaoh named “Ra Enka” was found. Despite the Egyptian signs on it, a drawing was found on it indicating that it was of pure Semitic origin, and it resembles the drawing on the cylinder of the Pharaoh “Khandu.” These indications that we mentioned, despite their fewness, are in addition to The chaos that prevailed in the country in this era supports the idea that the country in this period was invaded by people from Syria, a theory that many modern historians tend to favor.

It seems that these pharaohs who ruled the country during these two dynasties did not build great buildings like their predecessors throughout the length and breadth of the country. In fact, we did not find any trace of their inscriptions in the quarries of Sinai and Hammamet. It was the practice during the era of their ancestors that each king who built great temples engraved his name on the rocks of these regions as a memorial to the expeditions he sent to cut rare stones for his buildings and eternal tombs. Professor Petri believes that Lower Egypt and part of Upper Egypt were conquered at the end of the 6th Dynasty. Rather, It is said that people from the north-east of Syria conquered Egypt, and it is not far-fetched that this was a prelude to the great invasion carried out by the Hyksos into the country later. The most important evidence we have of the occurrence of this invasion is the appearance of the buttons that were used as badges since the end of the 6th Dynasty, then they disappeared in the two dynasties. The 9th and 10th, and this type of button was found in Egypt, despite the presence of some purely Egyptian shapes on it sometimes, such as the « life» sign and the falcon sign. The foreign character was evident in its manufacture.

The foreign character of its manufacture was evident. This is in addition to the fact that the green cylinders that were found from the era of King Khandu are undoubtedly foreign made, even if some of the details on them are Egyptian. We should also not fail to mention some names found in this era, such as “Shamai,” “Ni,” and “Talulu.” And “suffered” is inferred from its structure that it is Semitic in derivation. Likewise, the influence of the Pharaoh had greatly deteriorated at the end of the rule of King Pepi II, as we mentioned above, and chaos prevailed in the country, to the point that we do not know anything limited from the relics that have remained to us from the era of the 7th Dynasty. Everything that reached us was through the story of “Manetho.” He told us that this family included seventy pharaohs who ruled for seventy days. We do not think that such a family existed in this capacity. Rather, “Manetho” may have given us that as an example of the chaos that existed. It spread throughout the country after the fall of the 6th Dynasty.

(2) The Eighth Qaftid Dynasty (2280–2240 BC)

As for the 8th Dynasty, although the names of its kings are mentioned in the lists of the Pharaohs, its history is completely mysterious, except for some minor facts about some of them that we will mention later. In the list of “Al-Araba” we find the names of 17 pharaohs who ruled during the reign of this dynasty, and in the list of Turin we find mention of only eight pharaohs, while the historian “Manetho” mentioned to us that the number of its kings was eighteen without mentioning their names, while in the list of Saqqara there was no mention. It mentions Pharaoh after “Pepi II” until the beginning of the 11th Dynasty. That is, it neglected the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Dynasties. This is what was stated in the lists, but as for the monuments, they did not mention to us anything that satisfies its failure. It is true that there are some pyramids in Saqqara that must have been erected after the reign of Pepi II. However, we have not verified the name of a king among them. However, if we judge according to the names mentioned to us by the “Godmother” list during the era of the 8th Dynasty, we find that the pharaohs of this dynasty have remained. They maintained naming themselves by the names of their ancestors in most cases. For example, we find among the kings of the 8th Dynasty five pharaohs who were called “Neferkare,” one called “Dedefre,” and another who called himself “Nefererkare,” and so on. It appears that he was one of As a result of the movement undertaken by the governors of the provinces to maintain their independence in their provinces since the 6th Dynasty, the ruler of Qift Province lost power in himself and annexed to his province the seven upper provinces of Upper Egypt, and established from them an independent kingdom under his authority from the Memphis Dynasty. Unfortunately, “Manetho “Nothing was mentioned to us at all about this Qaftid dynasty, and it is likely that it stayed for about forty years, and the monuments have preserved for us the names of some of its pharaohs. In Qift itself, some traces were found indicating that its pharaohs held all the Pharaonic titles. The weakness of its kings was that they used to overwhelm their ministers, who were elected from a private family, with wide authority, to the point that they were in fact the real ones in control of the affairs of this kingdom. Several decrees of Pharaoh Neferkahor, one of the kings of this dynasty, were found in Qift itself, including a decree regarding the endowment of the statue of the pharaoh.

The order regarding this endowment was sent to the chief clerk of the fields for the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth provinces of Upper Egypt for its implementation. There is no dispute that all the Pharaonic fields in the five aforementioned provinces were intended to be confined to this statue, which clearly indicates that these properties were small. And the Pharaoh’s property in the provinces began to diminish and diminish due to what the Pharaoh was giving to the governors of the provinces of his private property in these regions, which increased their authority, reduced his influence, and weakened his authority. We also have another decree that is considered one of the most important administrative decrees that we found in this era. In it, the Pharaoh appointed his minister, “Shammai,” as administrator of Upper Egypt, and placed under his authority the twenty-two provinces that included Upper Egypt, mentioning the name of each of them from beginning to end according to their geographical order. After a while, the Pharaoh appointed another minister whose name we do not know, and it is possible that he was the son of "Shamai", to be the director of Upper Egypt, but he limited his jurisdiction to the seven southern provinces only, and from that we see that the minister had his son join him in governing the provinces under his authority “from the first to the seventh province” of Upper Egypt, and we can infer from that The position of the minister, which was established by the Pharaoh to restrain the rulers of the regions, became hereditary and was assumed by the son from the father, which made the king’s influence zero. It was also a good coincidence that in this era we found another decree in the Qift of Pharaoh called “Damzab Tawi,” and this Pharaoh was not mentioned in the lists. The pharaohs known to us for this era, but it is certain that he was from this family, and we have confirmed that from the name of the minister who was mentioned with him, and it was stated in this decree that the Pharaoh was threatening with strict punishment all the people of this land who attack the endowments or destroy or destroy the inscriptions. Or the temples, or the offering tables, or the statues of Minister “Eddie” that are found in all temples and religious places. Isn't it amazing that Minister Eddy has statues and offerings in all the temples in Upper Egypt and that he preserves and cares for them in this way?

What is even more astonishing is that in addition to the earthly punishment meted out to anyone who violated the rights of this minister, we see that the Pharaoh attaches great importance to punishment in the afterlife. He says: God will not gather the aggressors with the purified angels, but rather they will be bound, shackled, and taken captive to the god Osiris and the gods of their cities. Here we see that the god “Osiris” and the local gods were considered judges, and this position was reserved for the god “Ra” until this period, and that is what It indicates the religious coup against the worship of Heliopolis “Ain Shams” and the Kingdom of Memphis, and finally we see that the Pharaoh “Demziptawi” threatens with his indignation and anger all the officials, including the Pharaoh, the minister, and the princes who oppose the implementation of this decree. However, we will see such a threat to the Pharaoh in a decree during the era of the late Middle Kingdom, an era similar to the one we are facing now in terms of turmoil, chaos, and invasion, and there is no doubt that such a situation is one of the distinctive signs of the eras of chaos and turmoil. A few years ago, a tomb of one of the rulers of Edfu Province was found in the town of Al-Maalla, located halfway between Esna and Arment on the right shore of the Nile. The inscriptions of this tomb have not yet been published, although they are extremely important from a historical perspective, and perhaps they are the unique inscriptions from which we understand that the revolution What was done by the Pharaohs of Qeft was not accepted willingly by the rulers of the three southern provinces - Elephantine, Edfu, and Hyracanplois. Rather, its people fought for their independence with all violence and valor. In fact, the inscriptions indicate to us that its people fought against Thebes and sided with a king whose name, unfortunately, we do not know upon investigation. These wars ended with the victory of Thebes and Qeft, of course, but the inscriptions of this ruler did not mention this victory to us.

It is very likely that the disastrous 8th Dynasty disappeared around the year 224 BC. It appears that two years before this date, the small northern kingdom, which had been deprived of its fertile countryside, had another province containing several provinces carved out of it. This was due to the governor of the province of Ahnas, “Heracleopolis,” whose name was “ Hitti” declared himself pharaoh over Lower and Upper Egypt, and took the title “Amr Ib” for himself. We do not know how that exiled kingdom ended, although all evidence of the circumstances warned of its disappearance. As it was a prey between the Asians who were occupying the Delta and the new kings of Ahnas, and therefore its kings could no longer survive and it was eliminated from the world of existence, and from that time we see that Egypt in this era was divided into three parts. In the north, the Delta was in the hands of the Asians and in Egypt. In the Middle East, the rulers of Ahnas were dominant, and in Upper Egypt we find that the country was surrounded by the rulers of Thebes. We do not know anything about the disappearance of the princes of Qift who were the holders of power in the southern provinces. Perhaps this is due to their weakness and the Theban rulers overpowering them. Professor Petrie believes that In this era, Upper Egypt was invaded by people from the south, and as a result of this, the invaders settled in Thebes, and among them were later the lineage of kings of the 11th and 12th Dynasties. Dr. Hall acknowledged this idea in his writings about Egypt in this era, and what supports this opinion is the presence of Nubian blood in the veins of these kings who were called “Mentuhotep,” “Senusret,” or “Amenemhet.” From all of this, we conclude that the country is in this The era was invaded by foreign invasions from all sides. The Asians attacked it from the north, the Nubians from the south, and the Libyans from its centre. The country returned to its previous state of chaos and division, and not a single region remained under the authority of the true Egyptian race. This is if we accept that the Ihnas kings trace their origin to the Lubi.

After the turbulent last years of the 2nd Dynasty, which might have included civil war, Egypt came under the rule of Djoser, marking the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty. Both the Turin King List and the Abydos King List record five kings, while the Saqqara Tablet only records four, and Manetho records nine, many of whom did not exist or are simply the same king under multiple names.

the statue of Djoser at the Egyptian Museum

The Turin King List gives Nebka, Djoser, Djoserti, Hudjefa I, and Huni.
The Abydos King List gives Nebka, Djoser, Teti, Sedjes, and Neferkare.
The Saqqara Tablet gives Djoser, Djoserteti, Nebkare, and Huni.
Manetho gives Necheróphes (Nebka), Tosorthrós (Djoser), Týreis (Djoserti/Sekhemkhet), Mesôchris (Sanakht, probably the same person as Nebka), Sôÿphis (also Djoser), Tósertasis (also Djoserti/Sekhemkhet), Achês (Nebtawy Nebkare; unlikely Khaba, perhaps nonexistent), Sêphuris (Qahedjet), and Kerpherês (Huni)8

The archaeological evidence shows that Khasekhemwy, the last ruler of the 2nd Dynasty, was succeeded by Djoser, who at the time was only attested by his presumed Horus name Netjerikhet. Djoser's successor was Sekhemkhet, who had the Nebty name Djeserty. The last king of the dynasty is Huni, who may be the same person as Qahedjet or, less likely, Khaba. There are three remaining Horus names of known 3rd dynasty kings: Sanakht, Khaba, and perhaps Qahedjet. One of these three, by far most likely Sanakht, went by the nebty name Nebka.

Dating the 3rd Dynasty is similarly challenging. Shaw gives the dates as being approximately from 2686 to 2613 BCE. The Turin King List suggests a total of 75 years for the third dynasty. Baines and Malek have placed the 3rd dynasty as spanning the years 2650–2575 BCE, while Dodson and Hilton date the dynasty to 2584–2520 BCE. It is not uncommon for these estimates to differ by more than a century.

Some scholars have proposed a southern origin for the 3rd Dynasty. Egyptologist, Flinders Petrie, believed the dynasty originated from Sudan based on the iconographic evidence whereas S.O.Y. Keita, a biological anthropologist, differed in his view and argued an origin in southern Egypt was “equally likely”. He cited a previous X-ray and anthropological study which suggested that the 3rd Dynasty nobles had “Nubian affinities”. The author also interpreted the portrait of Djoser as having little resemblance to “portraits of late dynastic Greek/Roman conquerors” and cited an iconographic review conducted by anthropologist, John Drake, as supporting evidence. In a separate article, Keita noted that the archaeological remains of the southern elites and their descendants which he discussed in reference to the 2nd Dynastic rulers and Djoser were eventually buried in the north and not at Abydos, Egypt.

3rd Dynasty From: 2650 BC - To: 2575 BC

Period: Early Dynastic Period

3rd Dynasty Kings

1- Horus Netjerikhet (2650-2631)

2- Horus Sekhemhet (2631-2623)

3- Horus Khaba (2623-2619)

4- Horus Sanakht (2619-2599)

5- Huni (2599-2575)

The 3rd Dynasty follows a period when the country was divided into a Northern and a Southern kingdom and firmly reestablished the central authority over the entire country. The architectural achievements of this dynasty stress its pivotal role in the transition of the Early Dynastic Period into the Old Kingdom.

As was the case with the 2nd Dynasty, however, establishing the chronology of the 3rd Dynasty is somewhat problematic. This has the following reasons:

Except for Huni, who is accepted to have been the dynasty's last king, the actual monuments of the 3rd Dynasty kings mention their Horus-names whereas the later king-lists are based on what is assumed to be their birth names (nomen).

The kinglists name kings that seem to be unattested by archaeological sources. It thus becomes necessary to match the names of the 3rd Dynasty monuments with those of the king-lists.

The Turin King-list has placed Nebka at the head of the dynasty, before Djoser (Horus Netjerikhet). Manetho has also placed a king before Djoser as the founder of the dynasty. Other kinglists do not mention Nebka at all, making Djoser the founder of the Dynasty. According to the Papyrus Westcar, which lists some of Kheops' predecessors, Nebka must be placed between somewhere Djoser and Huni.

Although most kinglists give five kings that can be placed in this dynasty, there are some inconsistencies involving the 4th king of the list. This king is referred to as Hudjefa by the Turin Canon, a reference normally used for kings whose names were deliberately or accidentally damaged in the original source(s) consulted by the composer or copyists of the kinglist. If the destruction of the name was deliberate, then this may be seen as an indication of some dynastic troubles.

The other king-lists, however, record the name Sedjes or Neferkare as the 4th king of the Dynasty. This can mean that either all three names refer to the same or to different kings. If all these names, including Hudjefa, refer to the same king, it is hard to explain why one king would be referred to as Sedjes and as Neferkare. If they refer to different kings then the Hudjefa of the Turin Canon refers to Sedjes, to Neferkare or to a third, unknown king. In this case, however, it would be hard to explain why the Turin Canon only notes 5 kings instead of 6 or 7.

Manetho, through the different copies of his original work, lists even more kings in the 3rd dynasty and credits it with a total duration of over 200 years. Both the number of kings and the dynasties duration are generally accepted to have been largely exaggerated. However, the higher number of kings given by Manetho does suggest that the number of 5 kings mentioned in the older king-lists may be too low.

The builder of the famous Step Pyramid at Saqqara is identified throughout his complex as Horus Netjerikhet. An inscription left by the 19th Dynasty prince Khaemwaset, the famous son of Ramesses II, in the complex crediting the building to Djoser, has allowed us to equate Horus Netjerikhet with Djoser(-Ti) of the king-lists.

Step Pyramid

At least two other buildings, somewhat similar to Netjerikhet's Step-Pyramid, have been started but left unfinished during the 3rd Dynasty as well: the buried pyramid at Saqqara and the layered pyramid at Zawiyet el-Aryan. Based on archaeological and architectural evidence, it is safe to say that both monuments were built after Netjerikhet's. In the buried pyramid of Saqqara, the oldest of the two, the Horus-name of Sekhemkhet has been found. If an inscription found in this pyramid may be interpreted as Sekhemkhet's Nebti-name, then Sekhemkhet may be equated to Djoser-Teti, the successor of Djoser (Netjerikhet) in the kinglists.

This interpretation is supported by the style and location of his pyramid and by the mention of Imhotep, the architect of Netjerikhet's pyramid, in an inscription in Sekhemkhet's monument.

In the pyramid of Zawiyet el-Aryan, no royal name has been found. In a tomb located in a nearby private cemetery, however, the Horus-name of Khaba was found. This has led archaeologists to believe that the layered pyramid of Zawiyet el-Aryan was built by Horus Khaba. This king would then come after Sekhemkhet but before Huni, which could equate him with the fourth position in the king-lists: king Hudjefa.

Two other kings, known only through their Horus-names, have belonged to the 3rd Dynasty as well: Horus Sanakht and Horus Qa-Hedjet.

Neither king can be placed with certainty. It has been suggested that Sanakht may have been the Horus-name of Nebka, but the sole argument that supports the identification of Sanakht as Nebka is a source found in the Sinai that mentions Horus-name Sanakht and the sign ka that could be interpreted as part of the nomen of the king. The ka sign, however, is part of a word that spells mefkat, meaning 'turquoise', the main mineral the Egyptians were after in the Sinai.

If Sanakht can indeed be equated to Nebka, then it is clear that the Turin King-list has mistakenly placed Nebka before Djoser (Netjerikhet), as the archaeological record points to Netjerikhet having been a predecessor of Sanakht.

The identification of Qa-Hejdet with any of the kings in the King-lists remains rather problematic.

In view of the sources it may be tempting to equate the Horus Qa-Hedjet with Huni, the last king of the dynasty, particularly because the Horus-name of Huni is not known either. This equation, however, is purely hypothetical and not generally accepted among Egyptologists.

Regardless of our problems in identifying some of its kings, the single most important achievement of the 3rd Dynasty in the history of Ancient Egypt was the transition in architecture from wood and brick to natural stone. The building of the Step Pyramid complex for Horus Netjerikhet at Saqqara is a giant leap forward in technology and architecture. So great that it determined the general shape of Egyptian buildings for the millennia to come. Netjerikhet, under the name of Djoser, and even more his genius architect Imhotep, would remain renowned throughout Ancient Egypt's long history.

Eventhough Netjerikhet's immediate successors failed to continue the great building project of their ancestor, the 3rd Dynasty played a pivotal role in the transition from Early Dynastic Egypt into the Age of the Pyramids. This is why, in many history books, the 3rd Dynasty is placed at the start of the Old Kingdom and not at the end of the Early Dynastic Period. However, more and more Egyptologists are now inclined to include this dynasty in the Early Dynastic Period, because culturally it resembles the two first dynasties more than it does the following.

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