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{{Contains special characters|Egyptian hieroglyphs}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Merneith
| image = Merneith stele.jpg{{!}}150px
| caption = Tomb stela of Merneith from the [[Umm el-Qa'ab]]
| succession = [[Regent]] of [[First Dynasty of Egypt|Egypt]]
| reign = {{circa}} 2965 BC<ref name="Quiles-2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Quiles |first1=Anita |last2=Tristant |first2=Yann |date=2023 |title=Radiocarbon-Based Modeling of the Reign of King den (1St Dynasty, Egypt) and the Start of the Old Kingdom |journal=Radiocarbon |language=en |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=485–504 |doi=10.1017/RDC.2023.15 |issn=0033-8222 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023Radcb..65..485Q }}</ref>
| reign-type = Regency
| predecessor = [[Djet]]
| dynasty = [[First Dynasty of Egypt|1st Dynasty]]
| spouse = [[Djet]]
| issue = [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]
| successor = [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]
| birth_date = 
| death_date = {{circa}} 2950 BC
| burial_place = Tomb Y, [[Umm El Qa'ab]], [[Sohag Governorate|Sohag]], [[Egypt]]
}}
{{hiero|image={{font|size=400%|𓌺𓋎}}|name=Merneith |era=ed}}

'''Merneith''' (also written '''[[Mery (ancient Egyptian name)|Merit]]-neith''' and '''Meryt-Neith'''; died {{Circa}} 2950 BC) was a [[Queen consort|consort]] and a [[regent]] of [[Ancient Egypt]] during the [[First Dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vanhulle |first=Dorian |date=2023-11-14 |title=Boat Burials and Boat-Shaped Pits from their Origins to the Old Kingdom: Tradition, Continuity and Change in Early Egypt |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10572414.2023.2264551 |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |volume=53 |language=en |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1080/10572414.2023.2264551 |s2cid=265239069 |issn=1057-2414|hdl=2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/368224 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

She may have been a ruler of Egypt [[Suo jure|in her own right]], based on several official records.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dee |first1=Michael |last2=Wengrow |first2=David |last3=Shortland |first3=Andrew |last4=Stevenson |first4=Alice |last5=Brock |first5=Fiona |last6=Girdland Flink |first6=Linus |last7=Bronk Ramsey |first7=Christopher |date=2013-11-08 |title=An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2013.0395 |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |volume=469 |issue=2159 |pages=20130395 |doi=10.1098/rspa.2013.0395 |pmid=24204188 |issn=1364-5021|pmc=3780825 |bibcode=2013RSPSA.46930395D }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Allen |first=Troy D. |date=July 2008 |title=Cheikh Anta Diop's Two Cradle Theory: Revisited |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021934706290354 |journal=Journal of Black Studies |language=en |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=813–829 |doi=10.1177/0021934706290354 |s2cid=144524456 |issn=0021-9347|url-access=subscription }}</ref> If this was the case and the earlier royal wife [[Neithhotep]] never ruled as an independent regent, Merneith may have been the first female [[pharaoh]] and the earliest [[queen regnant]] in [[recorded history]]. Her rule occurred around 2950 BC<ref name="Quiles-2023"/> for an undetermined period. Merneith’s name means "Beloved by [[Neith]]" and her [[stele]] contains symbols of that [[Neith|ancient Egyptian deity]]. She may have been [[Djer]]'s daughter and was probably [[Djet]]'s senior royal wife.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781444338386 |title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient History |date=2013-01-30 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-7935-5 |editor-last=Bagnall |editor-first=Roger S. |edition=1 |language=en |doi=10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah15112 |editor-last2=Brodersen |editor-first2=Kai |editor-last3=Champion |editor-first3=Craige B. |editor-last4=Erskine |editor-first4=Andrew |editor-last5=Huebner |editor-first5=Sabine R. |editor-link5=Sabine R. Huebner }}</ref> The former meant that she would have been the great-granddaughter of unified Egypt's first pharaoh, [[Narmer]]. She was also the mother of [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]],<ref name="Wilkinson-2001">{{cite book | last=Wilkinson | first=Toby A.H. |authorlink=Toby Wilkinson| title=Early Dynastic Egypt | publisher=Psychology Press | publication-place=London | date=2001 | isbn=978-0-415-26011-4 | page=74}}</ref> her successor.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Griffin |first=Ken |date=2008 |title=Current Research in Egyptology 2007 : Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Conference |url=https://www.torrossa.com/en/resources/an/5328038 |language=en |pages=1–158}}</ref>

==Family==
Merneith is linked with the kings [[Djer]], [[Djet]], and [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]] in a variety of seal impressions and inscribed bowls. Merneith may have been the daughter of Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence. As the mother of Den, it is likely that Merneith was the wife of Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been found.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Dodson | first1=Aidan | last2=Hilton | first2=Dyan | title=The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt | publisher=Thames & Hudson | publication-place=London; New York | date=2004 | isbn=0-500-05128-3 | page=140}}</ref><ref name="Tyldesley-2006"/>

A clay [[cylinder seal|seal]] found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with "King's Mother, Merneith".<ref name="Wilkinson-2001"/> It also is known that Den’s father was Djet,{{where|date=August 2023}} making it likely that Merneith was Djet’s royal wife.

From Abydos comes a small ivory fragment with the remains of two figures. It is possible that they show Merneith together with her son king Den.<ref>{{cite web | title=Une probable représentation de la reine Meret-Neith en tant que régente du roi Den, Matthieu Bégon, ENiM 13, 2020, p. 211-215 « ENiM | website=Une revue d’égyptologie sur internet | url=http://www.enim-egyptologie.fr/?page=enim-13&n=7 | language=fr }}</ref>

==Biography==
Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of [[Djet]]. The title she held, however, is debated. It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right. Before her, [[Neithhotep]] is believed to have ruled in the same way after her husband [[Narmer|King Narmer]] died, as Narmer's son was too young to rule. Her name was written on a Naqada seal inside a serekh, which was the way the kings' names were written. This would mean Merneith may have actually been the second female in Egypt's first dynasty to have ruled as pharaoh.

The strongest evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] (Tomb Y) is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stelae bearing her name were discovered near her tomb. Merneith's name is not included in the king lists from the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]. A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of [[Qa'a]], the third known pharaoh after [[Den (Pharaoh)|Den]], her son. However, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith.<ref name="Tyldesley-2006"/>

A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith:
* Merneith’s name appears on a [[Den seal impressions|seal found in the tomb of her son, Den]]. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith's name was the only name of a woman included on the list. All of the names on the list are the [[Horus name]]s of the kings. However, Merneith's name is accompanied by the title "King's Mother".
* Merneith’s name may have been included on the [[Palermo Stone]].<ref name="Tyldesley-2006">{{cite book |first=J. |last=Tyldesley |title=Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt |year=2006 |publisher=Thames & Hudson}}</ref>
* Items from the great [[mastaba]] (Nr 3503, 16 x 42 m) in [[Saqqara]], where her name has been found in inscriptions on [[Stone vessels in Ancient Egypt|stone vessels]], jars, as well as seal impressions. In particular, there is one seal from Saqqara, which shows Merneith's name in a [[serekh]].<ref name="Tyldesley-2006"/>
* The so-called Merneith Enclosure is a group of tombs from the cemetery at Shunet el-Zebib. These tombs are dated to the time of Merneith.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Porter |last2=Moss |title=Topographical Bibliography; Volume V Upper Egypt |publisher=Griffith Institute |page=55}}</ref>
* Merneith's name was found on objects in king [[Djer]]'s tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab.

==Tombs==
[[File:Ummal-qaab.png|thumb|250px|Cemetery B, [[Umm el-Qa'ab]]. Tombs of the pharaohs of the first and second dynasty of Egypt.]]
[[File:Map of the tomb of Merneith.svg|thumb|left|180px|Plan of the main chamber of Merneith's tomb.]]

===Abydos===
At [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], the tomb belonging to Merneith was found in an area associated with other pharaohs of the first dynasty, [[Umm el-Qa'ab]]. Two [[stela]]e made of stone, identifying the tomb as hers, were found at the site.

In 1900, [[Flinders Petrie]] discovered Merneith’s tomb and, because of its nature, believed it belonged to a previously unknown pharaoh. The tomb was excavated and was shown to contain a large underground chamber, lined with mud bricks, which was surrounded by rows of small satellite burials, with at least 40 subsidiary graves for servants.<ref name="Tyldesley-2006"/><ref>{{cite web | title=Abydos Tomb Y | publisher=Digital Egypt for Universities University College London | url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/abydos/abydostomby.html | access-date=2024-11-26}}</ref>

The servants were thought to assist the ruler in the afterlife. The burial of servants with a ruler was a consistent practice in the tombs of the early first dynasty pharaohs. Large numbers of sacrificial assets were buried in her tomb complex as well, which is another honor afforded to pharaohs that provided the ruler with powerful animals for eternal life. This first dynasty burial complex was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition and its importance grew as the culture endured.

Inside her tomb archaeologists discovered a [[Ancient Egyptian royal ships|funerary boat]]<ref>{{cite web | title=ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SOLAR BOAT | website=SOLAR NAVIGATOR WORLD SUSTAINABILITY ENCYCLOPEDIA | url=https://www.solarnavigator.net/egyptian_solar_boat.htm }}</ref> that would allow her to travel with the sun deity in the afterlife.

Abydos was the site of many ancient temples, including Umm el-Qa'ab, the royal necropolis, where early pharaohs were entombed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/abydos/abydoskingstombs.html|title=Tombs of kings of the First and Second Dynasty|access-date=2008-01-15|publisher=UCL|work=Digital Egypt}}</ref> These tombs began to be seen as extremely significant burials and in later times it became desirable to be buried in the area, leading to the growth of the town's importance as a cult site.

===Saqqara===
At [[Saqqara]], Merneith's tomb exhibits features that possibly preview the builders of the Third Dynasty. Concealed within the normal rectangular palace façade [[mastaba]] of Merneith's tomb at Saqqara is the base of a stepped structure, a juxtaposition of two different methods of building. It is perhaps indicative of the fusion of northern and southern styles that was to lead, ultimately, to the [[Pyramid of Djoser|Step Pyramid]] of Djoser, or influenced the design of the Third Dynasty structure.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chronicleofphara00clay/page/24|title=Chronicle of the Pharaohs : the reign-by-reign record of the rulers and dynasties of ancient Egypt|last=Clayton|first=Peter A.|year=1994 |isbn=0500050740|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=Thames and Hudson|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chronicleofphara00clay/page/24 24-25]|oclc=31639364|url-access=registration}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://phys.org/news/2023-10-archaeologists-year-old-wine-tomb-meret-neith.html Archaeologists discover 5,000-year-old wine at the tomb of Meret-Neith in Abydos - phys.org - October 9, 2023 ]
* [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-find-remnants-of-5000-year-old-wine-at-egyptian-queens-tomb-180983107/ Wine jars from her grave from Abydos.]
* [http://www.francescoraffaele.com/egypt/hesyra/merneith.html MERNEITH (MERYT-NEITH)]

{{commons category}}

{{First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt}}
{{Queens of Ancient Egypt}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:30th-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:30th-century BC women]]
[[Category:Queens consort of the First Dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:Den (pharaoh)]]
[[Category:Djer]]
[[Category:Regents of Egypt]]
[[Category:Female pharaohs]]
[[Category:Female regents in Africa]]
[[Category:African queen mothers]]