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| caption = Cylinder seal impression depicting Djer before canine standards wearing the [[Hedjet]] and [[Deshret]] crowns and holding the flail
| caption = Cylinder seal impression depicting Djer before canine standards wearing the [[Hedjet]] and [[Deshret]] crowns and holding the flail
| role =
| role =
| reign = 41 years, {{circa|3000 BC}}
| reign = {{circa}} 40 years, {{circa|3000 BC}}
| dynasty = [[First Dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]]
| dynasty = [[First Dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]]
| coregency =
| coregency =
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| successor = [[Djet]]
| successor = [[Djet]]
| notes =
| notes =
| prenomen = '''[[Abydos King List]]'''<br>Itetj<br/>''Jttj''<br/>''A ruler''<br/><hiero><-M17-X1-U33-></hiero><br>'''[[Turin King List]]'''<br>It...<br/>''Jtj...''<br/>''...damaged...''<br/><hiero><-M17-X1-HASH->-G7</hiero><br>'''[[Palermo stone|Cairo stone]]'''<br>Itetj<br/>''Jttj''<br/>''The ruler has come''<br><hiero><-M17-U33-X1:Z4-></hiero>
| prenomen = Nisut-Bity-Itetj<br/>''nsw.t-bjtj-Jttj''<br/>''King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the ruler has come''<br/><hiero>M23:t-L2:t-M17-U33-X1:Z4</hiero><br/>'''[[Palermo Stone|Cairo stone]] (5th dynasty)'''<br/>Itetj<br/>''Jttj''<br/>''The ruler has come''<br/><hiero><-M17-U33-X1:Z4-></hiero><br/>'''[[Abydos King List]]'''<br/>Itetj<br/>''Jttj''<br/>''The ruler has come''<br/><hiero><-M17-X1-U33-></hiero><br/>'''[[Turin King List]]'''<br/>It...<br/>''Jtj...''<br/>''...damaged...''<br/><hiero><-M17-X1-HASH->-G7</hiero>
| prenomen_hiero =
| prenomen_hiero =
| nomen =  
| nomen =  
| nomen_hiero =
| nomen_hiero =
| horus = Djer<br/>''ḏr''<br/>''Defender (of Horus)''<br>{{Infobox pharaoh/Serekh|Horus=<hiero>:M37</hiero>|
| horus = Djer<br/>''ḏr''<br/>''Defender (of Horus)''<br/>{{Infobox pharaoh/Serekh|Horus=<hiero>:M37</hiero>|
|prefix=<hiero>G5</hiero>}}
|prefix=<hiero>G5</hiero>}}
| horus_hiero =  
| horus_hiero =  
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| nebty =
| nebty =
| nebty_hiero =
| nebty_hiero =
| golden = Nynebu<br>''nj-nbw''<Br>He who belongs to the Golden One
| golden = '''[[Palermo Stone|Cairo stone]] (5th dynasty)'''<br/>Nynebu<br/>''nj-nbw''<br/>He who belongs to the Golden One
| golden_hiero = <hiero>n:nbw</hiero>
| golden_hiero = <hiero>n:nbw</hiero>


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}}
}}


'''Djer''' (or '''Zer''' or '''Sekhty'''; {{fl.|{{circa}} 3000 BC}})<ref>{{cite book|last1=Trigger|first1=Bruce|authorlink1=Bruce Trigger|title=Ancient Egypt: A Social History|date=1983|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521284271|page=70}}</ref> is considered the third [[pharaoh]] of the [[First dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]] of [[ancient Egypt]] in current [[Egyptology]]. He lived around the mid [[31st century BC]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Nicolas |last1=Grimal |title=A History of Ancient Egypt |year=1994 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=0-631-19396-0 |page=528 }}</ref> and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Egyptologist [[Flinders Petrie]],<ref>W. M. Flinders Petrie: The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties, 1901, Part II, London 1901, p.16-17</ref> but was discarded by [[Émile Brugsch]].<ref>Salima Ikram and Aidan Dodson, The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity, Thames & Hudson, 1998, p. 109</ref>
'''Djer''' (also '''Zer''' or '''Sekhty'''; {{fl.|{{circa}} 3000 BC}})<ref>{{cite book |last1=Trigger |first1=Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OiiUcYOHX74C&pg=PA70 |title=Ancient Egypt: A Social History |date=1983 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521284271 |page=70 |authorlink1=Bruce Trigger}}</ref> is considered the third [[pharaoh]] of the [[First dynasty of Egypt|First Dynasty]] of [[ancient Egypt]] in current [[Egyptology]]. He lived around the mid [[31st century BC]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Nicolas |last1=Grimal |title=A History of Ancient Egypt |year=1994 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=0-631-19396-0 |page=528 }}</ref> and reigned for about 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Egyptologist [[Flinders Petrie]],<ref>W. M. Flinders Petrie: The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties, 1901, Part II, London 1901, p.16-17</ref> but was discarded by [[Émile Brugsch]].<ref>Salima Ikram and Aidan Dodson, The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity, Thames & Hudson, 1998, p. 109</ref>


== Name ==
== Name ==
[[File:Abydos KL 01-03 n03.jpg|thumb|left|135px|'''Iti''', cartouche name of Djer in the [[Abydos King List]].]]
[[File:Abydos KL 01-03 n03.jpg|thumb|left|120px|'''Iti''', cartouche name of Djer in the [[Abydos King List]].]]
[[Manetho]] records the third pharaoh as ''Kenkenês''. [[Jürgen von Beckerath]] in the Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (1999) translates the hieroglyphs of the name Djer as "Defender of Horus."<ref>Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (1999), 38-39, 3:H</ref>
[[Jürgen von Beckerath]] translates the hieroglyphs of "Djer" as "Defender of Horus."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beckerath |first=Jürgen von |author-link=Jürgen von Beckerath |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5RVyAAAAMAAJ |title=Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen |date=1999 |publisher=P. von Zabern |isbn=978-3-8053-2591-2 |pages=38-39, 3:H |language=de}}</ref> The King lists of the [[New Kingdom]] (13th century BC) record the third pharaoh as '''''ꞽttꞽ''''', which is sometimes also translated as '''Iteti'''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lundström |first=Peter |title=Djer in hieroglyphs |url=https://pharaoh.se/ancient-egypt/pharaoh/Djer/ |access-date=2025-10-21 |website=Pharaoh.se |language=en}}</ref> The earliest names given in these lists are almost certainly later tradition, as [[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|throne names]], the one used in official annals, are only attested from the reign of [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]], the fifth pharaoh. In fact, it's possible that ''ꞽttꞽ'' is the result of a later scribe mistaking one of Djer's honorific (recorded in the [[Palermo Stone]]) as an actual name.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cervelló |first=Autuori Josep |date=2005 |title=Was King Narmer Menes? |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/arnil_1161-0492_2005_num_15_1_896 |journal=Archéo-Nil |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=31–46 |doi=10.3406/arnil.2005.896}}</ref>
 
In the ''[[Aegyptiaca (Manetho)|Aegyptiaca]]'' of the Egyptian priest [[Manetho]] (3rd century BC), the third pharaoh is recorded as ''Kenkenês'' (Κενκενης). [[I. E. S. Edwards]] theorized that this name actually refers to an alternate spelling of [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]'s throne name, which in turn led to other corruptions in the king list.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=I.E.S. |url= |title=[[The Cambridge Ancient History]] |date=1970 |publisher=CUP |isbn=978-0-521-07791-0 |volume=1 (Part 2) |pages=22–35 |chapter=The Early Dynasty Period in Egypt |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/the-cambridge-ancient-history-vol.-1-part-2/page/24}}</ref>


== Length of reign ==
== Length of reign ==
Although the Egyptian priest Manetho, writing in the third century BC, stated that Djer ruled for 57 years, modern research by Toby Wilkinson in ''Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt'' stresses that the near-contemporary and therefore, more accurate [[Palermo Stone]] ascribes Djer a reign of "41 complete and partial years."<ref>Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000. p.79</ref> Wilkinson notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved in [[Register (sculpture)|register]] II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II of Cairo stone fragment '''''C1'''''.<ref>Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, p.258</ref>
According to the Roman historian [[Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]], Manetho wrote that the third pharaoh ruled 31 years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Manetho's History of Egypt |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Manetho/History_of_Egypt/1*.html |access-date=2025-10-21 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Modern reconstructions of the near-contemporary (and therefore, more accurate) [[Palermo Stone]] ascribes Djer a reign of at least 40 years. According to [[Toby Wilkinson]], the annals record "41 complete or partial years." Wilkinson also notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved in [[Register (sculpture)|register]] II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in [[register II of Cairo stone fragment C1]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Wilkinson |url=https://archive.org/details/royalannalsofancientegyptroutledgetobya.h.wilkinson2000 |title=Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and its Associated Fragments |date=2000 |publisher=Kegan Paul International |isbn=0-7103-0667-9 |location=London |pages=79, 258}}</ref> However, this is not the only proposed reconstruction. [[Erik Hornung]] argues that the Palermo Stone records 47 years for Djer,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/AncientEgyptianChronology/mode/2up |title=Ancient Egyptian Chronology |publisher=[[BRILL]] |year=2006 |isbn=9789004113855 |editor1-last=Hornung |editor1-first=E. |editor1-link=Erik Hornung |location=Leiden |pages=23 |editor2-last=Krauss |editor2-first=R. |editor3-last=Warburton |editor3-first=D. A.}}</ref> while [[Wolfgang Helck]] proposes 57 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Helck |first=Wolfgang |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C1m-_DvSCqoC&pg=PA124 |title=Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit |date=1987 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-02677-2 |pages=124 |language=de}}</ref>
{{-}}
{{-}}
== Reign ==
== Reign ==
[[File:Djer’s Royal Bracelet 2018.jpg|thumb|Djer's queen's bracelet is the only surviving royal jewellry of the early dynasty period of Egypt. It bears his royal [[serekh]] or name.]]
[[File:Djer’s Royal Bracelet 2018.jpg|thumb|Djer's queen's bracelet is the only surviving royal jewellry of the early dynasty period of Egypt. It bears his royal [[serekh]] or name.]]
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Djer's reign was preceded by a regency controlled by [[Neithhotep]], possibly his mother or grandmother.
Djer's reign was preceded by a regency controlled by [[Neithhotep]], possibly his mother or grandmother.


The evidence for Djer's life and reign is:<ref>[http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/kingdjer.html King Djer] page from digitalegypt.</ref>
The evidence for Djer's life and reign is:<ref>[https://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/kingdjer.html King Djer] page from digitalegypt.</ref>
* Tomb in [[Umm el-Qa'ab]], [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]]
* Tomb in [[Umm el-Qa'ab]], [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]]
* Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in [[Saqqara]]
* Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in [[Saqqara]]
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* UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer<ref>tomb 461 in Abydos, Petrie 1925: pl. III.1, IV.8</ref>
* UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer<ref>tomb 461 in Abydos, Petrie 1925: pl. III.1, IV.8</ref>
* Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, however) at [[Wadi Halfa]], [[Sudan]]
* Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, however) at [[Wadi Halfa]], [[Sudan]]
The inscriptions, on [[ivory]] and wood, are in a very early form of [[hieroglyphs]], hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice of [[human sacrifice]].<ref>Rice, Michael ''The Power of the Bull'' Routledge; 1 edition (4 Dec 1997) {{ISBN|978-0-415-09032-2}} p123 [https://books.google.com/books?id=u4EOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA123]</ref> An ivory tablet from [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] mentions that Djer visited [[Buto]] and [[Sais]] in the [[Nile Delta]].
=== Year-by-year records ===
The [[Palermo Stone|Palermo stone]] lists the first nine years of Djer's reign, as well as the heights of the Nile for each.
* '''[[Coronation of the pharaoh|Year of coronation]] (first year):''' 4 months and 13 days, uniting Upper and Lower Egypt, circumambulating the wall. Six [[Cubit|cubits]].
* '''second year:''' Following of Horus, desher-festival.
* '''third year:''' Creation of two royal children. Four cubits, one palm.
* '''fourth year:''' Following of Horus, censing a sacrificial victim. Five cubits, five palms, one finger.
* '''fifth year:''' The planning of the building "Companion of the Gods"; Sokar-festival. Five cubits, five palms, one finger.
* '''sixth year:''' Following of Horus, creating an image of [[Iat]]. Five cubits, one palm.
* '''seventh year:''' Appearance of the king as ''nwst'', creating an image of [[Min (god)|Min]]. Five cubits.
* '''eighth year:''' Following of Horus, creating an image of [[Anubis]]. Six cubits, one palm.
* '''ninth year:''' First occasion of the Djet festival. Four cubits, one span.
<ref>{{Cite book |last=gamelyankhaled |url=http://archive.org/details/royalannalsofancientegyptroutledgetobya.h.wilkinson2000 |title=Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt Routledge Toby A. H. Wilkinson ( 2000) |language=English}}</ref>


The inscriptions, on [[ivory]] and wood, are in a very early form of [[hieroglyphs]], hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice of [[human sacrifice]].<ref>Rice, Michael ''The Power of the Bull'' Routledge; 1 edition (4 Dec 1997) {{ISBN|978-0-415-09032-2}} p123 [https://books.google.com/books?id=u4EOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA123]</ref> An ivory tablet from [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] mentions that Djer visited [[Buto]] and [[Sais]] in the [[Nile Delta]]. One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of ''[[Setjet]]''", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.
One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of ''[[Setjet]]''", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.


=== Manetho ===
[[Manetho]] claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on [[anatomy]] that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/manethowithengli00maneuoft/manethowithengli00maneuoft_djvu.txt|title = Manetho, with an English translation by W.G. Waddell|year = 1940}}</ref>
[[Manetho]] claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on [[anatomy]] that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/manethowithengli00maneuoft/manethowithengli00maneuoft_djvu.txt|title = Manetho, with an English translation by W.G. Waddell|year = 1940}}</ref>


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[[File:Djer Stone Vase.jpg|thumb|100px|Stone vase bearing the serekh of Djer, [[National Archaeological Museum (France)]].]]
[[File:Djer Stone Vase.jpg|thumb|100px|Stone vase bearing the serekh of Djer, [[National Archaeological Museum (France)]].]]


Djer was a son of the pharaoh [[Hor-Aha]] and his wife [[Khenthap]].{{fact|date=August 2023}} His grandfather was probably [[Narmer]]. Djer fathered [[Merneith]], wife of [[Djet]] and mother of [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as ''Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre'' and ''She who Sees/Carries Horus'' were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:
Djer was a son of [[Hor-Aha]] and a grandson of [[Narmer]]. Djer fathered [[Merneith]], wife of [[Djet]] and mother of [[Den (pharaoh)|Den]]. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as ''Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre'' and ''She who Sees/Carries Horus'' were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:


* [[Nakhtneith]] (or Nekhetneith), buried in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] and known from a stela.<ref name="Grajetzki">W. Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary</ref><ref name="DH">Dodson and Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004</ref>
* [[Nakhtneith]] (or Nekhetneith), buried in [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] and known from a stela.<ref name="Grajetzki">W. Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary</ref><ref name="DH">Dodson and Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004</ref>
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== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
* Toby A. H. Wilkinson, ''Early Dynastic Egypt'', Routledge, London/New York 1999, {{ISBN|0-415-18633-1}}, 71-73
* {{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Toby |author-link=Toby Wilkinson |url=https://ia803109.us.archive.org/1/items/20191120_20191120_1042/Early%20Dynastic%20Egypt%20%20Upload%20%20by%20Samy%20Salah.pdf |title=Early dynastic Egypt |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-203-02438-6 |edition=2nd |orig-year=1999|pages=71–73}}  
* Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000.


== External links ==
== External links ==

Latest revision as of 05:34, 29 December 2025

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Djer (also Zer or Sekhty; Template:Fl.)[1] is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid 31st century BC[2] and reigned for about 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by Egyptologist Flinders Petrie,[3] but was discarded by Émile Brugsch.[4]

Name

File:Abydos KL 01-03 n03.jpg
Iti, cartouche name of Djer in the Abydos King List.

Jürgen von Beckerath translates the hieroglyphs of "Djer" as "Defender of Horus."[5] The King lists of the New Kingdom (13th century BC) record the third pharaoh as ꞽttꞽ, which is sometimes also translated as Iteti.[6] The earliest names given in these lists are almost certainly later tradition, as throne names, the one used in official annals, are only attested from the reign of Den, the fifth pharaoh. In fact, it's possible that ꞽttꞽ is the result of a later scribe mistaking one of Djer's honorific (recorded in the Palermo Stone) as an actual name.[7]

In the Aegyptiaca of the Egyptian priest Manetho (3rd century BC), the third pharaoh is recorded as Kenkenês (Κενκενης). I. E. S. Edwards theorized that this name actually refers to an alternate spelling of Den's throne name, which in turn led to other corruptions in the king list.[8]

Length of reign

According to the Roman historian Julius Africanus, Manetho wrote that the third pharaoh ruled 31 years.[9] Modern reconstructions of the near-contemporary (and therefore, more accurate) Palermo Stone ascribes Djer a reign of at least 40 years. According to Toby Wilkinson, the annals record "41 complete or partial years." Wilkinson also notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved in register II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II of Cairo stone fragment C1.[10] However, this is not the only proposed reconstruction. Erik Hornung argues that the Palermo Stone records 47 years for Djer,[11] while Wolfgang Helck proposes 57 years.[12]

Reign

File:Djer’s Royal Bracelet 2018.jpg
Djer's queen's bracelet is the only surviving royal jewellry of the early dynasty period of Egypt. It bears his royal serekh or name.

Djer's reign was preceded by a regency controlled by Neithhotep, possibly his mother or grandmother.

The evidence for Djer's life and reign is:[13]

  • Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos
  • Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in Saqqara
  • Inscriptions in graves 3503, 3506 and 3035 in Saqqara
  • Seal impression and inscriptions from Helwan[14]
  • Jar from Turah with the name of Djer[15]
  • UC 16182 ivory tablet from Abydos,[16] subsidiary tomb 612 of the enclosure of Djer[17]
  • UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer[18]
  • Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, however) at Wadi Halfa, Sudan

The inscriptions, on ivory and wood, are in a very early form of hieroglyphs, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice of human sacrifice.[19] An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djer visited Buto and Sais in the Nile Delta.

Year-by-year records

The Palermo stone lists the first nine years of Djer's reign, as well as the heights of the Nile for each.

  • Year of coronation (first year): 4 months and 13 days, uniting Upper and Lower Egypt, circumambulating the wall. Six cubits.
  • second year: Following of Horus, desher-festival.
  • third year: Creation of two royal children. Four cubits, one palm.
  • fourth year: Following of Horus, censing a sacrificial victim. Five cubits, five palms, one finger.
  • fifth year: The planning of the building "Companion of the Gods"; Sokar-festival. Five cubits, five palms, one finger.
  • sixth year: Following of Horus, creating an image of Iat. Five cubits, one palm.
  • seventh year: Appearance of the king as nwst, creating an image of Min. Five cubits.
  • eighth year: Following of Horus, creating an image of Anubis. Six cubits, one palm.
  • ninth year: First occasion of the Djet festival. Four cubits, one span.

[20]

One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of Setjet", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.

Manetho

Manetho claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on anatomy that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.[21]

Family

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File:Djer Stone Vase.jpg
Stone vase bearing the serekh of Djer, National Archaeological Museum (France).

Djer was a son of Hor-Aha and a grandson of Narmer. Djer fathered Merneith, wife of Djet and mother of Den. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre and She who Sees/Carries Horus were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in Abydos or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:

  • Nakhtneith (or Nekhetneith), buried in Abydos and known from a stela.[22][23]
  • Herneith, possibly a wife of Djer. Buried in Saqqara.[23]
  • Seshemetka, buried in Abydos next to the king.[24] She was said to be a wife of Den in Dodson and Hilton.[23]
  • Penebui, her name and title were found on an ivory label from Saqqara.[22]
  • bsu, known from a label in Saqqara and several stone vessels (reading of name uncertain; name consists of three fish hieroglyphs).[22]

Tomb

File:Djer stela retouched.jpg
Tomb stela of Djer

Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in Umm el-Qa'ab at Abydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomb contains the remains of 318 retainers who were buried with him.[25] At some point, Djer's tomb was devastated by fire, possibly as early as the Second Dynasty.[26] During the Middle Kingdom, the tomb of Djer was revered as the tomb of Osiris,[26] and the entire First Dynasty burial complex, which includes the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition. An image of Osiris on a funerary bier was placed in the tomb, possibly by the Thirteenth dynasty pharaoh Djedkheperu.[26]

Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:[27]

  • A stela of Djer, now in the Cairo Museum, probably comes from Abydos.
  • Labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name of Meritneith.
  • Fragments of two vases inscribed with the name of Queen Neithhotep.
  • Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb.

In the subsidiary tombs, excavators found objects including stelae representing several individuals, ivory objects inscribed with the name of Neithhotep, and various ivory tablets.[27]

Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from Memphis – and indeed Herneith, one of Djer's wives, was buried nearby at Saqqara.

Gallery

See also

References

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  3. W. M. Flinders Petrie: The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties, 1901, Part II, London 1901, p.16-17
  4. Salima Ikram and Aidan Dodson, The Mummy in Ancient Egypt: Equipping the Dead for Eternity, Thames & Hudson, 1998, p. 109
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  13. King Djer page from digitalegypt.
  14. Saad 1947: 165; Saad 1969: 82, pl. 94
  15. Kaiser 1964: 103, fig.3
  16. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. Petrie 1925: pl. II.8; XII.1
  18. tomb 461 in Abydos, Petrie 1925: pl. III.1, IV.8
  19. Rice, Michael The Power of the Bull Routledge; 1 edition (4 Dec 1997) Template:ISBN p123 [1]
  20. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. a b c W. Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary
  23. a b c Dodson and Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004
  24. W. M. Flinders Petrie: The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties, 1901, Part II, London 1901, pl. XXVII, 96
  25. Thomas Kühn: Die Königsgräber der 1. & 2. Dynastie in Abydos. In: Kemet. Issue 1, 2008.
  26. a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. a b B. Porter and R.L.B. Moss. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, V. Upper Egypt: Sites. Oxford, 1937

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Bibliography

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External links

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