King Menes is credited with uniting the Two Lands and was thus the first pharaoh of the Kingdom of Egypt according to New Kingdom king lists. They name Meni as the first king, and drawing from the same sources, Africanus and Eusebius name him Menes, while Herodotus calls him Min. This conforms well with the name Menes.
There is no contemporary archaeological evidence containing the cartouche name of Menes, as the use of cartouches did not begin until the time of the Old Kingdom.
In the king lists of the New Kingdom, the nebty names were placed into cartouches because the scribes were unable to recognize or locate the corresponding names from the ancient sources. Fittingly, Meni means : He who endures.
The contemporary Horus name of the first king, Narmer, is well attested. It is firmly established that he indeed was the first ruler of the kingdom. The early kings were only known by their Horus name, and there is no evidence that Narmer used any other.
The Royal Titulary
From the hieroglyphic records
Horus Narmer The Dual King Meni*
Horus names
The oldest form of the name of a pharaoh, a falcon representing Horus is perched on the palace facade.
Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, plate II (3)
Translation: Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary, 22 (3)
Beckerath, “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2nd ed. MÄS 49 (1999). 36-37, x+4:H1
Beckerath, “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2nd ed. MÄS 49 (1999). 36-37, x+4:H4
Petrie, Royal Tombs, II, plate XIII (91,92)
Beckerath, “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2nd ed. MÄS 49 (1999). 36-37, x+4:H3
Nebty name
The “Two Ladies”, the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, representing Upper and Lower Egypt respectively.
Cairo Museum JE 31773 (CG 14142)
Garstang, (1905). “The tablet of Mena” in ZÄS 42, 61-64
Edwards, Cambridge Ancient History, 11
Throne names
Announced at the coronation and always written in a cartouche. The “official” name of the pharaoh. Also known as the Prenomen.
Mariette, Abydos, I, plate 43 (1)
Beckerath, “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2nd ed. MÄS 49 (1999). 38-39, 1:E1
Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (1959) II:10
Beckerath, “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, 2nd ed. MÄS 49 (1999). 38-39, 1:E2
Gardiner, The Royal Canon of Turin (1959) II:11
Lepsius, Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien, III, 163
The sources of antiquity
From the writings of the historians and scholars of antiquity
| Author | Greek | Transcription | Reign |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eusebius i, 1 | Μηνης | Menes | 30 years |
| Herodotus 99.2 | Μινα | Mina | |
| Diodorus 1.45.1/3 | Μηναν / Μηνα | Menan / Mena | |
| Eratosthenes 1 | Μηνης | Menes | 62 |
Bibliography
- Gauthier, H. Le livre des rois d'Égypte. MIFAO 17 (1907): 1–3; 17–19
- Beckerath, J., 1999. “Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen”, Second edition, MÄS 49: 36–37
- Leprohon, R. J., 2013. The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. Atlanta: 22
- Baker. D. D., 2008. The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I. London: 237–240
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