Egyptian king named Narmer
During the 31st century BC, two separate and distinct civilizations inhabited the Nile Valley. The Set worshipers of Upper Egypt in the south, and the Horus worshipers of Lower Egypt in the north. An ambitious Upper Egyptian king named Narmer managed to conquer Lower Egypt and declared himself the first ruler of both lands. This began Egypt’s Early Dynastic Period, and laid the foundation for one of history’s most extensive and long-lived civilizations, lasting nearly 3,000 years. Throughout the previous centuries, both Upper and Lower Egypt developed at similar rates, but by the end of the 32nd century BC, increased trade with neighboring civilizations like Mesopotamia shifted the balance of power in Upper Egypt’s favor. While Lower Egypt was solely comprised of provinces called ‘nomes’, several cities had already sprung up in Upper Egypt. They soon found themselves in need of more resources to satisfy their increasingly expanding urban areas.
Thinite Confederacy
Narmer, also known by the honorific title ‘Menes’, meaning “he who endures”, originally ruled over the Upper Egyptian city of Thinis. He formed a confederation of tribal leaders which Egyptologists refer to as the “Thinite Confederacy’’ with the goal of mounting an invasion against the north. The group achieved total victory over Lower Egypt, uniting both lands in the process. Narmer’s story is told on the world’s oldest discovered historical document, the Narmer Palette. The Palette is a two-foot-tall engraved piece of slate discovered in the ancient Egyptian city of Nekhen, more commonly known by its Greek name, Hierakonpolis. The front of the Palette depicts Narmer as a tall man sized hierarchically wearing the ‘Hedjet,’’ or White Crown of Upper Egypt. Characterized by its bowling pin-like appearance. Narmer is positioned above an enemy, grasping a lock of his hair in one hand and wielding a mace in the other, ready to smash his head. This stance is referred to as a “smiting pose.” It indicates victory and remained a common symbol throughout all of ancient Egyptian history. The small rectangle at the top of the palette known as a “serekh,” meaning “façade” in ancient Egyptian, identifies the tall man as Narmer. The serekh shows a palace façade containing two small figures within, phonetically representing Narmer's name. The first figure is of a catfish, pronounced “nar”, and the second of a chisel, pronounced “mer” in ancient Egyptian. These are some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever discovered.
Above the enemy is Horus, represented as a falcon. Standing atop several papyrus flowers, the symbol of Lower Egypt. The falcon grasps a rope in his talons that’s attached to an enemy’s nose, indicating Narmer’s complete dominance over the Lower Egyptian people. Below them lay Narmer’s dead enemies. The story continues on the palette’s opposite side with Narmer and his men marching in a procession, as his enemies lay naked, bound, and decapitated with their heads placed between their legs. Once again, Narmer's depiction is scaled hierarchically, emphasizing his god-like persona. However, he is now shown wearing the ‘Deshret,’ or the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. The crown is characterized by its protruding coil, representative of a cobra. This is the first depiction of a single ruler wearing both crowns of Egypt. Below them, two men pull on ropes attached to mythological beasts with intertwining necks. The creatures are hybrids between serpents and leopards called serpopards. The design is thought to symbolize the union of Egypt’s two lands. At the bottom of the palette, Narmer is represented as a bull demolishing the enemy’s walls and trampling a vanquished foe. Another artifact relating to the first pharaoh, and also found in Hierakonpolis, is a decorative macehead made of limestone, commemorating the unification of Egypt, called the Narmer Macehead. It shows Narmer on a throne, wearing the enemy's Red Crown and being presented with treasure and captives.
Narmer became Egypt’s first pharaoh
At the bottom of the macehead, a record of the spoils of war can be seen which reads: 400,000 cattle, 1,422,000 goats, and 120,000 captives. Narmer solidified his rule by strategically marrying a Lower Egyptian princess named Neithhotep who became his Queen and mother to his heir and successor, Hor-Aha. The newly unified kingdom came to be known as the “Two Lands” among the ancient Egyptian people for most of their history. During his reign, Narmer expanded the newly unified kingdom’s borders with military excursions in Canaan to the north, and in Nubia to the south. He founded the city of Memphis which is strategically located at the mouth of the Nile Delta, and it quickly developed into a commercial and cultural powerhouse within the region. Symbols such as the Ankh, the ancient Egyptian symbol of life, and the Djed, a four-tiered pillar representing Osiris’s spine, were popularized under his rule. Narmer was entombed in a necropolis near the Upper Egyptian city of Abydos, where the tombs of many of Egypt’s first rulers are found. Through blood and conquest, Narmer became Egypt’s first pharaoh, initiating The Early Dynastic Period.
