The Dynastic Period

The Dynastic Period

(3200-332 B.C.)

Manetho’s arrangement has been adopted by later historians, who also divide the Dynastic Period into the following kingdoms or periods:

1-    The Archaic Period which covers the first two dynasties (3200-2778 B.C.)

2-    The Old Kingdom extending from the Dynasties 3^rd to 4^th (2778-2270 B.C.)

3-    The First Intermediate Period which includes the dynasties from the 5^th to the 10^th and a part of the Eleventh Dynasty (2270-2060 B.C.)

4-    The Middle Kingdom. This includes the second part of the Eleventh Dynasty and the Twelfth Dynasty (2060-1785 B.C.).

5-    The Second Intermediate Period. Extending from the 13^th to 17^th Dynasty (1785-1580 B.C.).

6-    The New Kingdom (the Empire). From the 18^th to 20^th Dynasty (1580-1085 B.C.).

7-    The Third Intermediate Period (The Decadence Period). From 21^st to the 24^th Dynasty (1085-751 B.C.).

8-    The Late Period. From the 25^th to the 30^th Dynasty (751-332 B.C.).

             

Modern Historians have lately considered the First and Second Dynasties to be a part of the Old Kingdom, which according to modern theories should include the 1^st till the 6^th Dynasties.

                                                          

Dynasty 0: Naqqada III

During the Predynastic Period Egypt was not yet unified. However, scholars generally divide this period further into three periods the Naqada I,  the Naqada II Period (also known and Naqada III (Dynasty 0).

 In the Naqada III period, or Dynasty 0, we can begin to identify various rulers and some specific events. It is a period in which rulers appear to have controlled large segments of Egypt, even though they may not have controlled the whole. In fact, there is convincing evidence for the emergence of at least three Upper (southern) Egyptian states, centered at This (The city for which Abydos was a necropolis), Naqada and Hierakonpolis. These rulers used recognizable royal iconography to express the ideological basis of their power, and may therefore justifiably be called kings.

Egyptian writing clearly evolved during Predynastic Egypt. Very early predynastic kings left behind primitive stylized symbols and signs that conveyed more information than simply a picture image. In fact, some left evidence of short phrases, though we currently cannot completely translate their meaning.

During this period "Dynasty 0", or the Naqada III Period we cannot establish family lines as it consisted of rulers in different locations ruling different territories. Nevertheless, the term "Dynasty 0" has come into general use.  

A number of these Naqada III kings are individually known, even though we may not be able to exactly decipher their real names and specify the sequence, in which they ruled.

One of the best known artifacts from the period immediately preceding the 1st Dynasty is the macehead of a king generally referred to as the Scorpion king. No evidence of Scorpion has been found at Abydos for his burial, though a completely uninscribed tomb with four chambers has been suggested as belonging to him. Hence, he may not have been a Thinite ruler at all. His macehead was discovered at Hierakonpolis, perhaps indicating that he was a member of that royal line. There are also a few other inscriptions that are thought to have possibly belonged to Scorpion, including two serekhs written in ink on pottery vessels from Tarkhan.

Predynastic seal with crocodiles

However, one recent hypothesis suggests that the Tarkhan inscriptions may belong to another proposed Predynastic king who we refer to as Horus 'Crocodile'. The seal, which may have belonged to a governor of the Tarkhan region, depicts a series of crocodiles above coils that probably represent water. However, the existence of a King 'Crocodile is not universally accepted by all Egyptologists, while the Scorpion macehead presents a strong argument for his existence as a late Predynastic king.

The royal tombs at Abydos and various ceramic evidences indicate that Narmer's immediate predecessor as ruler at Abydos (This) was probably a king by the name of Ka. His Horus name shows a pair of arms. He was buried in a double tomb (B7/9). His name has been found in both Upper and Lower Egypt, including grave sites at Helwan.

 With whom the Predynastic Period ends and the 1st Dynasty begins is a matter of speculation, with Narmer either being the first king of the 1st Dynasty, or the last king of the Predynastic period. This is an argument that has never really been settled.

King Scorpion

His name may have been Scorpion, though in Egyptian it may have been pronounced Srqt. In the ancient Upper Egyptian town of Nekhen, The Falcon, also called Hierakonpolis, where archaeological finds have been made that are significant to the earliest days of the unification of Egypt, a fragmented and incomplete macehead attributed to King Scorpion  was found by J.E. Quibell in 1897-98. Maceheads were early considered to be symbolic of royal power, and throughout Egypt’s history, were shown in relief carvings as the weapon of the king as he smite his enemies who were the enemies of Egypt.

The macehead of King Scorpion

 This macehead depicts a King wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt in full ritual dress, with the bull’s tail representing power, hanging from the back of his belt. The rosette or star at this time was used to identify Egyptian kings. It is shown in front of his face, along with a scorpion sign, thereby giving his name as Srqt, or Scorpion.

On this macehead, King Scorpion is accompanied by his high officers, who carry standards with symbols of particular districts into which Egypt was divided. He is apparently performing a ceremony using a hoe. Perhaps he is opening the irrigation dykes to begin the flooding of the fields, or perhaps he is cutting the first furrow for a temple or even a city to be built, thus beginning a foundation ritual which was a kingly act in Egypt.  

The macehead of King Scorpion

The decorative frieze around the remaining top of the macehead has lapwing birds hanging by their necks from vertical standards. In hieroglyphics these rekhyts have been interpreted to represent the common people of Egypt, and their fate seems to indicate that they were conquered by King Scorpion.

Scorpion may have come from the royal house of Hierakonpolis, rather than from This, the origin city his later successor Narmer. As more discoveries are made in Abydos, Hierakonpolis and other Predynastic and Early Dynastic sites, it is possible that a clearer picture of this remote period of Egyptian History will stand clear.