Nynetjer

Nynetjer (also known as Ninetjer and Banetjer) is the Horus name of the third pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period. Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested king of the entire dynasty. Direct evidence shows that he succeeded Raneb on the throne. What happened after him is much less clear as historical sources and archaeological evidences point to some breakdown or partition of the state.

Nynetjer
Ninetjer, Ninuter, Nyneter, Neteren, Banetjer, Banetjeren, Banetjeru, Binothris, Biophis, [Netjermu deprecated]
Quartzite statue of Nynetjer wearing ceremonial clothes of the sed festival, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden.
Pharaoh
Reign	Duration: 38–49 years, most probably 40, sometime in the 29th century BC to early 27th century BC
Predecessor	Nebra
Successor	uncertain: Nubnefer, or Weneg (only if distinct from Raneb, may also be identified with Wadjenes) or Seth-Peribsen
Royal titulary Horus name Nynetjer Nj-nṯr Godlike He who belongs to the god [i.e. to Ra] Nebty name Nynetjer-Nebty Nj-nṯr-nbt.j Godlike one of the Two Ladies Nomen Abydos King List Banetjer B3-nṯr Saqqara King List Banetjeru B3-nṯr.w Turin Canon ...Netjer-ren ...nṯr-rn Gold name (Palermo stone) Ren-nebu Rn-nb.w
Consort	uncertain
Children	uncertain,Wadjenes and Weneg ?
Father	Nebra ?
Burial	Gallery Tomb B, Saqqara
Dynasty	2nd Dynasty

Nynetjer's reign is difficult to date precisely, with most experts proposing that he flourished some time during the late 29th century BC to the early 27th century BC. Estimating the duration of his rule is equally difficult and Egyptologists have proposed from 43 to 50 years of reign for him.

Attestations

Banetjer, cartouche of Nynetjer in the Abydos King List (no. 11).

Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested of the kings of the early second dynasty. His name appears in inscriptions on stone vessels and clay sealings in large numbers from his tomb at Sakkara. A large number of artifacts bearing his name were also found in the tomb of king Peribsen at Abydos and in the galleries beneath the step pyramid of king Djoser. However, the datings of some inscriptions, especially those made of black ink, caused some problems. Writing experts and archaeologists such as Ilona Regulski point out that the ink inscriptions are of a somewhat later date than the stone and seal inscriptions. She dates the ink markings to the reigns of kings such as Khasekhemwy and Djoser and assumes that the artifacts originated from Abydos. In fact, alabaster vessels and earthen jars with black ink inscriptions with very similar font design showing Nynetjer's name were found in Peribsen's tomb.

Nynetjer's name also appears on a rock inscription near Abu Handal in Lower Nubia. The inscription only presents a "N" sign inside a serekh of the king but with the sign "Netjer" for "God" placed above the serekh, in the position normally occupied by the Horus falcon. Consequently Nynetjer's name is rendered as "The God N". The absence of Horus may hint at religious disturbances as suggested by the later choices of king Peribsen to have Set instead of Horus above his serekhs and of pharaoh Khasekhemwy, final ruler of the dynasty, to have both gods facing each other above his. The inscription itself might represent a clue that Nynetjer sent a military expedition into this region, likely after his 20 years of reign since such an expedition is not mention in the surviving royal annals covering Nynetjer's first two decades of rule.

Identity

Nynetjer is commonly identified with the Ramesside cartouche names Banetjer from the Abydos King List, Banetjeru from the Sakkara table and Netjer-ren from the Royal Canon of Turin. The Palermo Stone inscription presents an unusual goldname of Nynetjer: Ren-nebu, meaning "golden offspring" or "golden calf". This name appears already on artefacts surviving from Nynetjer's lifetime and Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck and Toby Wilkinson think that it could be some kind of forerunner of the golden-Horus-name that was established in the royal titulature at the beginning of 3rd dynasty under king Djoser.

Chronology

Shoulder of Hetepedief's statue with the serekhs of Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb and Nynetjer (right to left)

Relative chronology

The relative chronological position of Nynetjer as the third ruler of the early Second Dynasty and successor of Raneb makes consensus among Egyptologists. This is directly attested by the contemporary statue of Hetepedief. The statue, uncovered in Memphis and made of speckled red granite, is one of the earliest example of private Egyptian sculpture. Hetepedief was priest of the mortuary cults of the first three kings of the dynasty, whose serekhs are inscribed in seemingly chronological order on Hetepedief's right shoulder: Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb then Nynetjer. Further archaeological evidences support this theory, notably stone bowls of Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb reinscribed during Nynetjer's rule. Two historical sources also point to the same conclusion: the Old Kingdom royal annals, which while not preserving the identity of Nynetjer's predecessor is consistent with him not being the first king of the Second Dynasty; and the Turin canon, a list of kings written under Ramses II (c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC) which explicitly ranks Nynetjer as the third king of his dynasty after Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb.

Reign Duration

Seated statue of Nynetjer wearing the sed-festival robe

The duration of Nynetjer's rule may be appraised from several historical sources. The oldest of these is the Old Kingdom royal annals now known after the name of its main fragment, the Palermo Stone. These annals were likely first compiled during the early Fifth Dynasty, possibly under Neferirkare Kakai (mid-25th century BC) around whose reign the record stops. These annals are considered to be a reliable witness to Nynetjer's rule notably because they correctly give his name "in contrast to the corrupt, garbled variants found in later king lists" (Wilkinson). The surviving fragments of the annals record the main events and Nile flood levels from what is likely the seventh year of Nynetjer's reign until the 21st. The remainder of the records concerning his rule are lost. Nonetheless given the space afforded for each year on the annals and the position of subsequent reigns, reconstructions have been attempted from the surviving fragments to estimate the total of Nynetjer's years on the throne. With a single exception, all the Egyptologists who studied this problem have proposed long reigns lasting between 38 years up to 49 years. The most recent reconstruction of the royal annals by Wilkinson in 2000 concludes that Nynetjer's reign as recorded on the Palermo stone was most probably of 40 complete or partial years.

The Turin Canon suggests an improbable reign of 96 years and Egyptian historian Manetho suggested that Nynetjer's reign lasted 47 years. Egyptologists question both statements as misinterpretations or exaggerations. They generally credit Nynetjer with a reign of either 43 years or 45 years.

Archaeological evidence in favor of a long reign includes the seated statuette of Nynetjer showing him wearing the ceremonial tight-fitting vestment of the sed festival, a feast for the rejuvenation of the king that came to be celebrated for the first time only after the king had reigned for 30 years.

Reign

Events

Year events 7–21 from the reign of Nynetjer (Palermo Stone, recto. To read from right to left)

Most of the information known about Nynetjer's reign are found on the main fragments of the Annal Stone of the 5th dynasty. The Palermo Stone lists the following events:

• 7th year: Following of Horus...(rest is missing)
• 8th year: Appearance of the king; "stretching the cords" (a ceremony for a foundation) for "Hor-Ren". Flood level: 1.57 metres.
• 9th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 1.09 metres
• 10th year: Appearance of the king of Lower- and Upper Egypt; "Race of the Apis bull" (pḥrr Ḥp). Flood level: 1.09 metres.
• 11th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 1.98 metres.
• 12th year: Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt; second celebration of the Sokar feast. Flood level: 1.92 metres.
• 13th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 0.52 metres.
• 14th year: First celebration of "Hor-seba-pet" (Horus the star in heaven); Destruction / Foundation of "Shem-Re" and "Ha" (The northern city). The reading of this text passage is the subject of much discussion, since the hieroglyphic sign of a hoe as used here can mean either 'Destruction' or 'Foundation'. Flood level: 2.15 metres.
• 15th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 2.15 metres.
• 16th year: Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt; second "Race of the Apis bull" (pḥrr Ḥp). Flood level: 1.92 metres.
• 17th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 2.40 metres.
• 18th year: Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt; third celebration of the Sokar feast. Flood level: 2.21 metres.
• 19th year: Following of Horus. Flood level: 2.25 metres.
• 20th year: Appearance of the king of Lower Egypt; offering for the king's mother; celebrating of the "Feast of eternity" (a burial ceremony) Flood level 1.92 metres.
• 21st year: Following of Horus...(rest is missing).

The Cairo Stone gives the years 36–44. The surface of the stone slab is damaged. Therefore, most of the events are illegible, except for the "birth" (creation) of an Anubis fetish and parts of a "Appearance of the king of Lower- and Upper Egypt". The ancient Egyptian historian Manetho, over 2000 years later, called Nynetjer Binôthrís and said that during this ruler's reign "women received the right to gain royal dignity", meaning that women were allowed to reign like a king. Egyptologists such as Walter Bryan Emery assume that this reference was an obituary to the queens Meritneith and Neithhotep from the early 1st dynasty, both of whom are believed to have held the Egyptian throne for several years because their sons were too young to rule.

Religion

The reigns of Raneb and Nynetjer saw the development of sun worship and the cult of Ra. The 14th year record on the Palermo stone might refer to the foundation (rather than the destruction) on Nynetjer's behalf of the "Shem-Ra" an institution or building whose name has been variously translated as "The going of Ra", "The sun proceeds", or "The sun has come".

Administration

The biennial event "Following of Horus" referred to on the Palermo stone most probably involved a journey of the king and the royal court throughout Egypt. From at least the reign of Nynetjer onwards the purpose of this journey was to undertake a census for taxation purposes, collect and distribute various commodities. An historical source dated to the Third Dynasty details that this census involved an "enumeration of gold and land". The responsibility for the supervision of state revenues was under the authority of the chancellor of the treasury of the king, who directed three administrative institutions introduced by Nynetjer in replacement of an older one. Nynetjer might also have introduced an office for food management related to the census. At the beginning of Third Dynasty the "Following of Horus" disappears from the records replaced by a more thorough census, which may have originated during Nynetjer's reign. From at least the reign of Sneferu onwards this extended census included cattle counts—under which name it became known—while oxen and small livestock were recorded from the Fifth Dynasty onwards.

These innovations represent a qualitatively new stage in resource collection and management on behalf of the nascent Egyptian state after the creation in the mid First Dynasty of the institutions responsible for the preparation of the royal tomb and the upkeep of subsequent funerary cults, as well as the state treasury. Nynetjer's novelties were certainly paralleled with an increase in the size of the civil service. Its main task was to ensure the continuing existence and effectiveness of kingship, which included providing for the king's life after death. This, in turn, required increasing quantities of commodities to be regularly collected as the Second Dynasty royal tombs were modelled after the king's palace, incorporating a large number of storage rooms for wine and food.

End of reign and succession

Fragment of a vase of Nynetjer discovered in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen which may have been part of the equipment of a boat of the king, depicted below his name.

What happened towards the end of Nynetjer's rule and shortly thereafter is very uncertain. It is possible, though not certain, that Egypt saw civil unrest and the rise of competing claimants to the throne reigning concurrently over two realms in Upper and Lower Egypt. Historical records preserve conflicting lists of kings between the end of Nynetjer's reign and that of Khasekhemwy. Three hypotheses have been put forth to explain these observations: first there could have been a political breakdown and a religious conflict; second this could result from a deliberate choice on Nynetjer's behalf following administrative considerations; or third an economic collapse might have led to Egyptian disunity.

For Erik Hornung, the troubles originate from an Upper Egyptian reaction to the migration of power and royal interest towards Memphis and Lower Egypt, leading to a breakdown of the unity of the state. This is manifested through he abandonment of the First Dynasty necropolis of Abydos in favor of Saqqara, which saw the construction of the tombs of the first three kings of the Second Dynasty. This political conflict might also have taken on a religious aspect under Nynetjer's successors: Hornung and Schlögl point to Peribsen's choice of the god Set rather than Horus as a divine patron for his name, Set being an Upper Egyptian god from Ombos. Peribsen further chose to have his tomb built in old royal burial grounds of Abydos, where he also erected a funerary enclosure. A Lower Egyptian response to these developments also took place, with kings who associated themselves to Horus reigning concurrently over the North of Egypt.

Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck, Nicolas Grimal, Hermann Alexander Schlögl and Francesco Tiradritti believe instead that Nynetjer left a realm that was suffering from an overly complex state administration. Consequently, Nynetjer could have decided to split Egypt between his two successors, possibly his sons, who would rule two separate kingdoms in the hope that the two rulers could better administer the states.

Diorite vase of Nynetjer bearing the king's name and mentioning a ″palace of the White Crown". Discovered in the gallery B beneath the Pyramid of Djoser.

In contrast, Egyptologists such as Barbara Bell believe that an economic catastrophe such as a famine or a long lasting drought affected Egypt around this time. Therefore, to address the problem of feeding the Egyptian population, Nynetjer split the realm into two and his successors ruled two independent states until the famine came to an end. Bell points to the inscriptions of the Palermo stone, where, in her opinion, the records of the annual Nile floods show constantly low levels during this period. Bell's theory is now refuted by Egyptologists such as Stephan Seidlmayer, who corrected Bell's calculations. Seidlmayer has shown that the annual Nile floods were at their usual levels at Nynetjer's time up to the period of the Old Kingdom. Bell had overlooked that the heights of the Nile floods in the Palermo Stone inscriptions only takes into account the measurements of the nilometers around Memphis, but not elsewhere along the river. Any long-lasting drought is therefore less likely to be an explanation.

It is also unclear if Nynetjer's successor already shared his throne with another ruler, or if the Egyptian state was split at the time of his death. All known king lists such as the Sakkara list, the Turin Canon and the Abydos table list a king Wadjenes as Nynetjer's immediate successor and as the predecessor of a king called Senedj. After Senedj, the kinglists differ from each other regarding successors. While the Sakkara list and the Turin canon mention the kings Neferka(ra) I, Neferkasokar and Hudjefa I as immediate successors, the Abydos list skips them and lists a king Djadjay (identical with king Khasekhemwy). If Egypt was already divided when Senedj gained the throne, kings like Sekhemib and Peribsen would have ruled Upper Egypt, whilst Senedj and his successors, Neferka(ra) and Hudjefa I, would have ruled Lower Egypt. The division of Egypt was brought to an end by Khasekhemwy.

Tomb

Fragment of a diorite vase mentioning Nynetjer and the goddess of the Delta, Bastet.

The tomb of Nynetjer was discovered by Selim Hassan in 1938 while he was excavating mastabas under the aegis of the Service des Antiquités de l'Egypte in the vicinity of the Pyramid of Unas. Hassan proposed that Nynetjer was the owner of the tomb thanks to numerous seal impressions bearing his serekh found onsite. The tomb was partially excavated in the 1970s to 1980s under the direction of Peter Munro, then Günther Dreyer, who both confirmed Hassan's proposition. Thorough excavations continued during seven campaigns until the 2010s under the supervision of archaeologist Claudia Lacher-Raschdorff of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.

Location

Nynetjer's tomb lies in North Saqqara. Now known as Gallery Tomb B, the ancient name of the tomb might originally have been "Nurse of Horus" or "Nurse of the God". The tomb is located out of sight of Memphis, next to a natural wadi running west to east which may have functioned as a causeway from the valley up to the local plateau. This location was not only convenient—the wadi serving as an accessway for bringing construction materials to the tomb—but also ensured that the tomb remained hidden from the Nile valley and set within a desert backdrop symbolizing death which the king would finally overcome.

Nynetjer's tomb, in the immediate vicinity of Hotepsekhemwy's and Raneb's, now lies beneath the causeway of Unas built at the end of the Fifth Dynasty. By that time, the original entrance of the tomb had already been blocked by a ditch, which Djoser had dug around his own pyramid. All above-ground structures which may have been associated to Nynetjer's tomb have been largely destroyed, either during Unas' rule or earlier under Djoser's.

To the south and east of the tomb, archaeological evidences suggest the presence of a wider necropolis of the Second Dynasty hosting the gallery tombs of several high ranking officials of the time. According to Erik Hornung, the choice of Saqqara over the Abydos burial grounds of the First Dynasty points to some neglect of the older Upper Egyptian center of power in favour of Memphis, which might have contributed to an Upper Egyptian reaction in the troubled times following Nynetjer's rule.

Superstructure

Archaeological excavations suggest the existence of above-ground structures originally associated with Nynetjer's tomb, none of which have survived. Archaeological remains are not sufficient to determine the layout of the structures nor if they were made of mud-brick or limestone. They most likely incorporated an offering place with false door and niche stele, a mortuary temple and a serdab. The heights of these superstructures may have reached 8 m (26 ft) to 10 m (33 ft) and may have resembled a mastaba. A separate enclosure wall built of stone was in all probability built as well, such structures accompanying royal tombs since the First Dynasty, albeit here likely on a much grander scale. The nearby Gisr el-Mudir and L-shape enclosures may belong to Hotepsekhemwy and Nynetjer.

Substructures

The tomb comprises two vast subterranean ensembles hewn into the local rock. The main one, dug some 5 m (16 ft) to 6 m (20 ft) below ground level, has 157 rooms of 2.1 m (6.9 ft) height over an area of 77 m × 50.5 m (253 ft × 166 ft). The second ensemble is made of 34 rooms. The tomb was originally entered via a 25 m (82 ft)-long ramp blocked by two portcullises and leading to three galleries on a rough east-west axis. These extend into a maze-like system of doorways, vestibules and corridors built during two distinct construction phases. Lacher-Raschdorff estimates that the tomb rooms and galleries could have been dug by a team of 90 people working over a duration of two years. Copper tools marks show that the workers were organised in several groups hewing the rock from different directions.

The tomb marks an important development in monumental royal mortuary architecture with its extended layout incorporating many storage rooms, while the tomb itself became the locus of renewal funerary rituals. At the southern end of the tomb, a group of chambers seems to be model of the royal palace. Some chambers of the tomb were found almost undisturbed, still holding some of Nynetjer's original burial goods. One such room included 560 jars of wine, some of which were still sealed by sealings bearing the king's name and covered by a thick net made of plant fibres. Another room produced the fragments of a further 420 unfinished and unsealed wine jars which seem to have been deliberately broken in a ceremony at the time of burial. Further vessels include a group decorated with red stripes that held jujube fruits and less than ten jars of beer. Excavations of the tomb also yielded 144 to 151 stone tools comprising knives with and without handles, stone sickles, blades, scrapers, hatchets and many further fragments of stone tools. There were also numerous stone vessels and unworked pieces of stones left for producing further vessels in the afterlife. Detailed examination of the stone tools revealed minor traces of use and residues of a reddish-brown liquid, but no identifiable wear from intensive use nor resharpening of the tools seems to have taken place; Lacher-Raschdorff therefore hypotheses that the tools were made for the burial of the king and used during a ceremony for slaughtering animals and preparing food. In addition, some pieces of carved wood suggest the presence of a tent or canopy in the mortuary equipment of the king, similar to that found in the later tomb of queen Hetepheres I (fl. c. 2600 BC).

Nynetjer's tomb shows great architectural similarities to the Gallery Tomb A, which is thought to be either Raneb's or Hotepsekhemwy's burial site. This led the DAI to the conclusion that Nynetjer was inspired by his predecessor's tombs. Some of the wine jars originated from the tombs of the late First Dynasty.

The main burial chamber was located at the southwestern end of the tomb, but the whole burial site is highly unstable and is in danger of collapsing.

Later usages

The northern part of Nynetjer's gallery tomb area was covered by the necropolis associated with the pyramid of Unas at the end of the Fifth Dynasty. A mummy mask and a woman's coffin of the Ramesside era found in the tomb indicate that it was partially re-used during the New Kingdom. At this time an extensive private necropolis extended over the entire area of the tomb. This necropolis continued to be used until the Late Period and, more sporadically, until the early Christian period when the nearby monastery of Jeremiah was built.

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