The First Dynasty of Egypt: The Birth of a Civilization

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They say that all great journeys begin with a single step; likewise, all mighty empires must start somewhere. When one king’s might and cunning match his ambitions, Egypt is undoubtedly one of the most famous civilizations of the ancient world. It has given us wonders like the Pyramids of Giza that still stand today, over 4,000 years later, while other structures from that time are nothing but crumbled ruins and dust in the wind.

We have actually already covered the Fourth Dynasty here on Biographics, the dynasty responsible for many of the landmarks we associate with ancient Egypt. But then we thought, why not go back even further? That is why today we are starting at the very beginning as we take a look at the First Dynasty of Egypt.

Right off the bat, let’s start with our standard ancient history disclaimer and mention that our knowledge of this time period is sparse at best, with giant gaps in the middle. In the case of some pharaohs of the First Dynasty, we’re not even sure that they actually existed, while others might have been individual rulers or the same person under different names.

Some of the main sources used by scholars to trace the history of ancient Egypt back to its roots include a stele called the Palermo Stone, a papyrus called the Turin King List, a giant temple wall inscription known as the Abydos King List, and the writings of Manetho, a priest and historian who lived over 2,500 years later. None of the sources are complete, and none of them are entirely reliable, and at some points, they clearly contradict each other. Therefore, the timeline of the First Dynasty is filled with a lot of educated guesses rather than cold hard truths, but we will bring it to you as best we can.

In prehistoric times, Egypt was divided into two halves: Upper and Lower Egypt, although Upper Egypt was in the south while Lower Egypt was up north. This was due to the strange direction of the Nile, one of the few rivers in the world that flows north. It coursed from the highlands in the south and traveled north, forming the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt where it drained into the Mediterranean Sea. Each region had its own king, and unsurprisingly, they often fought with each other. Eventually, this led to the unification of the two lands into a single Egypt sometime around 3100 BC, thus launching a new era known as the Early Dynastic Period, which lasted until the beginning of the Old Kingdom about 400 years later.

However, the identity of the person responsible for this unification is a matter of debate. We have two names: Narmer and Menes. There are various ancient sources that credit each of them with being the triumphant conqueror and first pharaoh of a united Egypt. For a while, the general belief among scholars was that Menes was the pharaoh, while Narmer was the name of the last king of the previous period. However, continued research and new discoveries uncovered additional mentions for Narmer as the unifier, but not for Menes—at least not contemporary ones. It seemed that the sources who mentioned Menes all came thousands of years later.

It was probably 19th-century Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie who first suggested that Narmer and Menes might be the same person. This would not have been unusual since pharaohs had multiple names. Although this has become the most accepted viewpoint among scholars, it’s still not a certainty. The best evidence in favor of Narmer as the first pharaoh is a cosmetic artifact made out of siltstone known as the Palette of Narmer, believed to have been made during his lifetime or soon after. The palette identifies Narmer by name and shows him wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt on one side and the red crown of Lower Egypt on the other. The double crown would go on to become a symbol of the unification of the two lands, as the pharaohs who came later wore a combined version of the two called the Pschent.

We’re going to go with the most common stance that Narmer and Menes are the same person and that he was the first pharaoh of Egypt. His tomb was discovered over a hundred years ago at the necropolis of Um el-Kab near the sacred city of Abydos, which served as the site of many ancient temples and the resting place of the first pharaohs. Abydos served a role similar to the Valley of the Kings for the later dynasties and was one of the most significant cities from the early history of Egypt. The other ones were Memphis, which continued to play an important role for thousands of years, and Thinis, which supposedly served as the first capital of Egypt. We say supposedly because we only know of Thinis from ancient sources; its ruins have yet to be discovered.

The tomb of Narmer is quite modest compared to what we usually expect when we think of pharaohs. The giant pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty were still a very long way away. The first pharaoh of Egypt was buried in a simple tomb that consisted only of two pits dug into the ground and lined with mud brick walls. They were covered with a rectangular flat-roofed brick structure called a mastaba. We’re not sure for how long Narmer ruled Egypt, but most sources indicate that it was a lengthy reign. According to Menes, who always referred to him as Menes, he had a very long reign of 62 years and was killed by an attacking hippopotamus.

We also might know the name of his queen consort, Naithhotep. Her name, which means “Nath is satisfied,” would indicate that she came from Lower Egypt since the goddess Nath was primarily worshipped there. As Narmer was from Upper Egypt, it is highly plausible that they married as another symbolic unification of the two lands. When she died, Hotep was buried in her own mastaba, which was actually a lot nicer and bigger than Narmer’s tomb. Because of this, the Egyptologists who first discovered it over 100 years ago initially thought that it belonged to a pharaoh. In fact, there are still some scholars today who believe that Naithhotep might have had a short stint as regent after her husband died until her son came of age, which, if true, would make her the first woman to rule over Egypt.

Either way, the next pharaoh was Hor-Aha. Presumably, he was the son of Narmer and Naithhotep, as an inscription with his name was found in his mother’s tomb, but we do not know this for sure. In fact, some ancient sources, such as the Palermo Stone, name him as the first pharaoh, which is why certain scholars believe that he was actually Menes, the one who unified Upper and Lower Egypt. In this case, Naithhotep would have been his wife and mother to his successor, Dejer, who we’ll talk about in a bit.

This is a plausible scenario, but there is some contradicting evidence, as Egyptologists have uncovered multiple inscriptions that mention Hor-Aha’s queen consort as a woman named Benarib. Again, we have very little information about what happened during this ancient reign. One minor inscription mentions that the pharaoh smote the Nubians in one regnal year, so presumably he led a successful military expedition against his neighbors. He also turned Memphis into one of the most prominent cities of his empire, with some even believing that he may have founded it. His tomb is located at Um el-Kab, near that of Narmer, which is a further indication that the two were father and son.

It appears that Hor-Aha was the first pharaoh to practice retainer sacrifices, meaning that his servants were slain and entombed alongside him so they could serve him in the afterlife. Now we’ll continue with the ancient Egyptians in just a moment, but first, a quick break to today’s video sponsor, Blinkist.

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And let’s get back to Egypt. Hor-Aha’s mother was named Ken-thap, one of Hor-Aha’s royal wives, but not his queen consort. Dejer’s own queen consort was probably named Nakhtnayth, based on an inscription found inside the tomb at Um el-Kab. Dejer had a very long reign as pharaoh, and some claim it was 57 years, which might be a stretch but not by a lot. Other ancient sources mentioned specific regnal years of Dejer, and assuming they’re correct, the reconstructed timeline of the First Dynasty suggests that he reigned for around 41 years.

Frustratingly, we don’t know what he did during all that time. Egypt was far from the dominant power in the region, yet its strength was steadily rising, and Dejer continued along the same economic, religious, and social policies as the previous pharaohs. Just like with his predecessor, there is an inscription of Dejer smiting someone—in this case, the Setjet, someone we are unfamiliar with, but presumably represented a nearby ancient people that were conquered and absorbed by the Egyptians in their early history.

There are more examples of human sacrifice from Dejer’s time, most likely done as part of the funerary ritual for the pharaoh. If the rulers of the later dynasties considered the size and grandeur of their pyramid to be a sign of their own majesty, then for the pharaohs of the First Dynasty, it must have been the number of servants sacrificed in their tombs. In Dejer’s case, over 300 people were buried with the pharaoh in his tomb near Abydos to serve him in the afterlife. This was a practice reserved mainly for the early dynasties; the later ones all used shabtis—tiny figurines that symbolized the pharaoh’s retinue instead of actual humans.

Dejer was succeeded by Dejet, who is an even bigger mystery to us than his father. Assuming that they were related, part of that is due to his relatively short reign, which was around 10 years, even though Manetho again ascribed him a much lengthier reign of 23 years. The reason scholars feel confident that Dejet did not rule that long is because an inscription on an ivory artifact mentioned that he only participated in one Sakhar festival, which was held every six to ten years. The other reason we don’t know much about Dejet is because of a very poor historical record, even by the standards of the First Dynasty. The part of the Palermo Stone that includes his reign is just missing. Scholars presume that he continued along the same lines as his predecessors, governing over a thriving Egypt that was steadily increasing in power. His tomb is also located in Um el-Kab, and he was buried with 174 servants for the afterlife.

Much more interesting is the woman believed to have been his queen consort, named Mernith. She might have been the first female pharaoh in history. It is almost certain that she served as regent for her son Den after Dejet died, but it is also possible that she ruled in her own name for a while. This is based on a cylinder seal found in Den’s tomb, which includes one of the earliest king lists in Egypt, naming all of the pharaohs up to that point in chronological order: Narmer, Hor-Aha, Dejer, Dejet, and Den. But it also names Mernith. Further evidence is provided by Mernith’s tomb; it was quite large, positioned next to the tombs of Dejet and Den, and included around 40 servants for the afterlife. In other words, it looked like the tomb of a pharaoh, not just a queen consort.

Even if this did happen, Mernith did not appear to rule for long because her son Den soon became the new pharaoh. Since we’re unfamiliar with their customs, we don’t know if Mernith willingly gave up power for her son or whether she was somehow forced to do it or if she died. But we do know a lot more about Den than any of the other pharaohs of the First Dynasty. This is because he had a long reign spanning at least three decades and because he is well attested to in the historical record. It seems that Den was a very competent ruler, probably even the best of the First Dynasty, and he introduced new policies that affected all areas of Egyptian life, including religion, art, administration, economy, and architecture.

He was the first pharaoh depicted wearing the Pschent, the double crown that became one of the most powerful symbols behind the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. He was the first to receive a throne name, which was “Meryt,” in his case, and the first shown carrying the Nakaka, the flail, which symbolizes the pharaoh’s authority alongside the crook. His tomb at Um el-Kab also stood out from the others. For starters, it was the largest and most opulent one of all, but it was also built differently compared to the others. It had a stairwell leading down to the tomb entrance and a massive burial chamber and was also constructed using a granite floor and other stone elements instead of just mud bricks. Lastly, Den took 136 servants with him in the afterlife, whose burial sites were located all around his tomb.

Following the reign of Den, it appears that the First Dynasty went on a steady decline that eventually led to its collapse. He was succeeded by Anedjib, who is poorly attested in the historical record. He may have been dead, but we have no evidence that points to this conclusively. Modern scholars are also fairly certain that Anedjib had a short reign, no longer than 10 years, even though the Turin King List credits him with a highly improbable reign of 74 years. Egyptologists also believe that Anedjib took the throne when he was already pretty old, which would make sense if Den was his father, given that he held the throne for anywhere from 30 to 50 years.

We know very few events from the timeline of Anedjib. Some cylinder seal impressions mentioned the construction of a new fortress and a royal residence. It also seems that the pharaoh had problems with revolts in Lower Egypt, which continued into the reign of his successor. Arguably the most notable thing about Anedjib was how poorly constructed his tomb was. Up until this point, the royal tombs seemed to get steadily bigger and better as the Egyptians continuously improved their royal funerary traditions at Abydos. This culminated with Den, who had the nicest tomb of the First Dynasty, but then went sharply in the opposite direction with Anedjib, who had the worst one. For starters, it was the smallest, even smaller than that of Narmer. It measured 16.4 by 9 meters and only consisted of two chambers and a stairway. Granite was completely absent this time, and the burial chamber was made entirely out of wooden planks set directly in the sand. 64 burial sites were located nearby for Anedjib’s servants. The tomb was done in a rush without much concern, but the question is: was the lack of care somehow indicative of how the Egyptians felt about the pharaoh and his reign? Was it a sign of how his successor felt about him, or was it simply done according to the orders of Anedjib himself, who simply wasn’t that interested in having a fancy royal tomb? We don’t know the answer.

But speaking of his successor, Anedjib was followed by Semerkhet, who probably ruled Egypt for around eight and a half years. Some ancient sources credit him with a longer reign, but the Palermo Stone actually has an entry for each of his regnal years, and his ninth one is listed as the year of his death. Semerkhet is the only pharaoh of the First Dynasty in this situation, so he is the only one whose reign we can establish with a modicum of certainty. Unfortunately, even though scholars can see entries for each regnal year, the Palermo Stone is too damaged to actually read what the entries say, so we know little about Semerkhet’s reign. We know that it was troubled by revolts, like that of his predecessor, but that’s about it.

Egyptologists have made a lot of speculation about Semerkhet’s relationship with Anedjib, which may have been hostile initially. They speculated that Semerkhet may have usurped the throne from his predecessor because they found in his tomb artifacts originally made for Anedjib, which had his name scratched out and replaced with Semerkhet’s. Furthermore, Semerkhet was left off the Sakara King List made during the 20th Dynasty, indicating that his descendants may have wanted to forget him. This idea does not have a lot of support anymore, mainly because it seemed that his immediate successors recognized Semerkhet as the rightful pharaoh, and because other rulers also took vessels belonging to their predecessors and replaced the names with their own.

Semerkhet’s tomb at Um el-Kab was considerably nicer than the one belonging to Anedjib. It was much larger, about 29 by 31 meters, and the burial chamber was lined with bricks. 67 additional tombs surrounded his for his royal retinue. The tomb had been so saturated with aromatic oils that even