Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhet's reign. The archaeological records seem to support the view that Semerkhet had a difficult time as king and some early archaeologists questioned the legitimacy of Semerkhet's succession to the Egyptian throne.
Length of reign Manetho named Semerkhet Semêmpsés and credited him with a reign of 18 years,William Gillan Waddell: Manetho (The Loeb Classical Library, Volume 350). Harvard University Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 2004 (Reprint), , page 33–37. whilst the Royal Canon of Turin credited him with an implausibly long figure of 72 years, which may be his lifespan.Alan H. Gardiner: The royal Canon of Turin. Griffith Institute of Oxford, Oxford (UK) 1997, ; page 15 & Table I. Egyptologists and historians now consider both statements as exaggerations and credit Semerkhet with a reign of 8½ years. This evaluation is based on the Cairo Stone inscription, where the complete reign of Semerkhet has been recorded. Additionally, they point to the archaeological records, which strengthen the view that Semerkhet had a relatively short reign.Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit. (Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Volume 45), Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, , pages 124, 160–162 & 212–214.
Name sources
Semerkhet is well attested in archaeological records. His name appears in inscriptions on vessels made of schist, alabaster, breccia, and marble. His name is also preserved on ivory tags and earthen jar seals. Objects bearing Semerkhet's name and titles come from Abydos and Sakkara.Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London 1999, , page 78, 79 & 275.
Semerkhet's serekh name is commonly translated as "companion of the divine community" or "thoughtful friend". The latter translation is questioned by many scholars, since the hieroglyph khet (Gardiner-sign F32) normally was the symbol for "body" or "divine community".
Semerkhet's birth name is more problematic. Any artefact showing his birth name curiously lacks any artistic detail of the used hieroglyphic sign: a walking man with waving cloak or skirt, a nemes head dress, and a long, plain stick in his hands. The reading and meaning of this special sign is disputed, since it doesn't appear in this form before association with king Semerkhet. Indeed, the hieroglyph of the cloaked man is extremely rare. It appears only twice in relief inscriptions depicting ceremonial processions of priests and standard bearers. Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson, Bernhard Grdseloff, and Jochem Kahl read Iry-Netjer, meaning "divine guardian". During the Old Kingdom period, this word is written with uniliteral signs of a netjer flag (Gardiner-sign R8) and a human eye (Gardiner-sign D4) nearby the ideogram of the man. Some contemporary ivory tags show the Nebty name written with the single eye symbol only. Thus, the scholars also read Semerkhet's throne name as Iry (meaning "guardian") and the Nebty name as Iry-Nebty (meaning "guardian of the Two Ladies"). This reconstruction is strengthened by the observation that Semerkhet was the first king using the Nebty title in its ultimate form. For unknown reason Semerkhet did not use the Nebuy title of his predecessor. It seems that he felt connected with the 'Two Ladies', a title referring to the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, the patron deities of the Ancient Egyptians who were worshiped by all after the unification of its two parts, Lower Egypt, and Upper Egypt. The Nebty title in turn was thought to function as an addition to the Nisut-Bity title. His prenomen is Nisut-Bity-Nebty-Iry, nsw.t-bty-nb.ty-iry meaning, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, he of the two ladies, and he who belongs to them or He whom the two ladies guard.Nicolas Grimal, Ian Shaw (translator): A History of Ancient Egypt, 1992, Oxford: Blackwell publishing, , p. 54M23:t-L2:t-G16-A21A
Scribes and priests of the Ramesside era were also confused, because the archaic ideogram that was used during Semerkhet's lifetime was very similar to the sign of an old man with a walking stick (Gardiner sign A19). This had been read as Semsu or Sem and means "the eldest". It was used as a title identifying someone as the head of the house. Due to this uncertainty, it seems that the compiler of the Abydos king list simply tried to imitate the original figure, whilst the author of the Royal Canon of Turin seems to have been convinced about reading it as the Gardiner-sign A19 and he wrote Semsem meaning, Horus the Elder, with uniliteral signs. The Saqqara King List omits Semerkhet's throne name. The reason for that is unknown, but all kings from Narmer up to king Den also are missing their throne names.Jochem Kahl, Markus Bretschneider, Barbara Kneissler: Frühägyptisches Wörterbuch, Band 1. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2002, , Seite 46.Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: the Palermo Stone and its Associated Fragments. Kegan Paul International, London 2000, , page 76.
Identity
Virtually nothing is known about Semerkhet's family. His parents are unknown, but it is thought that one of his predecessors, king Den, might have been his father. Possibly, Semerkhet was born to queen Betrest. On the Cairo Stone she is described as his mother, but definite evidence for that view has not yet been found. It would be expected that Semerkhet had sons and daughters, but their names have not been preserved in the historical record. A candidate as a possible member of his family line is his immediate successor, king Qa'a.Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards: Early History of the Middle East (The Cambridge Ancient History; Vol. 1, Pt. 2). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2006, , page 27–31.
Reign
Usurper debate An old theory, supported by Egyptologists and historians such as Jean-Philippe Lauer, Walter Bryan Emery, Wolfgang Helck, and Michael Rice once held that Semerkhet was a usurper and not the rightful heir to the throne. Their assumption was based on the observation that a number of stone vessels with Semerkhet's name on them, originally were inscribed with king Adjib's name. Semerkhet simply erased Adjib's name and replaced it with his own. Furthermore, they point out that no high official and priest associated with Semerkhet was found at Sakkara. All other kings, such as Den and Adjib, are attested in local mastabas.Michael Rice: Egypt's Making: the Origins of Ancient Egypt, 5000-2000 BC. Taylor & Francis, London/New York 1990, , page 127.
Today this theory has little support. Egyptologists such as Toby Wilkinson, I. E. S. Edwards, and Winifred Needler deny the 'usurping theory', because Semerkhet's name is mentioned on stone vessel inscriptions along with those of Den, Adjib, and Qa'a. The objects were found in the underground galleries beneath the Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. The inscriptions show that king Qa'a, immediate successor of Semerkhet and sponsor of the vessels, accepted Semerkhet as a rightful ancestor and heir to the throne. Furthermore, the Egyptologists point out that nearly every king of First Dynasty had the habit of taking special vessels (so-called 'anniversary vessels') from their predecessor's tomb and then replacing their predecessor's name with their own. Semerkhet not only confiscated Adjib's vessels, in his tomb several artefacts from the necropolis of queen Meritneith and king Den also were found. The lack of any high official's tomb at Saqqara might be explained by the rather short reign of Semerkhet. It seems that the only known official of Semerkhet, Henu-Ka, had survived his king: His name appears on ivory tags from Semerkhet's and Qaa's tomb.
Celebration of certain rituals Seal impressions from Semerkhet's burial site show the new royal domain, Hor wep-khet, (meaning "Horus, the judge of the divine community") and the new private household Hut-Ipty (meaning "house of the harem"), which was headed by Semerkhet's wives. Two ivory tags show the yearly 'Escort of Horus', a feast connected to the regular tax collections. Other tags report the cult celebration for the deity of the ancestors, Wer-Wadyt ("the Great White"). Further tags show the celebration of a first (and only) Sokar feast.Eva-Maria Engel: The Domain of Semerkhet. In: Stan Hendrickx: Studies in Memory of Barbara Adams: Proceedings of the International Conference „Origin of the State, Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt“, Krakow, 28 August – 1 September 2002. Peeters, Leuven 2004, , page 705–710.Hermann A. Schlögl: Das alte Ägypten. Beck, München 2008, , page 71–72.
Year by year records While the Cairo Stone reports the whole of Semerkhet's reign, unfortunately, the surface of the stone slab is badly worn and most of the events are now illegible. The following chart follows the reconstructions by Toby A. H. Wilkinson, John D. Degreef, and Hermann Alexander Schlögl:
Cairo Stone, main fragment: Year of coronation: Appearance of the king of Lower- and Upper Egypt; unifying the two realms; circumambulation of the White Wall of Memphis 1st year: Following of Horus; destruction of Egypt 2nd year: Appearance of the king; creation of a statue for Seshat and Sed 3rd year: Following of Horus... (rest is missing) 4th year: Appearance of the king of Upper Egypt; creation of the building ‘throne of Horus the harpooner’ 5th year: Following of Horus, creating an image of Min 6th year: Appearance of the king of Lower and Upper Egypt, festival of Sopdu 7th year: Following of Horus... (rest is missing) 8th year: Appearance of the king of Lower and Upper Egypt, creating an image of a cattle deity year of death: The ...th month and ...th day. (damaged) Ian Shaw & Paul T. Nicholson: The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. Harry N. Abrams, New York 2003, , page 202.
"Calamity" Egyptologists and historians pay special attention to the entry "Destruction of Egypt" in the second window of Semerkhet's year records. The inscription gives no further information about that event, but it has a resemblance to Manetho's report. The Eusebian version says: "His son, Semémpsês, who reigned for 18 years; in his reign a very great calamity befell Egypt." The Armenian version sounds similar: "Mempsis, 18 years. Under him many portents happened and a great pestilence occurred." None of the documents from after Semerkhet's reign provide any details about this "calamity".
Tomb