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'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 between 35 up to 49 years of reign for him.

Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested of the kings of the early second dynasty.^[18] His name appears in inscriptions on stone vessels and clay sealings from his tomb at Sakkara. A large number of alabaster vessels and earthen jars with black ink inscriptions bearing his name were also found in the tomb of king Seth-Peribsen at Abydos and in the galleries beneath the step pyramid of king Djoser.^[19] Further attestations include sealings bearing his name from the tombs of three elite individuals in North Saqqara,^[20][21] as well as in a mastaba in Giza^[22] and a tomb in Helwan.^[18]

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.^[23]

The relative chronological position of Nynetjer as the third ruler of the early second dynasty and successor of Raneb is a consensus among Egyptologists.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29][30]} 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.^[30][31][32] Further archaeological evidences support this theory, notably stone bowls of Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb reinscribed during Nynetjer's rule.^[33][34]

Several historical sources also point to the same conclusion: the oldest is the Old Kingdom royal annals, which while not preserving the identity of Nynetjer's immediate predecessors is consistent with him not being the first king of the dynasty. This source also presents an additional name for Nynetjer: Ren-nebu, meaning "golden offspring" or "golden calf". This name was also found on artefacts dating to Nynetjer's lifetime and Egyptologists including 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 Third dynasty under Djoser.^[35] The second oldest historical source on Nynetjer is the Turin canon, a list of kings written under Ramses II (c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC). It ranks him under the name Netjer-ren as the third king of his dynasty after Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb.^[36] Two more sources of the Ramesside era present similar informations: the Abydos King List gives a Banetjer as the third kind of the second dynasty,^[37] while the Sakkara table lists Banetjeru at the same position.^[38]

The latest ancient historical source on Nynetjer's reign is the Aegyptiaca (Αἰγυπτιακά), Ptolemy II (283–246 BC) by Manetho. No copies of the Aegyptiaca have survived and it is now known only through later writings by Sextus Julius Africanus and Eusebius. According to the Byzantine scholar George Syncellus, Africanus and Eusebius wrote that the Aegyptiaca recorded "Binôthris" (Biνωθρις) or "Biophis" (Βίοφις) as the third king of the second dynasty,^[39] Binôthris likely being the Hellenized form of Banetjer, the name used for Nynetjer during the Ramesside era.^[40]

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.^[41][42] 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).^[43] The surviving fragments of the annals record the main events and Nile flood levels from what is likely the fifth or sixth year of Nynetjer's reign until the 21st.^[18] 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,^{[note 3]} all the Egyptologists who studied this problem have proposed long reigns^{[note 4]} lasting between 38 years^[12] and up to 49 years.^[44] The most recent reconstruction of the royal annals by Wilkinson in 2000 concludes that Nynetjer's record on the Palermo stone was most probably of 40 complete or partial years.^[46][47] Two additional historical sources record a reign length for Nynetjer: firstly, the Turin Canon gives him 96 years of rule,^[48] which is universally rejected by modern Egyptologists. Secondly, in Africanus' version of the Aegyptiaca, Binôthris, the third king of the second dynasty is credited with 47 years of reign.^[39]

Archaeological evidence favors a long reign too. The seated statuette of Nynetjer shows 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.^[10] That this festival took place is further supported by the large quantity of stone vessels bearing Nynetjer's name that were unearthed in the galleries beneath Djoser's step pyramid which were likely made in connection with the Sed-festival.^[1]

The Palermo stone, main fragment of the Old Kingdom royal annals, mostly records standard rituals performed by the king, in particular the biennial Following of Horus connected to taxation, and regular religious festivals.^{[note 5]} These included cults to Sokar every six years, the running of the Apis bull and an "adoration of the celestial Horus",^[51] Although not mentioned on the royal annals, the goddesses Bastet and Neith must also have received cults as witnessed by stone bowls associating their names with Nynetjer's.^[52][53] Another bowl of the king mentions a chapel of Hedjet, the white crown of Upper Egypt, possibly set up in Memphis.^[54][55] All of these activities took place in the Memphite area except for one ritual associated to Nekhbet, goddess of Elkab.^[56] Wilkinson observes that, with one exception,^[23] Nynetjer is not attested archaeologically outside of the Memphite region. This could point to royal activity being confined to Lower Egypt during his reign.^[57][47]

Two special events are also recorded on the annals namely the foundation of "Hor-ren", a temple, palace or estate during Nynetjer's seventh year of rule,^[58] and the foundation or attack of two localities "Shem-Ra" and "Ha", the latter of which translates to "north land".^[1] This may refer to the suppression of a rebellion in Lower Egypt.^[58] Alternatively, for Reader and Kahl, this event is to be understood as part of the important development of the sun worship and the cult of Ra during the reigns of Raneb and Nynetjer.^[59][60] They interpret the record as referring to the foundation of an institution or building whose name, "Shem-Ra", has been variously translated as "The going of Ra",^[61] "The sun proceeds",^[61] or "The sun has come". ^[50] The inscription bearing Nynetjer's name found in Nubia might represent a clue that he sent a military expedition into this region. Given that the expedition is not mentionned in the surviving fragments of the royal annals, it may instead have been recorded in what is now a lacuna, which would place it some time after Nynetjer's 20th year on the throne.^[23]

A smaller fragment of the royal annals, the Cairo stone, may record further events belonging to Nynetjer's later reign: another festival of Sokar in his 24th year on the throne and a Following of Horus in his 34th.^[1][50] The surface of the stone slab in this section is much damaged and most of the record is illegible. Siegfried Schott has proposed reading also the "birth" (creation) of a statue of Anubis and an "Appearance of the king of Lower and Upper Egypt".^[50] Among later historical sources, the Aegyptiaca reported concerning Binôthris that:

In his reign it was decided that women might hold the kingly office.^[62]

Egyptologists such as Walter Bryan Emery assume that this reference was an obituary to the queens Meritneith and Neithhotep from the early first dynasty, both of whom are believed to have held the Egyptian throne for several years because their sons were too young to rule.^[63]

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.^[66] 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".^[66] The responsibility for the supervision of state revenues was under the authority of the chancellor of the treasury of the king,^[67] who directed three administrative institutions introduced by Nynetjer in replacement of an older one.^[68] Nynetjer might also have introduced an office for food management related to the census.^[69] 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.^[70] 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.^[67]

Ink inscriptions on jars suggest that the administrative partition of Egypt into nomes might have existed under Nynetjer's rule, providing the earliest evidence for this system.^{[note 6][73]} Similarly, the earliest individual holding the full titles associated with the office of vizier, Menka, may have served Nynetjer.^[74][75]

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.^{[note 7][80]} 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.^[80] 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.^[81] Goods necessary for the provision of the court and funerary cults were produced in large agricultural domains and estates dedicated to producing specific resources. Such institutions had been set up by kings since at least the first dynasty.^[82] Although a single estate prodiving natron is known from a seal impression in connection with Nynetjer,^[64][65] he must at least have maintained more estates.

Few officials serving Nynetjer are known by name. These include Iyenkhnum,^[83][84][85] the overseer of sculptors de:Ruaben,^[86] and possibly the vizier Menka.^[74]

What happened towards the end of Nynetjer's rule and shortly thereafter is very uncertain. It is possible^[88] that Egypt saw civil unrest^[89] and the rise of competing claimants to the throne reigning concurrently over two realms in Upper and Lower Egypt.^[27][90] Historical records preserve conflicting lists of kings between the end of Nynetjer's reign and that of Khasekhemwy^[91] who is known to have overseen military campaigns in the North of Egypt.^[92] Three hypotheses have been put forth to explain these observations: first there could have been a political breakdown and a religious conflict;^[1][10][93] second this could result from a deliberate choice on Nynetjer's behalf following administrative considerations;^[94][95] or third an economic collapse might have led to Egyptian disunity.^[96]

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.^[93] 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. A tentative reaction against this trend could explain why Hotepsekhemwy and Nynetjer maintained a chapel to the white crown of Upper Egypt in Memphis.^[55] The nascent political conflict between Lower and Upper Egypt 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.^[93] Peribsen further chose to have his tomb built in old royal burial grounds of Abydos, where he also erected a funerary enclosure.^[93] A Lower Egyptian response to these developments also took place, with kings who associated themselves to Horus reigning concurrently over the North of Egypt.^[10][93] For Wilkinson, who interprets the events of Nynetjer's 13th year on the throne as the quelling of rebellion in the North,^[97] unrest had already broken out during his reign. Wilkinson points to no less than four rituals named "Appearances of the king of Lower Egypt" reported for Nynetjer on the Old Kingdom royal annals as possibly "intended to deliver a political message about the extent of his authority" over this region.^[98] For Wilkinson, another indirect evidence of troubles is given by the numerous stone vessels originally prepared for Nynetjer’s Sed-festival that were found in the galleries beneath Djoser's pyramid. These vessels may have remained in storage at Saqqara instead of being distributed because strife disrupted communications and weakened the authority of the central administration.^[1]

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.^[95][94] In this case, the division of Egypt would have been peaceful at first,^[99] as possibly witnessed by the joint mortuary cults in Saqqara of Senedj and Peribsen, would might have ruled over Lower and Upper Egypt, respectively.^[100]

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.^[96] 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.^[101]

As Wilkinson remarks, all attempts by modern Egypotlogists at reconstructing events from the end of Nynetjer's rule remain highly speculative owing to the lack of strong, direct evidence on the matter.^[102]

It is unclear whether Nynetjer's successor shared his throne with another ruler, or if the Egyptian state was split at the time of this successor's death. All known king lists from historical sources such as the Sakkara list, the Turin Canon and the Abydos table have Wadjenes as Nynetjer's immediate successor and as the predecessor of Senedj both of whom are poorly known. One of these kings may or may not be the same as Weneg and Nubnefer, shadowy rulers who are believed to have ruled shortly after Nynetjer too.^{[103][104][105][106]} After Senedj, the kinglists differ from each other. 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-Perenmaat 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.^[107]

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.^[108] Hassan proposed that Nynetjer was the owner of the tomb thanks to numerous seal impressions bearing his serekh found onsite.^{[note 8][110]} The tomb was partially excavated in the 1970s to 1980s under the direction of Peter Munro,^[111] then Günther Dreyer,^[112] who both confirmed Hassan's proposition.^[113] Thorough excavations continued during seven campaigns until the 2010s under the supervision of archaeologist Claudia Lacher-Raschdorff of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut.^[9]

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".^[114] The tomb is located out of sight of Memphis,^[115][116] next to a natural wadi running west to east^[116] 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^[117] and set within a desert backdrop symbolizing death which the king would finally overcome.^[118]

Nynetjer's tomb, in the immediate vicinity of Hotepsekhemwy's and Raneb's,^[119] 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.^[120]

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.^[121] 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.^[10]

Archaeological excavations suggest the existence of above-ground structures originally associated with Nynetjer's tomb, none of which have survived.^{[116][119][122]} What remains is not sufficient to determine the layout of the structures nor if they were made of mud-brick or limestone.^[116] For Munro the superstructure is unlikely to have been a giant mastaba covering the entire extent of the underground galleries, for this would have represented an immense quantity of materials of which there is scant traces today.^[123] Nonetheless, Djoser may have levelled the structures and/or reused the construction materials for his own tomb complex,^[124][125] which might also explain why some funerary provisions made for Hotepsekhemwy and Nynetjer were found in the galleries beneath Djoser's pyramid.^[126] Consequently, the superstructures associated with Nynetjer's tomb must have been in ruins by the time of Unas^[127] since this king had the whole area levelled for his pyramid. Alternatively, Unas rather than Djoser may be responsible for the destruction of Nynetjer's monuments.^[128]

The superstructures likely incorporated an offering place with false door and niche stele, a mortuary temple and a serdab.^[129] The heights of these superstructures may have reached 8 m (26 ft) to 10 m (33 ft) and may have resembled a mastaba.^[130] A separate enclosure wall built of stone was in all probability built as well,^[131] 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,^[132][117] the later being a strong possibility for the "enormous" (Wilkinson) Gisr el-Mudir construction given his long reign.^[133]

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,^[134] has 157 rooms of 2.1 m (6.9 ft) height over an area of 77 m × 50.5 m (253 ft × 166 ft).^[116] 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.^[116] 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.^[135]

The tomb shows great architectural similarities to the Gallery Tomb A some 130 m (430 ft) to the west and which is thought to be either Raneb's or Hotepsekhemwy's burial site.^[18] Yet Nynetjer's tomb marks an important development in monumental royal mortuary architecture with its extended layout incorporating many storage rooms. The tomb itself became the locus of renewal funerary rituals.^[129] At the southern end of the tomb, a group of chambers seems to be model of the royal palace.^[136][137] These comprise the main burial chamber towards the southwestern end. The whole burial site is highly unstable and is in danger of collapsing.^[138][139]

Some chambers of the tomb were found almost undisturbed,^[140] 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.^[116][141] Further vessels include a group decorated with red stripes that held jujube fruits and less than ten jars of beer.^[116] 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.^[116][141] 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.^[142] 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).^[116]

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. Consequently thousands of mummies and mummy cases of the Late Period were found in the galleries of tomb.^[47] This necropolis remained in use sporadically until the early Christian period, when the nearby monastery of Jeremiah was built in the sixth century.^[116]