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I recently spent a lot of time reseaching pre-dynastic Egypt and it's relationship with the ethnic groups found in what we refer to as "Nubia". One interesting thread that I came across was one that hypothesized that a kingdom from Nubia colonized pre-dynastic Egypt, eventually leading to the civilization we know and love (source: http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=008531 ) overall the arguments made in the thread were very solid, but one thing I noticed is that no one brought up the edfu texts as a piece of evidence, which is unfortunate as it would've been an easy way to tie everything together. I looked on discussion on the Edfu texts and the best I got was this thread, however, it focused completely on the papyrus of hunifer, and neglected the Edfu texts (source: http://www.egyptsearch.com/forums/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=001391 )
For those who don't know the Edfu texts mention an a king from Ta-Seti by the name of Ra-harmakis. This king conquerors what later becomes Upper Egypt, and then he sends his son Horus to invade Lower Egypt resulting in the unification of both lands(full translation for those curious:( https://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/leg/leg07.htm ). Interestingly enough this lines up with what Diodorus siciulus discovered while investigating Nubia/Ethiopia. He found out that Osiris sent colonists to unify both lands, since Osiris is the father of Horus, it seems that both parties agreed with a Nubian dynastic origin of Egypt.
It also lines up with Nancy C. Lowell's archeological findings, which show the Naqadian elites being indisgusible from Nubian samples, as opposed to upper Egyptian samples. (Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8893087/ )
I will admit, however, that there are some flaws in the texts that hurt it's validity.
(It dates back to the Ptolemaic period.) -Since the temple dates to this period it's possible that Nubian usurpers such as Amenemhat and the Kushites may have tampered with the Egyptians understanding of their history to make it seem like they created the civilization.
-Another problem is that it might be a propaganda tool. I remember seeing a post on quora, where someone hypothesized that the Egyptians made up the text to justify their claim over Nubian territory that they were planning to mine.
(The mythological aspects) -Even though the events take place on earth there's still mention of gods such as Horus in the text, which make it hard to take seriously. Horus seems to have carried out the role that Narmer played in real life, but the inconsistency in naming makes things challenging.
What do you guys think about the text? Should more attention be brought to it in modern Egyptology
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^ To answer your question, YES I believe the Efu Texts do hold some historical truth disguised as religious allegory in which the kings are metaphors for their gods. There is still a question as to what part of 'Ta Seti' Ra-Horakhty hails from-- was it the area of the 1st Nome (Ta-Seti Nwt) or a region further south (Ta-Seti Khst).
Note also the Book of the Dead and Pyramid Texts make reference to a dual ancestry of the Egyptians at least the Shemawy (Upper ones) as stated by the 'Fathers of Egyptology' Petrie and Budge. The texts reference the first people called 'Anu' who used stone tools and farmed the land. Their main ritual implement was obsidian called menu-km or ka-km (black jewel or black vitale). The gods Ausar and Iset were identified as Anu and so were certain other deities like Djehuti. Then came the Mesenitu (blacksmiths) from the land east of the Nile who were also called Shemsu-Her (Followers of Horus) and whose ritual implement was copper called ankh (same root as the word for life). Heru and Hethur were Mesenitu gods etc.-- all the gods both Anu and Mesenitu were children of Re the sun and were said to have their ultimate origin in the south in a region called Ta-Akhetu-Neteru (Land of Divine Ancestors).
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26238 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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Mind you this copy of the Edfu Text dates from the Ptolemaic Period. THE LEGEND OF HERU-BEHUTET AND THE WINGED DISK In the 363rd year of his reign Ra-Harmakhis was in Nubia with his army with the intention of destroying those who had conspired against him; because of their conspiracy (auu) Nubia is called "Uaua" to this day. From Nubia Ra-Harmakhis sailed down the river to Edfu, where Heru-Behutet entered his boat, and told him that his foes were conspiring against him. Ra-Harmakhis in answer addressed Heru-Behutet as his son, and commanded him to set out without delay and slay the wicked rebels. Then Heru-Behutet took the form of a great winged Disk, and at once flew up into the sky, where he took the place of Ra, the old Sun-god. Looking down from the height of heaven he was able to discover the whereabouts of the rebels, and he pursued them in the form of a winged disk. Then he attacked them with such violence that they became dazed, and could neither see where they were going, nor hear, the result of this being that they slew each other, and in a very short time they were all dead. Thoth, seeing this, told Ra that because Horus had appeared as a great winged disk he must be called "Heru-Behutet," and by this name Horus was known ever after at Edfu. Ra embraced Horus, and referred with pleasure to the blood which he had shed, and Horus invited his father to come and look upon the slain. Ra set out with the goddess Ashthertet (Ashtoreth) to do this, and they saw the enemies lying fettered on the ground. The legend here introduces a number of curious derivations of the names of Edfu, &c., which are valueless, and which remind us of the derivations of place-names propounded by ancient Semitic scribes.
Note the phrase translated as "Nubia" was Ta-Seti and the story never said Ra originated there but happened to be in the region to put down a rebellion there. Lower Nubia was known throughout dynastic history as Uauat/Wawat because its inhabitants were labeled as conspirators against Ra-Horakhty. Funny how the Semitic goddess Ashtoreth is mentioned, perhaps identified with another goddess. Take note that every number listed in the story is has symbolic significance.
In gladness of heart Ra proposed a sail on the Nile, but as soon as his enemies heard that he was coming, they changed themselves into crocodiles and hippopotami, so that they might be able to wreck his boat and devour him. As the boat of the god approached them they opened their jaws to crush it, but Horus and his followers came quickly on the scene, and defeated their purpose. The followers of Horus here mentioned are called in the text "Mesniu," i.e., "blacksmiths," or "workers in metal," and they represent the primitive conquerors of the Egyptians, who were armed with metal weapons, and so were able to overcome with tolerable ease the indigenous Egyptians, whose weapons were made of flint and wood. Horus and his "blacksmiths" were provided with iron lances and chains, and, baying cast the chains over the monsters in the river, they drove their lances into their snouts, and slew 651 of them. Because Horus gained his victory by means of metal weapons, Ra decreed that a metal statue of Horus should be placed at Edfu, and remain there for ever, and a name was given to the town to commemorate the great battle that had taken place there. Ra applauded Horus for the mighty deeds which be had been able to perform by means of the spells contained in the "Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus." Horus then associated with himself the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet, who were in the form of serpents, and, taking his place as the winged Disk on the front of the Boat of Ra, destroyed all the enemies of Ra wheresoever he found them. When the remnant of the enemies of Ra, saw that they were likely to be slain, they doubled back to the South, but Horus pursued them, and drove them down the river before him as far as Thebes. One battle took place at Tchetmet, and another at Denderah, and Horus was always victorious; the enemies were caught by chains thrown over them, and the deadly spears of the Blacksmiths drank their blood.
The story seems to identify the end of the Neolithic in the Egyptian Nile Valley with a violent revolution by those with superior metal tools literally called "Mesiniu" (blacksmiths). The story speaks of iron, yet the only known metal worked extensively at the end of the Neolithic was copper and later tin. Interesting how these enemies transformed into crocodiles and hippos. These dangerous animals are totems of either gods or demons. The crocodile god Kheny or Sobek of the city of Nubet in the 1st nome of Ta-Seti is one example. The fact that these rebels of Wawat were able to gather forces in other nomes like Thebes and Denderah should tell us something that there was some sort of political unity if not ethnic one.
After this the enemy fled to the North, and took refuge in the swamps of the Delta, and in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, and Horus pursued them thither. After searching for them for four days and four nights he found them, and they were speedily slain. One hundred and forty-two of them. and a male hippopotamus were dragged on to the Boat of Ra, and there Horus dug out their entrails, and hacked their carcases in pieces, which he gave to his Blacksmiths and the gods who formed the crew of the Boat of Ra. Before despatching the hippopotamus, Horus leaped on to the back of the monster as a mark of his triumph, and to commemorate this event the priest of Heben, the town wherein these things happened, was called "He who standeth on the back ever after.
The end of the great fight, however, was not yet. Another army of enemies appeared by the North Lake, and they were marching towards the sea; but terror of Horus smote their hearts, and they fled and took refuge in Mertet-Ament, where they allied themselves with the followers of Set, the Arch-fiend and great Enemy of Ra. Thither Horus and his well-armed Blacksmiths pursued them, and came up with them at the town called Per-Rerehu, which derived its name from the "Two Combatants," or "Two Men," Horus and Set. A great fight took place, the enemies of Ra were defeated with great slaughter, and Horus dragged 381 prisoners on to the Boat of Ra, where he slew them, and gave their bodies to his followers.
These upper Nile rebels seem to be all over Egypt even up to the Mediterranean coast. By the way, Mertet-Ament is an area somewhere to the southwest of the Delta so is the Set mentioned here a god of a Libyan people?
Then Set rose up and cursed Horus because he had slain his allies, and he used such foul language that Thoth called him "Nehaha-her," i.e., "Stinking Face," and this name clung to him ever after. After this Horus and Set engaged in a fight which lasted a very long time, but at length Horus drove his spear into the neck of Set with such violence that the Fiend fell headlong to the ground. Then Horus smote with his club the mouth which had uttered such blasphemies, and fettered him with his chain. In this state Horus dragged Set into the presence of Ra, who ascribed great praise to Horus, and special names were given to the palace of Horus and the high priest of the temple in commemoration of the event. When the question of the disposal of Set was being discussed by the gods, Ra ordered that he and his fiends should be given over to Isis and her son Horus, who were to do what they pleased with them. Horus promptly cut off the heads of Set and his fiends in the presence of Ra and Isis, and be dragged Set by his feet through the country with his spear sticking in his head and neck. After this Isis appointed Horus of Behutet to be the protecting deity of her son Horus. however, Set managed to escape, and he gathered about him the Smai and Seba fiends at the Lake of Meh, and waged war once more against Horus; the enemies of Ra were again defeated, and Horus slew them in the presence of his father.
I disagree with the popular interpretation that the war between Set and Heru was dualistic one between good and evil. On the contrary it was a war between rival political factions. Of course it wasn't just political but religious as well. One order of Heru being established as the unifying power in the Nile Valley which had opposition.
Horus, it seems, now ceased to fight for some time, and devoted himself to keeping guard over the "Great God" who was in An-rut-f, a district in or near Herakleopolis. This Great God was no other than Osiris, and the duty of Horus was to prevent the Smai fiends from coming by night to the place. In spite of the power of Horus, it was found necessary to summon the aid of Isis to keep away the fiends, and it was only by her words of power that the fiend Ba was kept out of the sanctuary. As a reward for what he had already done, Thoth decreed that Horus should be called the "Master-Fighter." Passing over the derivations of place-names which occur here in the text, we find that Horus and his Blacksmiths were again obliged to fight bodies of the enemy who had managed to escape, and that on one occasion they killed one hundred and six foes. In every fight the Blacksmiths performed mighty deeds of valour, and in reward for their services a special district was allotted to them to dwell in.
The last great fight in the North took place at Tanis, in the eastern part of the Delta. When the position of the enemy had been located, Horus took the form of a lion with the face of a man, and he put on his head the Triple Crown. His claws were like flints, and with them he dragged away one hundred and forty-two of the enemy, and tore them in pieces, and dug out their tongues, which he carried off as symbols of his victory.
Meanwhile rebellion had again broken out in Nubia, where about one-third of the enemy had taken refuge in the river in the forms of crocodiles and hippopotami. Ra counselled Horus to sail up the Nile with his Blacksmiths, and when Thoth had recited the "Chapters of protecting the Boat of Ra" over the boats, the expedition set sail for the South. The object of reciting these spells was to prevent the monsters which were in the river from making the waves to rise and from stirring up storms which might engulf the boats of Ra and Horus and the Blacksmiths. When the rebels and fiends who had been uttering, treason against Horus saw the boat of Ra, with the winged Disk of Horus accompanied by the goddesses Uatchet and Nekhebet in the form of serpents, they were smitten with fear, and their hearts quaked, and all power of resistance left them, and they died of fright straightway. When Horus returned in triumph to Edfu, Ra ordered that an image of the winged Disk should be placed in each of his sanctuaries, and that in every place wherein a winged Disk was set, that sanctuary should be a sanctuary of Horus of Behutet. The winged disks which are seen above the doorways of the temples still standing in Egypt show that the command of Ra, was faithfully carried out by the priests.
The war described is obviously one of unification and is very reminiscent of similar wars fought in different periods of Egypt's history by kings who sought to unify the country.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26238 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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The Edfu texts are simply a mythological retelling of how the nation was created in terms of the establishment of the nomes and key sites of worship. It basically says that the origin of kingship lay in the south and started with Ta-Seti, as in the first nome in the country, which is similar to the idea of pymmouth rock in United States history. As Ta Seti is the first nome, the idea is that this is where the king resided before moving North. This isn't about Ta Seti as southern kingdom but the first nome as the origin point for Ra-Harmakhis and Horus of Behutet. The fact that people keep trying to claim that this form of Ta-Seti represents "nubia" shows the problem of how people translate heiroglyphs and reinterpret them. Ta Seti is the first nome of Upper Kemet and was always the first nome and therefore not a "foreign land" of Nubia. And this tale is about how those nomes were founded in order starting with the first nome of Upper Egypt which is "Ta Seti". Obviously whether or not they call it "Nubia" doesn't change the point that the kingdom was founded starting in the South and moved north which matches up with everything known about the predynastic. So based on that it is obviously factual in the sense it is based on real events but given mythological treatment. It also shows that both Horus and Set are deities that both originated in the South as well.
Just look at the map below and you will see all the place names mentioned in the Edfu texts starting with Ta Seti.
quote: The word 'nome' is used in English-speaking Egyptology for each province of Egypt in ancient Egyptian (including Ptolemaic and Roman) history: it is taken from the Greek word 'nomos', meaning both 'law', 'custom', and a territory under the control of one governor.
The Ancient Egyptian word for 'nome' was 'sepat' (spAt), a word which, like the Greek, has the looser meaning of district.
In the Ptolemaic and Roman Period, the series of provinces amounted to a list of twenty-two for Upper Egypt, numbered from the First Cataract in the south to the region of Tarkhan in the north, and twenty for Lower Egypt.
The number of provinces in Upper Egypt seems to have been constant from the Old Kingdom (about 2686-2181 BC) onwards, whereas the number and position of the provinces in Lower Egypt varied, growing over time as marshes were converted to cultivated land and as the river branches of the Nile Delta shifted over the centuries.
Ptolemaic temples include lists of provinces with select religious features such as deities and cult places. An early and well-preserved example of such a list survives on the lower blocks of a chapel constructed for king Senusret I at Karnak (named the 'White Chapel' from its brilliant white limestone). In the New Kingdom (about 1550-1069 BC), Late Period and Ptolemaic Period, the list of provinces formed part of the inscriptions on the segmented sides of votive measuring rods of one cubit (52 cm) in length.
And this has to be taken in the context of the Nile itself as the ultimate source of everything in the cosomology of Kemet which flows from the South to the North and this includes many of the deities from Khnum to Sobek, Horus, Set, Hathor, etc. Not to mention many of the animals associated with these deities are also of Southern origin from the Lappet Faced Vulture, to the Nubian Spitting Cobra, the Crocodile, hippos and so forth.
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^ Where are you getting the establishment of the sepats from?? The only establishment I see in the story is the that of a centralized power. Many scholars believe that the sepats or districts of Egypt themselves are likely tribal territories. All definitions I've seen of the Egyptian word 'sepat' are that of district or province. The word is represented by this hieroglyph which many interpret to be irrigated land. Coincidentally one of the two Hebrew words for tribe is 'shebat' which literally means "branch" and was also the Canaanite word for tribe.
If these were all tribes, then to which ethnicities do they belong is the question? As I've mentioned, the ancient texts of the Egyptians mention two main ancestries for the Shemawi (Upper Egyptians) but interestingly they also mention two ancestries for the Mehui (Lower Egyptians) as well.
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Where are you getting the establishment of the sepats from?? The only establishment I see in the story is the that of a centralized power. Many scholars believe that the sepats or districts of Egypt themselves are likely tribal territories. All definitions I've seen of the Egyptian word 'sepat' are that of district or province. The word is represented by this hieroglyph which many interpret to be irrigated land. Coincidentally one of the two Hebrew words for tribe is 'shebat' which literally means "branch" and was also the Canaanite word for tribe.
If these were all tribes, then to which ethnicities do they belong is the question? As I've mentioned, the ancient texts of the Egyptians mention two main ancestries for the Shemawi (Upper Egyptians) but interestingly they also mention two ancestries for the Mehui (Lower Egyptians) as well.
I literally said it is a mythological retelling of the establishment of these sepats and they are referred to literally by name in the actual texts. What is it that you think you are debating me about because I am not even understanding this. Did you read the actual text or not?
Apparently the problem seems to be the sacred texts translation because there is another translation that makes it a bit clearer:
quote: In the three hundred and sixty-third year of Ra-Heru-Khuti, who liveth for ever and forever, His Majesty was in Ta-kens, and his soldiers were with him; [the enemy] did not conspire (auu) against their lord, and the land [is called] Uauatet unto this day.
(DM: basically Wawat is established along with Ta-Seti as the first nome).
3. And Ra set out on an expedition in his boat, and his followers were with him, and he arrived at Uthes-heru, [which lay to] the west of this nome, and to the east of the canal Pakhennu, which is called [....... to this day]. And Heru-Behutet was in the boat of Ra, and he said unto his father Ra-Heru-Khuti, I see that the enemies are conspiring against their lord; let thy fiery serpent gain the mastery ..... over them."
Then the Majesty of Ra Harmachis said unto thy divine Ka, O Heru-Behutet, O son of Ra, thou exalted one, who didst proceed from me, overthrow thou the enemies who are before thee straightway." And Heru-Behutet flew up into the horizon in the form of the great Winged Disk, for which reason he is called "Great god, lord of heaven," unto this day. And when he saw the enemies in the heights of heaven he set out to follow after them in the form of the great Winged Disk, and he attacked with such terrific force those who opposed him, 2 that they could neither see with their eyes nor hear with their ears, and each of them slew his fellow. In a moment of time there was not a single creature left alive. Then Heru Behutet, shining with very many colours, came in the form of the great Winged Disk to the Boat of Ra-Harmachis, and Thoth said unto Pa, "O Lord of the gods, Behutet hath returned in the form of the great Winged Disk, shining [with many colours] ..... children;" for this reason he is called Heru-Behutet unto this day. And Thoth said, "The city Teb shall be called the city of Heru-Behutet," and thus is it called unto this day.
for this reason he is called Heru-Behutet unto this day. And Thoth said, "The city Teb shall be called the city of Heru-Behutet," and thus is it called unto this day. And Ra embraced the ...... of Ra, and said unto Heru-Behutet, "Thou didst put grapes into the water which cometh forth from it, and thy heart rejoiced thereat;" and for this reason the water (or, canal) of Heru-Behutet is called "[Grape-Water]" unto this day, and the ........... unto this day. 4. And Heru-Behutet said, "Advance, O Ra, and look thou upon thine enemies who are lying under thee on this land;" thereupon the Majesty of Ra set out on the way, and the goddess Asthertet was with him, and he saw the enemies overthrown on the ground, each one of them being fettered. Then said Ra to Heru-Behutet, 5 "There is sweet life in this place," and for this reason the abode of the palace of Heru-Behutet is called "Sweet Life" unto this day. And Ra, said unto Thoth, "[Here was the slaughter] of mine enemies;" and the place is called Teb unto this day.
And Thoth said unto Heru-Behutet, "Thou art a great protector (makaa);" and 6 the Boat of Heru-Behutet is called Makaa unto this day. Then said Ra unto the gods who were in his following, "Behold now, let us sail in our boat upon the water, for our hearts are glad because our enemies have been overthrown on the earth;" and the water where the great god sailed is 7 called P-Khen-Ur unto this day.
(DM: The Second Nome: Throne of Horus is established followed by the Third Nome: Shrine and Fourth Nome:Scepter with Horus leading the charge promoting maat under Ra as in unified government)
And behold the enemies [of Ra] rushed into the water, and they took the forms of [crocodiles and] hippopotami, but nevertheless Ra-Heru-Khuti sailed over the waters in his boat, and when the crocodiles and the hippopotami had come nigh unto him, they opened wide their jaws in order to destroy Ra-Heru-Khuti. 8. And when Heru-Behutet arrived and his followers who were behind him in the forms of workers in metal, each having in his hands an iron spear and a chain, according to his name, they smote the crocodiles and the hippopotami; and there were brought in there straightway six hundred and fifty-one crocodiles, 9 which had been slain before the city of Edfu. Then spake Ra-Harmachis unto Heru-Behutet, "My Image shall be [here] in the land of the South, (which is a house of victory (or, strength);" and the House of Heru-Behutet is called Nekht-Het unto this day.
1. Then the god Thoth spake, after he had looked upon the enemies lying upon the ground, saying, "Let your hearts rejoice, O ye gods of heaven ! Let your hearts rejoice, O ye gods who are in the earth! Horus, the Youthful One, cometh in peace, and he hath made manifest on his journey deeds of very great might, which he hath performed according to the Book of Slaying the Hippopotamus." And from that day figures of Heru-Behutet in metal have existed. Then Heru-Behutet took upon himself the form of the Winged Disk, and he placed himself upon the front of the Boat of Ra
(DM: and it goes on basically literally calling out every nome as being explicitly named as a reflection of the events in this mythic battle)
Of course the issue is the various translations aren't consistent but the overall gist of the myth is clear.
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^ The text is obviously a foundational myth especially in regards to the 2nd Nome itself with its city of Edfu. I am just curious as to the identities of the foes they speak of. The protagonists are the Mesenitu but who are the enemies? Anu?? They are obviously described as rebels against the new order or regime, though I find it interesting that this rebellion runs from Lower Nubia (Wawat) all the way down river up to the shores of the Delta.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26238 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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Note that the upper Egyptian sepat #3 is called 'Throne of Horus' and the site of the ancient city of Nekhen which was the ancient predynastic and early dynastic capital of the Nile kingdom. And this nome is to the south of Nubt/Naqada, sepat #5 which is the domain of the deity Set and associated with the predynastic Naqada culture.
quote: Nekhen, ( Ancient Egyptian: nḫn) also known as Hierakonpolis (romanized: Hierakan polis;[2] either: City of the Hawk,[3] or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus;[4] Egyptian Arabic: romanized: el-Kom el-Aḥmar, lit. 'the Red Mound'[5]) was the religious and political capital of Upper Egypt at the end of prehistoric Egypt (c. 3200–3100 BC) and probably also during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3100–2686 BC).
The oldest known tomb with painted decoration, a mural on its plaster walls, is located in Nekhen and is thought to date to c. 3500–3200 BC. It shares distinctive imagery with artifacts from the Gerzeh culture.
Then you have Nome #4 which is Waset (modern day Luxor), which is another ancient capital of the Nile.
quote: Thebes, known to the ancient Egyptians as Waset, was an ancient Egyptian city located along the Nile about 800 kilometers (500 mi) south of the Mediterranean. Its ruins lie within the modern Egyptian city of Luxor. Thebes was the main city of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome (Sceptre nome) and was the capital of Egypt for long periods during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom eras. It was close to Nubia and the Eastern Desert, with its valuable mineral resources and trade routes. It was a cult center and the most venerated city during many periods of ancient Egyptian history. The site of Thebes includes areas on both the eastern bank of the Nile, where the temples of Karnak and Luxor stand and where the city was situated; and the western bank, where a necropolis of large private and royal cemeteries and funerary complexes can be found. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Then the next nome is the 5th nome, called Nubt, which is the ancient center of Seth worship and associated with gold and the gold trade. This region is also associated with the predynastic culture called "Naqada".
Interesting article on Nubt pointing out that there were 3 competing confederacies between the 5th nome, the 4th nome and the 2nd nome:
quote: Nubt is justly revered as a site that has been used since predynastic times. Our elders say it was one of the largest predynastic sites in ancient times. There may have been a planned town here 100 years before the first dynasty.
Around 3500-3000 BC, there were three confederacies in Upper Kemet. One was the Confederacy of Nubt, which included the towns of Nubt, Gebtu, Gesy, Madu, Wast (Thebes), Iuny (Armant), and Djerty. There was also the Confederacy of Abydos and the Confederacy of Nekhen.
Over time, Egyptians have gone on pilgrimages to Nubt, Nekhen, and Abedju because of their ties to the early leaders. Nubt was the necropolis for the first dynasty, and with Gebtu, it was in a good position to be the center of the predynastic gold trade. Set was born around here and was connected to kings from the Early Dynasty on. First Dynasty queens had a title "she who sees Horus and Set." Peribsen from the 2nd Dynasty emphasized Set.
We have found lots of pottery and cylinder seals with names like Narmer, Aha, and so on. Cylinder seals are carved seals that came to Egypt in predynastic or Early Dynastic times, probably from far off Sumeria. Egyptians used the seals to imprint titles onto clay. Some had metal handles. Many in the early dynasties were held in the hand and were shaped like a scarab. They could be made of black steatite, serpentine, ivory, or wood, and they could be carried on the cord around the neck. Three kilometers northwest of what seers say will be the village of Naqada is a mastaba reputed to have stone vases and ivory labels and clay sealings with the name of Aha and Neithhotep.
Some say there are remains of predynastic Nubt in what they call the "South Town." They say predynastic Nubt probably had 50-250 people and covered a few thousand square meters to three hectares. It was a walled town of brick, connected to cemeteries. Cemetery T is rumored to be a rich cemetery, with 2,149 graves in 17 acres. But don't go digging. One person claims they weren't digging, but they did find a sherd fragment from a large black-topped red-ware vase (from Naqada I). The sherd has what looks like the red crown Narmer wears on his macehead. As everyone knows, the Red Crown is later associated with Lower Egypt. Could the symbolic Red Crown have been applied to the Lower Egypt but really started in our city? Red is of course associated with Set, and Nubt is a center for Set. Could the red color originally refer to him? The next time you see a picture of the red crown, think of Nubt.
quote: 3. Following unification and during the Early Dynastic Period of 3000-2700 BC the first 2 dynasties completed the unification of Egypt and created the underpinnings of its social order.
However, residual competition among the previous centers of power may well have continued into the early dynastic period.
4. This consolidation probably happened in the context of traditional rivalry between the towns and deities of Hierakonpolis/Abydos (Horus) and Naqada (Seth), each vying for supremacy. The Abydos rulers ultimately prevailed with king Narmer’s ascendancy and Horus became the first dominant deity of united Egypt while Seth retained a more restricted identification as probably the most prominent divinity of Upper Egypt (see the Memphite Theology lecture).
5. Archaeologically, we see this competition through the changing burial locations of the 2nd Dynasty Kings. The early kings transferred their burial site from Upper Egypt (Abydos) to a new royal cemetery near their new capital, Memphis, in Lower Egypt, and their use of the Horus deity in their symbols of kingship. However, two of the later 2nd Dynasty kings (Peribsen and Khasekhemwy) moved this important site back south to Abydos in Upper Egypt and adopted the symbols of the rival divinity, Seth.
And as the article above says the movement of the capital from the South to the North into Memphis reflects some of the themes found in the Edfu texts. As the early seats of power were in various locations in the South among various rival factions, which established the mythologies surrounding the rise of Horus and Ra as deities symbolizing kingship along with Seth as a rival. And all of this then moved North and laid the foundation of the cosmology of the unified state in the Old Kingdom, before things again fragmented and the capital was briefly moved back to the South in the Middle Kingdom under new Southern Kings promoting Amun worship which was formalized into Waset being the capital of the country in the New Kingdom.
More on these confederacies:
quote: Thinis was the capital city of pre unification Upper Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes (or Narmer), united Egypt and was its first pharaoh. Thinis began a steep decline in importance when the capital was relocated to Memphis, which was thought to be the first true and stable capital after the unification of Egypt by Menes. Thinis's location on the border of the competing Heracleopolitan and Theban dynasties of the First Intermediate Period and its proximity to certain oases of possible military importance ensured Thinis some continued significance in the Old and New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.
Due to its ancient heritage, Thinis remained a significant religious centre, housing the tomb and mummy of the regional deity. In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology, as seen (for example) in the Book of the Dead, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven.
Although the precise location of Thinis is unknown, mainstream Egyptological consensus places it in the vicinity of ancient Abydos and modern Girga.
Which again reflects some of what is seen in the Edfu texts as a movement of political structure and organization progressively from South to North.
Also, as I said before, the animals seen in the myths are for the most part African animals. And the keeping of these animals in zoos or containment areas is also ancient.
quote: Strange animal burials at the ancient Egyptian capital of Hierakonpolis point to the existence of a large, exotic menagerie around 3500 B.C. The 2009 field season produced 10 dogs, a baby hippo, a hartebeest, a cow and calf, and an elephant. The tally for this Predynastic period zoo now stands at 112 critters, including 2 elephants, 3 hippos, 11 baboons, and 6 wildcats.
Hierakonpolis, on the Nile south of Luxor, was settled by 4000 B.C., and by the time these animals were buried around 500 years later, was Egypt's largest urban center. The animal burials are in the city's elite cemetery, where rulers and their family members, along with retainers--some possibly sacrificed--were interred. Hierakonpolis Expedition director Renee Friedman found evidence indicating that the city's powerful rulers kept the animals in captivity, almost as in a zoo. Baboons (including the one at left), a wild cat, and a hippo show signs of bone fractures that can only have healed in a protected environment. A 10-year-old male elephant had eaten twigs from acacia trees as well as wild and cultivated plants from varied environments, suggesting it was being fed.
The animals were accorded special treatment in death. A large wild aurochs had been buried in human fashion, its body covered with matting and pottery, and accompanied by a human figurine. The newly excavated elephant had been buried lying on a reed mat and covered with linen. Friedman believes the menagerie was a display of power and that the animals were likely sacrificed on the death of a ruler. But this was not, she says, simply the power to kill and bury large and exotic animals. For the ruler, it was also the power to control them and potentially become them, taking their natural, physical power as his own.
As for the validity of the Edfu texts they are primarily mythic as opposed to literal historic narratives. However, they are useful in comparison to the other historic narratives surrounding the history of unification which also came in the late period from Manetho.
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^ Just one correction. The 'Throne of Horus' is the 2nd sepat, Watjes Hor. The 3rd sepat is Nekhen nicknamed the shrine city. The patron deity of Nekhen is the hawk god Nekheny the twin city across the Nile from Nekhen is Nekheb which is home of the vulture goddess Nekhbet.
The Edu text gives its own version of the founding myth of Egypt or rather unification of the country. I'm sure there are other traditions from other nomes, though Edu is significant because of its posterity as well as their sacred symbol that is the behedet.
This symbol was the official symbol of the nesu's (king's) heavenly authority throughout dynastic times.
Interestingly, there is still much information lacking when it comes to the 1st sepat of Ta-Seti Niwt.
-------------------- Mahirap gisingin ang nagtutulog-tulugan. Posts: 26238 | From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA | Registered: Feb 2005
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Thanks DJ, I was trying to keep track of multiple sources and cutting and pasting.
The thing I see is that basically Manetho generalizes the history into a very simple Upper Nile vs Lower Nile conflict leading up to unification under Narmer. But the Edfu texts and the actual archaeology of the predynastic and early dynastic present a more gradual process of consolidation over time starting in the South and eventually consolidating the entire region up to the Delta. Not only that many of the predynastic artifacts reflect the mythology of the Edfu texts as well in terms of the symbolism of the king defeating enemies and unifying the provinces, basically one at a time under the sign of Horus.
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Thanks for helping me understand the texts a bit better. I'd argue the most interesting figure mentioned in the text is Ra-Harmakis and who the mythological figure may have been based on. He most likely came from Ta-Seti Nwt as we know that the A-Group Nubians had developed Kingship before the Egyptians did, so maybe he was one of those kings? Another interesting fact is that Harmakis is what the AE called the Sphinx, so maybe it was made to represent him?
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quote:Originally posted by Doug M: Thanks DJ, I was trying to keep track of multiple sources and cutting and pasting.
The thing I see is that basically Manetho generalizes the history into a very simple Upper Nile vs Lower Nile conflict leading up to unification under Narmer. But the Edfu texts and the actual archaeology of the predynastic and early dynastic present a more gradual process of consolidation over time starting in the South and eventually consolidating the entire region up to the Delta. Not only that many of the predynastic artifacts reflect the mythology of the Edfu texts as well in terms of the symbolism of the king defeating enemies and unifying the provinces, basically one at a time under the sign of Horus.
It sucks that modern Egyptology only references Manetho's writings when trying to contextualize the pre-dynastic wars. As, it gives off the impression that Northern Egypt had formed a single unified Kingdom that fought against the south, which isn't well supported by archeological evidence.
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which many interpret to be irrigated land. Coincidentally one of the two Hebrew words for tribe is 'shebat' which literally means "branch" and was also the Canaanite word for tribe.
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