- Semerkhet
Pharaoh Infobox | Name= Semerkhet|
Caption= Ivory label of the Pharaoh Semerkhet (British Museum )
Horus= Semerkhet
HorusHiero=s-U23-F32
Reign= 9 years
Predecessor=Anedjib
Successor=Qa'a
Children=Qa'a ?
Burial= Tomb inUmm el-Qa'ab , Abydos
Monuments= Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab
Dynasty=1st Dynasty
Alt=Africanus: Semempsês, Eusebius: Semempsês, MempsesSemerkhet was the sixth king of
Ancient Egypt 's First Dynasty who ruled around 2950 BC. Although little is known of his reign, Semerkhet seems to have had a difficult time as king judging by the records ofManetho .Manetho states that there were numerous disasters in Semerkhet's reign but he alleges that this was because Semerkhet was anusurper to the throne. It is considered that Semerkhet deliberately erased Anedjib's name from numerous artifacts, but Semerket's own name was later omitted from the Saqqara King List. He did, however, manage to build a much larger royaltomb thanAnedjib despite his short 9 year reign. Semerkhet is only otherwise known from one or two contemporary artifacts and, more importantly, in thePalermo Stone Annals.Reign
Although the third century BCE Egyptian priest
Manetho records that this king ruled Egypt for eighteen years, and theTurin Canon (where he is called Semsem) gives him 72 years, these figures are considered less reliable than the 5th dynastyPalermo Stone . Toby Wilkinson, in his analysis of the Palermo Stone in "Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt", specifically notes that Cairo Fragment One register III of this document gives: "Semerkhet 8 1/2 years (this figure is certain, since the entire reign is recorded [here] ." [Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000. pp.78 & 258] Semerkhet's royal name, written in aserekh , was also preserved in this section of the document; hence, the nine-year reign can only belong to him. Wilkinson concludes that this king had a reign of 9 full or partial years. [Wilkinson, "Royal Annals", op. cit., p.80]The only events listed on the Palermo Stone for his short reign appear to be religious observances. There is an ivory seal mentioning his name as well as that of Henuka, a dignitary who seems to have ministered to Semerkhet as well as to his successor,
Qa'a . A certain lady named 'Batirytes' is named as Semerkhet's mother in the Cairo Annals fragment of the Palermo Stone. [Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson (2004), pp.46 & 48]Semerkhet is buried in Tomb U of the royal
necropolis atUmm el-Qa'ab , near Abydos. His name means "Thoughtful Friend." [Peter Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs, Thames & Hudson Ltd., p.16]References
*Toby A. H. Wilkinson, "Early Dynastic Egypt", Routledge, London/New York 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1, 79-80
*Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000.* [http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/kingsemerhket.html Semerket]
See also
*
Pharaoh
*List of Pharaohs
*First dynasty of Egypt
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