Sanakht

Sanakht
Nebka
Relief fragment of pharaoh Sanakht, shown in the pose of smiting an enemy. On display at the British Museum.
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	ca. 2686–2667 BC, 3rd Dynasty
Predecessor	Likely Djoser
Successor	Sekhemkhet?
Royal titulary Horus name: Sanakht

Sanakht(e), generally identified with the Nebka of much later king lists, was probably either the first or second pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The dates assigned to his reign by Shaw are ca. 2686-2667 BC; for various conjectures of other scholars, see the Ancient Egypt History and Chronology. Sanakht's name means strong protection.

Biography

Sanakht's position in the royal family is not entirely clear. It has been suggested that Sanakht married Queen Nimaethap. In this theory, Nimaethap is considered to be the daughter of Khasekhemwy with Sanakht and Nimaethap being the parents of Djoser (Netjerikhet). Others have suggested that Sanakht should be identified with Nimaethap's son Nebka and conjecture that he was the founder of the Third Dynasty. Presently Sanakht is more commonly thought to date to the Third Dynasty after Djoser. ^[1]

While Sanakht's existence is attested by a mastaba tomb and a graffito, among other objects, his position as the founder of the Third Dynasty, as recorded by Manetho and the Turin Canon, has been seriously undermined by recent archaeological discoveries at Abydos.

These discoveries establish that it was likely Djoser who helped bury—and thus succeed—Khasekhemwy, rather than Sanakht. This is determined from seals found at the entrance to the latter's tomb bearing Djoser's name.^[2]

It appears instead, that Sanakht was a later king of the third dynasty. Unlike Djoser, few relics survive from Sanakht's reign, which also casts serious doubts on the traditional figure of an eighteen year reign for this king, as given by both Manetho and the Turin Canon.

It must be stressed that the Turin Canon and Manetho were more than one and two thousand years removed from the time of Egypt's third dynasty, and would be expected to contain some inaccurate or unreliable data. The Turin Canon, for instance, was transcribed on papyri that dates to the reign of the New Kingdom king, Ramesses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279-1213 BC.

A large mastaba near Abydos contained some fragments bearing the name of Sanakht. It also contained skeletal remains, which may have been those of this king. Manetho also credited a certain late 2nd dynasty king he calls Sesochris as being particularly tall, which may refer to these remains.

See also

• List of Pharaohs
• List of Egyptian pyramids
• List of megalithic sites

References

1. ^ M. Verner, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Cultureand Science of Egypt's Great Monuments, pg 105, 116
2. ^ Toby Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, (1999), p. 83 & 95

External links

• Egyptian kings: Sanakht