Study about King Semerkhet of the 1st Dynasty

Hafez, Noha

doi:10.21608/jaauth.2021.101293.1255

Study about King Semerkhet of the 1st Dynasty

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Noha Hafez

Tourism Guidance, Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Suez Canal University

10.21608/jaauth.2021.101293.1255

Abstract

smr-Xt is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king. He was the 7^th king of the 1^st Dynasty (2930-2920 BC). He was the first Egyptian ruler with a fully developed Nebty name. Manetho called Semerkhet “Semempses” and credited him with a reign continued for 18 years. On the other hand, Turin Canon credited him with a long reign of 72 years. Nowadays, Egyptologists consider both opinions as kind of exaggerations and credited Semerkhet with a reign of 8 ½ years. The last opinion is based on the Cairo Stone Inscription, where the complete reign of Semerkhet has been recorded. Semerkhet is well documented in archeological records. His name was found on vessels made of schist, alabaster, marble and breccia. His name also appeared on ivory tags and jar seals. These various objects that bear Semerkhet’s name and titles came from Abydos and Saqqara. This research aims to study and analyze the reigning period of the king Semerkhet, to collect the representations of the king in order to understand his titles, and to spot the light on the king’s monuments and works. The research framework is an historical, artistic study for tracking the monumental works of king Semerkhet. The research is a combined study between both descriptive and analytical sides.

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