Early Dynastic Egypt

EARLY DYNASTIC EGYPT

EARLY DYNASTIC EGYPT

Toby A.H.Wilkinson

London and New York

First published 1999 by Routledge

11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge

29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.

© 1999 Toby A.H.Wilkinson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

Wilkinson, Toby A.H.

Early Dynastic Egypt/Toby A.H.Wilkinson

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p.378) and index.

1. Egypt—History—To 332 B.C. I. Title DT85.W49 1999

932′.012–dc21 98–35836 CIP

ISBN 0-203-02438-9 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 0-203-20421-2 (Adobe e-Reader Format) ISBN 0-415-18633-1 (Print Edition)

For Benjamin

CONTENTS

List of plates
ix

List of figures
x

Prologue
xii

Acknowledgements
xvii

PART I INTRODUCTION

1. Egyptology and the Early Dynastic Period 2
   
2. Birth of a Nation State 23
   
3. Historical Outline 50
   

   PART II
   

   THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AUTHORITY
   

4. Administration 92
   
5. Foreign Relations 127
   
6. Kingship 155
   
7. Royal Mortuary Architecture 198
   
8. Cults and Shrines 225
   

   PART III
   

   THE DIVERSITY OF LOCAL EXPERIENCE
   

9. The Rise of Urbanism 280
   
10. The Regions of Egypt 297
    

Epilogue
316

Glossary
317

Bibliography
327

Index
356

PLATES
‌

1. The Umm el-Qaab at Abydos
   3
   
2. Mastaba K1 at Belt Khallaf
   5
   
3. The Early Dynastic cemetery at Tarkhan
   7
   
4. An élite First Dynasty tomb at North Saqqara
   8
   
5. The Early Dynastic necropolis at Helwan/el-Maasara
   10
   
6. Tell el-Fara’in
   17
   

1. Abu Rawash
   64
   
2. King Ninetjer
   73
   

1. The emblem of the Sed-festival
   184
   
2. Palace-facade architecture, 2
   196
   

1. The tomb of Qaa
   204
   
2. The unfinished step pyramid complex of Sekhemkhet at Saqqara
   218
   

8.1 Markers of the royal cult
240

FIGURES
‌

1. Depictions of deities
   227
   
2. Human sacrifice
   230
   
3. Divine images
   232
   
4. Royal cult statues
   238
   
5. Early Dynastic cult dedications
   242
   
6. The goddess Mafdet
   250
   
7. Festivals involving a divine bark
   261
   
8. Early Dynastic shrines and temples
   266
   
9. Early cult at Buto, 1: the sacred bull
   275
   
10. Early cult at Buto, 2: the Djebaut shrine
    277
    

9.1 Elkab
287

1. Map of the Hierakonpolis region showing sites mentioned in the text
   300
   
2. Map of the Abydos region showing sites mentioned in the text
   305
   
3. Map of the Memphite region showing sites mentioned in the text
   310
   

PROLOGUE‌

Ancient Egypt holds a unique fascination. No other civilisation of the ancient world has such popular appeal, none is as significant for the history of human society and its organisation. The valley of the River Nile witnessed the world’s first example of that enduring and now omnipresent political structure, the nation state. Today, practically the entire land surface of the earth is divided among nation states, which number nearly two hundred. But the origins of this phenomenon go back five thousand years, to the formation of a unified territory and government in Egypt. Moreover, that government, centred on the royal court and the person of the king, succeeded in creating and promoting an élite culture which expressed itself on a grand scale. Hence, ancient Egyptian civilisation has left an unparalleled series of monuments to allure and intrigue countless generations of visitors.

The pyramids of the Old Kingdom are perhaps the most remarkable, and certainly the most captivating, of Egyptian monuments. Those at Giza were hailed as one of the wonders of the ancient world; to modern eyes they are perhaps the quintessential symbol of the ancient Egyptians’ extraordinary creativity and craftsmanship. Yet the cultural and political developments which led to the construction of the pyramids have been comparatively neglected. Without central control of the economy, the royal court would not have had the resources to engage in monumental building projects. Without the ability to command the necessary manpower, the pyramids could not have been raised. Without the religious and ideological motivation, the construction of huge funerary monuments would, quite literally, never have got off the ground. All these prerequisites for pyramid-building have their roots in the Early Dynastic period. Hence to understand the most potent symbols of ancient Egypt, we must look at what went before. Five hundred years separate the birth of the Egyptian state and the erection of the pyramids. This half-millennium constitutes the formative period of civilisation in the Nile valley, when Egypt’s early kings developed the mechanisms of rule and the élite culture that were to characterise their country for the next three thousand years. This crucially important formative stage is the subject of the current work.

The chapters that follow seek to explain not only the background to the formation of the Egyptian state, but also the means by which its early rulers controlled the people, the land and its resources. Central authority, however, is only one side of the coin. At all periods, Egypt’s governing élite strove to convey the impression that the nation was unified politically and culturally, that all its institutions revolved around the king and took their lead from the royal court. The true picture is rather more complex: in reality, local and regional concerns were important, and often had a direct impact on the pace and direction of change. Egypt was never a monolithic state, despite the wishes and protestations of its rulers. The current work addresses this interesting question, examining the character of Early Dynastic Egypt at the provincial level.