First Dynasty of Egypt

All years (rightmost column) are BC (BCE)

First Dynasty	I	c. 3150–2890
Second Dynasty	II	2890–2686

Old Kingdom

Third Dynasty	III	2686–2613
Fourth Dynasty	IV	2613–2498
Fifth Dynasty	V	2498–2345
Sixth Dynasty	VI	2345–2181

First Intermediate

Seventh and Eighth Dynasties	VII/VIII	2181–2160
Ninth Dynasty	IX	2160–2130
Tenth Dynasty	X	2130–2040
Early Eleventh Dynasty	XI	2134–2061

Middle Kingdom

Late Eleventh Dynasty	XI	2061–1991
Twelfth Dynasty	XII	1991–1803
Thirteenth Dynasty	XIII	1803–1649
Fourteenth Dynasty	XIV	1705–1690

Second Intermediate

Fifteenth Dynasty	XV	1674–1535
Sixteenth Dynasty	XVI	1660–1600
Abydos Dynasty		1650–1600
Seventeenth Dynasty	XVII	1580–1549

New Kingdom

Eighteenth Dynasty	XVIII	1549–1292
Nineteenth Dynasty	XIX	1292–1189
Twentieth Dynasty	XX	1189–1077

Third Intermediate

Twenty-first Dynasty	XXI	1069–945
Twenty-second Dynasty	XXII	945–720
Twenty-third Dynasty	XXIII	837–728
Twenty-fourth Dynasty	XXIV	732–720
Twenty-fifth Dynasty	XXV	732–653

Late Period

Twenty-sixth Dynasty	XXVI	672–525
Twenty-seventh Dynasty (1st Persian Period)	XXVII	525–404
Twenty-eighth Dynasty	XXVIII	404–398
Twenty-ninth Dynasty	XXIX	398–380
Thirtieth Dynasty	XXX	380–343
Thirty-first Dynasty (2nd Persian Period)	XXXI	343–332

Ptolemaic (Hellenistic)

Argead Dynasty	332–305
Ptolemaic Kingdom	305–30

The First Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty I^[1]) covers the first series of Egyptian kings to rule over a unified Egypt. It immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, possibly by Narmer, and marks the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, a time at which power was centered at Thinis.

The date of this period is subject to scholarly debate about the Egyptian chronology. It falls within the early Bronze Age and is variously estimated to have begun anywhere between the 34th and the 30th centuries BC. In a 2013 study based on radiocarbon dates, the beginning of the First Dynasty - the accession of Hor-Aha - was placed close to 3100 BCE (3218–3035, with 95% confidence).^[2]

Rulers

Known rulers in the history of Egypt for the First Dynasty are as follows:

Name	Dates	Notes
Narmer/Menes(?)	c. 32nd century (?)	Mainstream opinion identifies Narmer with Menes, however a minority of scholars identify Menes with Hor-Aha.^[3]
Hor-Aha	starting 3080 ± 30 BCE (p = 0.32)^[4]
Djer	c. 3073–3036 BCE 41 years
Djet	3008–2975 BCE?
Merneith (mother of Den)	3008? 2946–2916 BCE
Den	2975–2935-2911 BCE or 2928–2911 BCE 19 to 50 years (42 years)
Anedjib	2916–2896 BCE 20 years
Semerkhet	2912–2891 BCE? 20 years
Qa'a	2906–2886 BCE? 30 years

Information about this dynasty is derived from a few monuments and other objects bearing royal names, the most important being the Narmer Palette and Narmer Macehead, as well as Den and Qa'a king lists.^[5] No detailed records of the first two dynasties have survived, except for the terse lists on the Palermo Stone. The account in Manetho's Aegyptiaca contradicts both the archeological evidence and the other historical records: Manetho names nine rulers of the First Dynasty, only one of whose names matches the other sources, and offers information for only four of them.^[6] Egyptian hieroglyphs were fully developed by then, and their shapes would be used with little change for more than three thousand years.

Large tombs of pharaohs at Abydos and Naqada, in addition to cemeteries at Saqqara and Helwan near Memphis, reveal structures built largely of wood and mud bricks, with some small use of stone for walls and floors. Stone was used in quantity for the manufacture of ornaments, vessels, and occasionally, for statues. Tamarix ("tamarisk" or "salt cedar") was used to build boats such as the Abydos boats. One of the most important indigenous woodworking techniques was the fixed mortise and tenon joint. A ﬁxed tenon was made by shaping the end of one timber to ﬁt into a mortise (hole) that is cut into a second timber. A variation of this joint using a free tenon eventually became one of the most important features in Mediterranean and Egyptian shipbuilding. It creates a union between two planks or other components by inserting a separate tenon into a cavity (mortise) of the corresponding size cut into each component."^[7]

Human sacrifice as part of royal funerary practice

Human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with all of the pharaohs of the first dynasty.^[8] It is clearly demonstrated as existing during this dynasty by retainers being buried near each pharaoh's tomb as well as animals sacrificed for the burial. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals.^[8] The people and animals sacrificed, such as donkeys, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty, with ushabtis taking the place of actual people to aid the pharaohs with the work expected of them in the afterlife.^[8]

References

↑ Kuhrt 1995, p. 118.
↑ Dee, M.; Wengrow, D.; Shortland, A.; Stevenson, A.; Brock, F.; Girdland Flink, L.; Bronk Ramsey, C. (4 September 2013). "An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 469 (2159): 20130395–20130395. doi:10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.
↑ Dee et al. (2013) note: "For this study, we take the foundation date to refer to the accession of king Aha of the First Dynasty, although his predecessor, Narmer, most probably held political control over the whole state. Historical foundation dates vary widely and recent estimates range from 3400 to 2900 BCE."
↑ Dee et al. 2013: " our analysis generates a chronometric date for the foundation of Egypt (accession of king Aha) of 3111–3045 BCE (68% hpd range; median 3085 BCE) or 3218–3035 BCE (95% hpd range)."
↑ "Qa'a and Merneith lists", Xoomer, IT: Virgilio .
↑ Manetho, Fr. 6, 7a, 7b. Text and translation in Manetho, translated by W.G. Waddell (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1940), pp. 27-35
↑ "Early ship construction – Khufu's solar boat", Egypt (Timeline), IL: Reshafim, January 2001, retrieved October 29, 2008 .
1 2 3 Shaw 2000, p. 68.

Bibliography

Kuhrt, Amélie (1995), The Ancient Near East: c. 3000–330 BC, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-01353-6 .
Shaw, Ian (2000), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-280458-8

First Dynasty of Egypt

Rulers

Human sacrifice as part of royal funerary practice

References

Bibliography

See also