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Djer (or Zer or Sekhty) is considered the third
pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid- thirty-first century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by
Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egypt ...
, but was discarded by
Émile Brugsch Émile Brugsch (February 24, 1842 – January 14, 1930) was a German Egyptologist whose career spanned the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is known as the official who "evacuated" the mummies from the Deir el-Bahri Cache in 1881 without reco ...
.


Name

The Abydos King List lists the third pharaoh as ''Iti'', the
Turin King List The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin. The papyrus is the most extensive list ava ...
lists a damaged name, beginning with ''It...'', while
Manetho Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
lists ''Uenéphes''.
Jürgen von Beckerath Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920, Hanover – 26 June 2016, Schlehdorf) was a German Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '' Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journal of t ...
in the Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (1999) translates the hieroglyphs of the name Djer as "Defender of Horus."


Length of reign

Although the Egyptian priest Manetho, writing in the third century BC, stated that Djer ruled for 57 years, modern research by Toby Wilkinson in ''Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt'' stresses that the near-contemporary and therefore, more accurate Palermo Stone ascribes Djer a reign of "41 complete and partial years." Wilkinson notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved in
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), the ...
II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II of Cairo stone fragment ''C1''.


Reign

Djer's reign was preceded by a regency controlled by
Neithhotep Neithhotep or Neith-hotep was an ancient Egyptian queen consort living and ruling during the early First Dynasty. She was once thought to be a male ruler: her outstandingly large mastaba and the royal serekh surrounding her name on several sea ...
, possibly his mother or grandmother. The evidence for Djer's life and reign is: * Tomb in
Umm el-Qa'ab Umm El Qaʻāb (sometimes romanised Umm El Gaʻab, ar, أم القعاب) is a necropolis of the Early Dynastic Period kings at Abydos, Egypt. Its modern name means "Mother of Pots" as the whole area is littered with the broken pot shards of of ...
, Abydos * Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in
Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...
* Inscriptions in graves 3503, 3506 and 3035 in Saqqara * Seal impression and inscriptions from
Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now de ...
* Jar from Turah with the name of Djer * UC 1618
ivory tablet from Abydos
subsidiary tomb 612 of the enclosure of Djer * UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer * Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, however) at
Wadi Halfa Wādī Ḥalfā ( ar, وادي حلفا) is a city in the Northern state of Sudan on the shores of Lake Nubia near the border with Egypt. It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferr ...
,
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
The inscriptions, on
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
and wood, are in a very early form of
hieroglyphs A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatonis ...
, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice of
human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...
. An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djer visited
Buto Buto ( grc, Βουτώ, ar, بوتو, ''Butu''), Bouto, Butus ( grc, links=no, Βοῦτος, ''Boutos'')Herodotus ii. 59, 63, 155. or Butosus was a city that the Ancient Egyptians called Per-Wadjet. It was located 95 km east of Alexandri ...
and
Sais Sais ( grc, Σάϊς, cop, Ⲥⲁⲓ) was an ancient Egyptian city in the Western Nile Delta on the Canopic branch of the Nile,Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. "Saïs." '' Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfiel ...
in the
Nile Delta The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Po ...
. One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of ''
Setjet The Setjet (Egyptian: ''Sṯt'') were a people in conflict with the early Egyptian rulers of the First Dynasty of Egypt. One of the year labels of Pharaoh Djer mentions the "smiting (the land of) Setjet". Setjet was presumably a region to the north ...
''", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.
Manetho Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...
claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.


Family

Djer was a son of the pharaoh
Hor-Aha Hor-Aha (or Aha or Horus Aha) is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, while others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have h ...
and his wife
Khenthap Khenthap (also written Khenet-Hapi) was allegedly a queen of Ancient Egypt. She is said to have lived during the 1st Dynasty. Her historical figure is very obscure, since there are no contemporary sources for her name. She appears only once in a ...
. His grandfather was probably
Narmer Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...
. Djer fathered
Merneith Merneith (also written Merit-neith and Meryt-Neith) was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the First Dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right, based on several official records. If this was the case and the earli ...
, wife of
Djet Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji (in Greek possibly the pharaoh known as Uenephes or possibly Atothis), was the fourth pharaoh of the First Dynasty. Djet's Horus name means "Horus Cobra" or "Serpent of Horus". Family Djet's queen was ...
and mother of
Den Den may refer to: * Den (room), a small room in a house * Maternity den, a lair where an animal gives birth Media and entertainment * ''Den'' (album), 2012, by Kreidler * Den (''Battle Angel Alita''), a character in the ''Battle Angel Alita' ...
. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as ''Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre'' and ''She who Sees/Carries Horus'' were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in Abydos or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include: *
Nakhtneith Nakhtneith was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st Dynasty. Her name means "strong is (the goddess) Neith". Biography Nakhtneith( Nḫt Nj.t) was the wife of Pharaoh Djer. She is known from a stela found in Abydos ( ...
(or Nekhetneith), buried in Abydos and known from a stela.W. Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionaryDodson and Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004 *
Herneith Herneith was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st Dynasty. The name herneith means "The face of Neith". Documents In the tomb of Herneith in Saqqara her name is found scratched on a vase, while in Abydos the name is ...
, possibly a wife of Djer. Buried in Saqqara. *
Seshemetka Seshemetka was an ancient Egyptian Queen consort, queen from the First Dynasty of Egypt, a wife of pharaoh den (pharaoh), Den and the mother of Anedjib.Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ...
, buried in Abydos next to the king. She was said to be a wife of Den in Dodson and Hilton. *
Penebui Penebui depicted on a ''year tablet'' with blood streaming from her head Penebui was an early Egyptian queen and most possibly the wife of king Djer during the 1st Dynasty. Her name was found engraved on several ivory tags. Identity There are ...
, her name and title were found on an ivory label from Saqqara. * ''bsu'', known from a label in Saqqara and several stone vessels (reading of name uncertain; name consists of three fish hieroglyphs).


Tomb

Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in
Umm el-Qa'ab Umm El Qaʻāb (sometimes romanised Umm El Gaʻab, ar, أم القعاب) is a necropolis of the Early Dynastic Period kings at Abydos, Egypt. Its modern name means "Mother of Pots" as the whole area is littered with the broken pot shards of of ...
at Abydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomb contains the remains of 318 retainers who were buried with him.Thomas Kühn: ''Die Königsgräber der 1. & 2. Dynastie in Abydos.'' In: ''Kemet.'' Issue 1, 2008. At some point, Djer's tomb was devastated by fire, possibly as early as the
Second Dynasty The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, K ...
. During the Middle Kingdom, the tomb of Djer was revered as the tomb of
Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
, and the entire First Dynasty burial complex, which includes the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition. An image of Osiris on a funerary
bier A bier is a stand on which a corpse, coffin, or casket containing a corpse is placed to lie in state or to be carried to the grave.''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, ...
was placed in the tomb, possibly by the
Thirteenth dynasty In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave pl ...
king
Djedkheperu Djedkheperew (also known as Djedkheperu) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 13th Dynasty reigning for an estimated two-year period, from c. 1772 BC until 1770 BC.K.S.B. Ryholt, ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period'' ...
. Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:B. Porter and R.L.B. Moss. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, V. Upper Egypt: Sites. Oxford, 1937 * A stela of Djer, now in the
Cairo Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display ...
probably comes from Abydos. * Labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name of
Meritneith Merneith (also written Merit-neith and Meryt-Neith) was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the First Dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right, based on several official records. If this was the case and the earli ...
. * Fragments of two vases inscribed with the name of Queen
Neithhotep Neithhotep or Neith-hotep was an ancient Egyptian queen consort living and ruling during the early First Dynasty. She was once thought to be a male ruler: her outstandingly large mastaba and the royal serekh surrounding her name on several sea ...
. * Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb. In the subsidiary tombs, excavators found objects including stelae representing several individuals, ivory objects inscribed with the name of
Neithhotep Neithhotep or Neith-hotep was an ancient Egyptian queen consort living and ruling during the early First Dynasty. She was once thought to be a male ruler: her outstandingly large mastaba and the royal serekh surrounding her name on several sea ...
, and various ivory tablets. Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from
Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...
– and indeed
Herneith Herneith was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st Dynasty. The name herneith means "The face of Neith". Documents In the tomb of Herneith in Saqqara her name is found scratched on a vase, while in Abydos the name is ...
, one of Djer's wives, was buried nearby at
Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. ...
.


Gallery

File:Djer 1.jpg, Small ivory label of Djer mentioning the name of a fortress or domain of the king "Hor-Djer-ib". File:Djer seal c.jpg, Seal impression with the
serekh In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a serekh is a rectangular enclosure representing the niched or gated façade of a palace surmounted by (usually) the Horus falcon, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The serekh was the earliest conven ...
of Djer found in Abydos, on display at the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
File:CeremonialFlintKnife Djer mod noBG.jpg, Ceremonial flint knife with the Horus name of Djer inscribed on its gold handle, on display at the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
. File:Djer-ButcherKnife-CloseUp_RoyalOntarioMuseum.png, Close-up view of Djer's serekh on the ceremonial flint knife of the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
. File:Label from Tomb of King Djer.jpg, Label from Tomb of King Djer, Abydos File:King Djer. Ivory tag from Abydos, tomb O. Petrie, Royal Tombs II. p.23, pl. Va.11 (Ashmolean).jpg, Label from Tomb of King Djer, Abydos


See also

*
List of pharaohs The title "Pharaoh" is used for those rulers of Ancient Egypt who ruled after the unification of Upper Egypt, Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer during the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, Early Dynastic Period, approximately 3100 BC. However, the s ...
*
Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifices Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifice is a type of human sacrifice in which pharaohs and occasionally other high court nobility would have servants killed after the pharaohs' deaths to continue to serve them in the afterlife. In Egypt, retainer sacrif ...


References


Bibliography

* Toby A. H. Wilkinson, ''Early Dynastic Egypt'', Routledge, London/New York 1999, , 71-73 * Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000.


External links

{{authority control 31st-century BC Pharaohs 30th-century BC Pharaohs Pharaohs of the First Dynasty of Egypt Hor-Aha