The Horus name is the oldest known and used

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of ancient Egyptian rulers. It belongs to the " great five names" of an Egyptian

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 ...

. However, modern Egyptologists and linguists are starting to prefer the more neutral term: the "serekh name". This is because not every pharaoh placed the falcon, which symbolizes the deity

Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...

, atop his (or in some cases, her)

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 ...

Heraldic appearance

The picture of the Horus name is made of two basic elements: A sitting or walking figure of a certain deity holds a rectangular, ornamental

vignette Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

, imitating the floor plan of a palace facade and the royal courtyard. The rectangular vignette is called ''serekh'', after the Egyptian word for "facade". There are countless variations of the facade decor in the serekh. The complexity and detail of the facade decor varied remarkably depending on the object on which it was present. It seems that no strict artistic rules for the design of the serekh itself existed. The name of the pharaoh was written inside the free space that represents the royal courtyard.Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. Münchner Ägyptologische Studien. Bd. 49. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1999, , p. 7-9.Rolf Gundlach: ''Horus in the Palace: The centre of State and Culture in pharaonic Egypt''. In: Rolf Gundlach, John H. Taylor: ''Egyptian royal Residences: 4. Symposium zur Ägyptischen Königsideologie (4th edition, London 2004)''. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, , p. 45–68.Toby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt: Strategy, Society and Security.'' Routledge, London 1999, , p. 56-57, 201-202.

Symbology

The symbolic meaning of the Horus name is still disputed. It seems obvious, at least, that the name of a king was addressed straight to the deity on top of the serekh. In most cases it was the falcon of the god Horus. This is based on the Egyptian tradition and belief that a living king was commonly the herald and earthly representative of Horus. A good example is the name of 2nd Dynasty king

Raneb Nebra or Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd Dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon is damaged and the year accounts are lost.Alan H. Gardiner: ''The royal canon of Turin''. G ...

. His name was written with the sign of the sun (''Râ'') and the sign of a basket (''néb''). Altogether, the name reads "Lord of the sun of Horus", thus integrating Horus as the royal patron into the king's name. Scholars point to the symbolic and expressive strength of the Horus falcon: hovering high in the sky, stretching out his wings widely and seemingly looking over all of Egypt, this heraldic animal represented omnipresence and an outstretching power. Additionally, the names of early dynasty kings show, when translated, an astonishing aggressiveness, which clearly expresses the wish of Egyptian kings to be untouchable and undefeatable, thanks to the god Horus. During the 2nd Dynasty, the serekh names of the kings reveal a rather peace-seeking nature, expressing the wish of the pharaohs to rule over an unwavering world full of order and harmony: the epitheton of the Horus name of King

Sekhemib Sekhemib-Perenma'at (or simply Sekhemib), is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd Dynasty. Similar to his predecessor, successor or co-ruler Seth-Peribsen, Sekhemib is contemporarily well attested in archaeological ...

, ''Per-en-ma'at'' (meaning "he who achieves Ma'at"), is the clearest early expression of this. As already mentioned, most Egyptian kings favored Horus as their dynastic name patron. In a few cases, especially during the midst of the 2nd Dynasty, at least two serekh names seem to contradict the Horus tradition. The most prominent example is king

Seth-Peribsen Seth-Peribsen (also known as Ash-Peribsen, Peribsen and Perabsen) is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch (pharaoh), who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC). His chronological position within this dyn ...

. He first replaced the falcon figure of his serekh by the walking animal of the god Seth. Then, his name was written in a plural form, thus being addressed to Seth as well as to Horus. The serekh names of his followers Sekhemib and Khasekhemwy were similarly built. Khasekhemwy went even further and placed both divine figures of Horus and Seth above his serekh, in an attempt to accentuate the dualism of a serekh name. The remarkable behaviours of the 2nd Dynasty kings can possibly be explained by the Egyptian belief that a king represented Horus and Seth in the same ways. Maybe said kings simply wished to express this dualism by willingly changing the appearance of the serekh and replacing divine figures on its top.

Introduction and history

As already mentioned, the Horus name is the oldest known and used royal title. Its introduction reaches back to the time of the Naqada II period at 3400 BC, and its development can be observed on objects from Naqada II to the 1st Dynasty. However, at the time of introduction, the serekhs of kings were yet anonymous. Later the name of the king was written beside the serekh or omitted completely. In many cases the serekh lacks the Horus falcon, and in other cases, such as the serekh of king Ka, the serekh seems to be held by Horus upside-down.Laurel Bestock: ''The Development of Royal Funerary Cult at Abydos: Two Funerary Enclosures from the Reign of Aha'' (= ''Menes: Studien zur Kultur und Sprache der ägyptischen Frühzeit und des Alten Reiches'', vol.6). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2009, , p. 6-10. During the middle and late Naqada III period (3200–3030 BC.), kings started to write their name inside their serekhs. Some of the best-known early examples are the names of

Scorpion II Scorpion II ( Ancient Egyptian: possibly Selk or Weha), also known as King Scorpion, was a ruler during the Protodynastic Period of Upper Egypt (c. ). Identity Name King Scorpion's name and title are of great dispute in modern Egyptol ...

and Ka. Under these kings, the serekh was introduced in its final form. During the 1st Dynasty, an odd fashion can be observed: On several clay seals from the Abydene tombs of king Hor-Aha,

Qa'a Qa'a (also Qáa or Ka'a) (literal meaning: "his arm is raised") was the last king of the First Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned for 33 years at the end of the 30th century BC. Identity Manetho calls Qa'a Biénechês and gives him a reign of 26 y ...

and queen

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 earl ...

, the Horus names of all archaeologically detected kings from

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 ...

to Qa'a are listed in one single and smooth row. All of these Horus names are missing a serekh. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it demonstrates complexity within the tradition of royal titulary, which is not fully understood even today.

Special serekhs

During the introduction and development of the serekh names, three examples of special serekhs are of very special interest to Egyptologists and historians. The first example is the serekh of a protodynastic king known as "

Double Falcon Double Falcon (also possibly Dju and Nebwy) was a ruler of Lower Egypt from Naqada III. He may have reigned during the 32nd century BC. The length of his reign is unknown. Attestation In 1910, Egyptologist M. J. Clédat discovered the first ...

". The serekh of this particular king has a top that is sharply bent inwards at the very middle. The inside of the serekh is filled with a great many little dots. This makes the upper part of the serekh look like the hieroglyphic sign of a two-topped mountain, the sign for "desert" or "foreign land". A further curiosity of Double Falcon's serekh are the two falcon figures, each one resting on one corner atop the bent serekh and facing each other. Egyptologists and historians are convinced that this unusual king's name has a deeper meaning. Most possibly it points to Lower Egypt and Sinai, since Double Falcon's name has been found only at these two sites. A second unusual serekh is that of King Hor-Aha. It shows the Horus falcon reaching into the serekh with his claws and holding a mace and a shield, forming the word ''Aha'', meaning "fighter of Horus". The arrangement is intriguing, because normally the Horus falcon and the hieroglyphs inside the serekh were out of reach and independent of one another. The motive and deeper meaning of Aha's serekh are unknown. The third examples of unusual serekhs are those of several queens, including the serekh of queen Meritneith. For a long time it was believed by scholars that the royal title of a serekh was reserved for male rulers only. For this reason, it was long thought that Meritneith was a man, until mud seal impressions revealed the female title ''mwt nesw'' ("mother of (the) king"). The tomb stela of Meritneith also proved the true gender of this queen. Thus, queen Meritneith was the first Egyptian female ruler who was allowed to use the serekh. However, her serekh is surmounted by the standard of the goddess

Neith Neith ( grc-koi, Νηΐθ, a borrowing of the Demotic form egy, nt, likely originally to have been nrt "she is the terrifying one"; Coptic: ⲛⲏⲓⲧ; also spelled Nit, Net, or Neit) was an early ancient Egyptian deity. She was said to b ...

, not by a falcon figure. A similar case is that of the famous queen

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut (; also Hatchepsut; Egyptian: '' ḥꜣt- špswt'' "Foremost of Noble Ladies"; or Hatasu c. 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, af ...

of the 18th Dynasty. She also used a serekh, and like queen Meritneit, had long been thought by scholars to have been a man. Another queen,

Sobekneferu , image = File:Statue of Sobekneferu (Berlin Egyptian Museum 14475).jpg , image_alt = Partially defaced bust of a female , caption = Statue of Sobekneferu , reign = 3 years, 10 months, and 24 days according to the Turin Canon in the mid 18th ...

of 12th Dynasty, also used a serekh. She was the first female pharaoh to use the full royal titulary.Michel Valloggia: ''Remarques sur les noms de la reine Sébek-Ka-Rê Néferou Sébek'' (= ''Revue d'Égyptologie'', vol. 16, Paris 1964). p. 45–53. Another possible female pharaoh might have been queen

Khentkaus I Khentkaus I, also referred to as Khentkawes, was a royal woman who lived in ancient Egypt during both the Fourth Dynasty and the Fifth Dynasty. She may have been a daughter of king Menkaure, the wife of both king Shepseskaf and king Userkaf (t ...

of 4th Dynasty. Nonetheless, these cases show that exceptions in the gender allocation of the serekh as a royal title were always possible. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians seemed to have no bigger problems with being ruled by a woman.Silke Roth: ''Die Königsmütter des Alten Ägypten''. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, , p. 18-23.Toby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt''. Routledge, London/New York 1999, , p. 74-75.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian royal titulary Ancient Egyptian titles Ancient Egyptian language Egyptian mythology Euphemisms Horus

Heraldic appearance

Symbology

Introduction and history

Special serekhs

See also

References