Elephant (maybe read as Pen-Abu; ) is the provisional name of a
Predynastic ruler in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Since the incarved rock inscriptions and
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, 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 mamm ...
tags showing his name are either drawn sloppily, or lacking any royal crest, the reading and thus whole existence of king "Elephant" is highly disputed.
Identity
The proposed existence of Elephant is based on
Günter Dreyer's and
Ludwig David Morenz
Ludwig David Morenz (born 4 April 1965) is a German professor in Egyptology at the University of Bonn.Tait (2003), p. xi-x. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Leipzig and Habilitation from the University of Tübingen. His fields of resea ...
's essays. They are convinced that Elephant was a local king who ruled at the region of
Qustul
Qustul () is an archaeological cemetery located on the eastern bank of the Nile in Lower Nubia, just opposite of Ballana near the Sudan frontier. The site has archaeological records from the A-Group culture, the New Kingdom of Egypt and the X ...
. According to Dreyer, Elephant's name appears in incised rock inscriptions at Qustul and
Gebel Sheikh-Suleiman, where the hieroglyphs are put inside a royal ''
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 ...
''. On ivory tags found at
Abydos, the Elephant appears without any other royal crest. Dreyer sees a cube-shaped throne seat and a walking
elephant
Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...
beneath it and reads ''Pen-Abu'' ("Great one from the (throne) seat"). Morenz thinks alike but is highly uncertain about the reading of the name. He prefers to use the neutral provisional name "King Elephant". Alternatively, he proposes a
rhinoceros
A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...
as a royal animal. Morenz points out that it became a remarkable fashion during the
Naqada III
Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Prehistoric Egypt, Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became ...
epoch to choose dangerous and unpredictable animals (such as
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
s,
crocodile
Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...
s, elephants and rhinoceroses) for building up royal names.
Other
Egyptologists
This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists who speciali ...
, such as
Peter Kaplony and
Toby Wilkinson, are not so sure and propose different readings. Whilst Wilkinson sees a throne seat and the hieroglyph for "border", Kaplony sees a seat and a stand full of wine jars, the sign for "praised". Kaplony also mentions that the name of a certain
1st-dynasty palatinate named ''Hor-Sekhentydjw'' was also written with the wine-jar holder symbol. He believes that the name of the palatinate was created out of King Elephant's name.
Reign
Elephant might have ruled during the early
Naqada III
Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqada culture of ancient Prehistoric Egypt, Egyptian prehistory, dating from approximately 3200 to 3000 BC. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which began in Naqada II, became ...
epoch. His tomb is unknown.
[Ludwig David Morenz: ''Bild-Buchstaben und symbolische Zeichen. Die Herausbildung der Schrift der hohen Kultur Altägyptens'' (= ''Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis'', vol. 205). Fribourg 2004, , p. 91.]
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 sp ...
References
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Predynastic pharaohs
{{AncientEgypt-bio-stub