The ancient Egyptian Branch hieroglyph, also called a Stick, is a member of the trees and plants hieroglyphs. The branch is an

Egyptian language The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts which were made accessible to the modern world following the deciphe ...

biliteral with the value ''(kh)t'', (khet)-(ḫt); it is an

ideogram An ideogram or ideograph (from Greek "idea" and "to write") is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept, independent of any particular language, and specific words or phrases. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarit ...

determinative A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they ma ...

), for wood, tree, and the linear measure (=100 cubits). The hieroglyph is described as a branch without leaves.

As the value (kh)t, it is often complemented in a hieroglyphic block with ''kh''–("

sieve A sieve, fine mesh strainer, or sift, is a device for separation process, separating wanted elements from unwanted material or for controlling the particle size distribution of a sample, using a screen such as a warp and weft, woven mesh or n ...

"), Aa1 and ''"t"''–( bread bun). X1

Iconographic usage

Pharaonic usage

Pharaoh

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...

used the branch hieroglyph for his Nomen name of ''Nakhthoreb'', "Strong is His Lord, Beloved of

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

". Pharaoh

Nectanebo I Nectanebo I ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτάνεβις ; died 361/60 BCE) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, founder of the last native dynasty of Egypt, the 30th. Name Nectanebo's Egyptian personal name was Nḫt-nb.f, which means "the stron ...

's nomen was ''Nekhtnebef'', "Strong is His Lord."

Old Kingdom usage

EbonyLabelOfDen-BritishMuseum-August19-08

Two labels are known from the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourt ...

showing usage of the ''branch hieroglyph'', one by Pharaoh Den, one by

Semerkhet Semerkhet is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the First Dynasty. This ruler became known through a tragic legend handed down by the historian Manetho, who reported that a calamity of some sort occurred during Semerkhet' ...

. The usage on the labels shows the branch hieroglyph in a more archaic form.

Rosetta Stone usage of branch--"khet"

In the 198 BC,

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient ...

the ''branch hieroglyph'' is used six times, lines R1 combined with N23-(the

Nubayrah Stele The Nubayrah Stele is a mutilated copy of the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy V) on a limestone stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this ...

), R5, R6, R9, R13 and R14. The Rosetta Stone usage of the hieroglyph is somewhat distinctive: :

''line R1''–M3:X1*Z1"kh-t",
".... Were brought some of them (rebels) into White Wall (

Memphis, Egypt , alternate_name = , image = , alt = , caption = Ruins of the pillared hall of Ramesses IIat Mit Rahina , map_type = Egypt#Africa , map_alt = , map_size = , relief = , coordinates = ...

-"Aneb-Hetch-t"), at the festival of the receiving behold of the kingdom from his father, slaying by placing

hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

upon stakes ''s''."

''line R5''–N35:M3:Aa1*X1-Z9:D40"nekh-t" for ''"might"''-(''Nike'', as the goddess of Victory: Greek Nike)
''".... As a reward for-(using "

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from wh ...

" hieroglyph), these things have given him (

Ptolemy V egy, Iwaennetjerwymerwyitu Seteppah Userkare Sekhem-ankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208. , predecessor = Ptolemy IV , successor = Ptolemy VI , horus = '' ḥwnw-ḫꜤj-m-nsw-ḥr-st-jt.f'Khunukhaiemnisutkhersetitef'' The youth wh ...

) the gods and goddesses: victory, might, life, strength, health, ( AUS) and everything good to the fullest possible extent of them;..."''

''line R6''–Same usage of might, but instead ''strong'':
".... Ptolemy, the Avenger of Baq-t the interpretation whereof is'' Ptolemy, the ''strong one'' of Kam-t-(Egypt)..."''

''line R9''–Used in a prepositional phrase: ''"em-khet"'', literally vertical letter "M"-(vertical form of Gardiner U31, unlisted-U31-(horiz-bakers-bread-cooking-tool)) with the branch hieroglyph.

''lines R13/R14''–M3:Aa1*X1-D40-Z7:X1-(ros-line13)-"khet-tu", (both lines reconstructed except "-tu" of R13). ''"To inscribe"'', upon the priest's rings, and on the Rosetta Stone, (i.e. the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy V)), in the three scripts: Egyptian hieroglyphs,

Egyptian Demotic Demotic (from grc, δημοτικός ''dēmotikós'', 'popular') is the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Nile Delta, and the stage of the Egyptian language written in this script, following Late Egy ...

, and the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

language.

Variant forms

One common variant form of the branch hieroglyph is combined with the tree, M1, M1, and M3 in a ligature, Gardiner Aa40, Aa40, (there is also an Aa41 with the tree).

Example words

Ramses II at Abu Simbel

A wall relief inside the Great Temple of

Abu Simbel Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about ...

shows Ramses II smiting Libyans. Young Ramses in a chariot is shown on the left, bow drawn, charging into Syrian ranks. On the right he is standing over one prone Libyan fighter, and is smiting another with a mace-club in his right hand, while holding the Libyan fighter with his extended left arm. The extensive military scenes are commemorating his military victories, and the hieroglyphic text explains the specifics of the events. Above the clasped Libyan fighter is one column of text, (out of a series of about 15 columns, variable in height), describing the "victory-buildings", the strongholds that the captives will be confined in. The text explains that Ramses and the Egyptian army went after three groups of rebels, and then confined them. Egypt Abou Simbel6

Above the Libyan captive's arm is a column of text, (see here

, and the column states: "...the 'strong-buildings', ...constructed by pharaoh,..." The last two hieroglyphs in the vertical text show a vertical wall hieroglyph and constructing-man-(mason), and the horizontal djsr (arm with powerstick), arm holding a "power scepter", (showing an action of force by one's arm-(hands), i.e. the constructing of the wall, the "stronghold" building). The hieroglyphs are Gardiner A35-(with foot raised onto side of wall-(variation)), A35, D40-(arm showing action of force: Egyptian language: ''djser'', for "power"). D40 Combined they are: A35:D40. The scene is also shown here (expands into high-res):

Block statue of Bakenkhonsu

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded a ...

's 1st Order priest Bakenkhonsu, a High Priest of Amun-Ra of the 13th century BC has a nearly undamaged block statue. The statue presents four columns of hieroglyphs on its frontal face, and a horizontal inscription on the plinth.Dodson, 2001, p. 30. The vertical texts of hieroglyphs cover about fourteen vertical compositional blocks. (see her

The first column addresses the gods: Amun-Ra, Tem-(

Atum Atum (, Egyptian: ''jtm(w)'' or ''tm(w)'', ''reconstructed'' ; Coptic ''Atoum''), sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology. Name Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verb ''tm'' which means 'to com ...

), then

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 ...

, Mut and

Khonsu Khonsu ( egy, ḫnsw; also transliterated Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons or Khonshu; cop, Ϣⲟⲛⲥ, Shons) is the ancient Egyptian god of the Moon. His name means "traveller", and this may relate to the perceived nightly travel of the Moon ...

. Column 2 uses the ''branch hieroglyph'' to state the title he assumes. The sentence starts as follows: :''"...Title permanent in Uas-t, DjedU,'' ''"Strength (of) Eternity"'' ''by Soul of Ra-forefront, Emeer-(governor), (of) God-Priests..."'' :

r::N35-(title)-mn:N35:Y1-(permanent)

Aa15-(for)-R19-X1:O49-(cityThebes,Egypt)-R11-R11-Z7:Z4-Y1-(the cemetery-of-West-DjedU)

M3:Aa1*X1*D54-(title-StrengthEternal)-V28-N5-V28-(Eternal)

N35-(by)-D28-Z1-(soul)-N35-(of)-r:Z1:D36-(godra)-F4-(forefront)-F20-(superintedant)-R8-U36-U36-U36-(god-priests)

In ancient Egyptian mythology or ancient Egyptian religion, the location: R19-X1:O49-R11-R11-Z7:Z4-Y1" Uas-t, DjedU," is part of the cemetery of: "The West", Djed-Djed-(in plural with w, (u, the coil hieroglyph, or the quail chick)). Many of the gods are shown as the ''"overseer of The West"'', the cemetery for souls; often it is

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 ...

, or

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depi ...

reclined on his elevated box. It should be understood, that when any individual soul dies, soul-YYYY, he/she is called "Osiris YYYY", namely ''His Soul in Death''. He/she has now become part of Osiris, (with all the other dead souls).

File:Istanbul - Ippodromo - Obelisco - Foto G. Dall'Orto 25-5-2006.jpg, An

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

Thutmose III Thutmose III (variously also spelt Tuthmosis or Thothmes), sometimes called Thutmose the Great, was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Officially, Thutmose III ruled Egypt for almost 54 years and his reign is usually dated from 28 ...

in Istanbul File:SemerkhetIvoryLabel-BritishMuseum-August19-08.jpg, Ivory label of Pharaoh

File:Tomb of Nakht (10).jpg, The Tomb of Nakht-(TT52), for Nakht.
(His name is shown as "Nakht", 'Mighty-(One)'(?).) File:Louvres-antiquites-egyptiennes-img 2957.jpg,

Foreleg of ox The Foreleg of ox (a ''foreleg with the thigh'') hieroglyph of ancient Egypt is an old hieroglyph; it even represented a nighttime constellation (the Big Dipper, Maskheti). It came to have many uses in ancient Egypt over three millennia. I ...

being offered.

References

*Betrò, Maria Carmela. '' Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt,'' c. 1995, 1996-(English), Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, London, Paris (hardcover, ) *Budge, ''The Rosetta Stone,'' E.A.Wallace Budge, (Dover Publications), c 1929, Dover edition(unabridged), 1989. (softcover, ) *Dodson, 2001. ''The Hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt'', Aidan Dodson, c 2001, Barnes & Noble Books. (hardcover, ) *Kamrin, 2004. '' Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Practical Guide'', Janice Kamrin, c 2004, Harry N. Abrams, Publisher, (''Photos or graphics of 73 Ancient Egyptian objects'' analyzed-(Exercises-(51), Objects)) (hardcover, ) *Schumann-Antelme, and Rossini, 1998. '' Illustrated Hieroglyphics Handbook'', Ruth Schumann-Antelme, and Stéphane Rossini. c 1998, English trans. 2002, Sterling Publishing Co. (Index, Summary lists (tables), selected uniliterals, biliterals, and triliterals.) (softcover, ) *Time-Life Books, 1993. ''

Ramses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

: Magnificence on the Nile,'' Time-Life Books editors, Time-LIfe Books, Alexandria, Virginia. (hardcover, {{ISBN, 0-8094-9012-9)

External links

Libyan smiting relief, "Great Abu Simbel" ("lance" is a mace-club, with mace head not visible; High Res version option)
Egyptian hieroglyphs: trees and plants Abu Simbel