Narmer (, may mean "painful catfish", "stinging catfish", "harsh catfish", or "fierce catfish"; ) was an ancient Egyptian king of the Early Dynastic Period, whose reign began at the end of the 4th millennium BC. He is believed to have been the successor to the Protodynastic king Ka. Many scholars consider him the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and in turn the first king of a unified Egypt. He also had a prominently noticeable presence in Canaan, compared to his predecessors and successors. Neithhotep is thought to be his queen consort or his daughter.

A majority of Egyptologists believe that Narmer was the same person as Menes.

According to Manetho, Menes was a native of Thinis, located now in Sohag. Therefore, the governorate adopted an emblem featuring the king wearing the double crown of unified Egypt.

Historical identity

Although highly interrelated, the questions of "who was Menes?" and "who unified Egypt?" are actually two separate issues. Narmer is often credited with the unification of Egypt by means of the conquest of Lower Egypt by Upper Egypt. Menes was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt according to the ancient historian Manetho, and is identified by the majority of Egyptologists as the same person as Narmer – although a vigorous debate also proposes identification with Hor-Aha, Narmer's successor, as a primary alternative.

The issue is confusing because "Narmer" is a Horus name while "Menes" is a Sedge and Bee name, also known as "prenomen" or "throne name". All of the King Lists which began to appear in the New Kingdom only list throne names, and almost all begin with Menes, or begin with divine and/or semi-divine rulers, with Menes as the first "human king". The difficulty is aligning the contemporary archaeological evidence which lists Horus names with the king lists that list personal names.

right|thumb|Naqada Label reconstruction

Two documents have been put forward as proof either that Narmer was Menes or alternatively Hor-Aha was Menes. The first is the "Naqada Label" found at the site of Naqada, in the tomb of Neithhotep, often assumed to have been the mother of Horus Aha. The label shows a serekh of Hor-Aha next to an enclosure inside of which are symbols that have been interpreted by some scholars as the name "Menes". The second is the seal impression from Abydos that alternates between a serekh of Narmer and the chessboard symbol, "mn", which is interpreted as an abbreviation of Menes. Arguments have been made with regard to each of these documents in favour of Narmer or Hor-Aha being Menes, but in neither case is the argument conclusive.

thumb|Reconstruction of the Narmer-Menes Seal impression from Abydos

The second document, the seal impression from Abydos, shows the serekh of Narmer alternating with the gameboard sign (mn), together with its phonetic complement, the n sign, which is always shown when the full name of Menes is written, again representing the name "Menes". At first glance, this would seem to be strong evidence that Narmer was Menes. However, based on an analysis of other early First Dynasty seal impressions, which contain the name of one or more princes, the seal impression has been interpreted by other scholars as showing the name of a prince of Narmer named Menes, hence Menes was Narmer's successor, Hor-Aha, and thus Hor-Aha was Menes. Cervelló-Autuori has rebutted this (), but opinions still vary, and the seal impression cannot be said to definitively support either theory.

thumb|right|[[Den seal impressions|Necropolis seal impression of the Egyptian pharaoh Den.]]

thumb|right|Necropolis seal impression of the Egyptian pharaoh, [[Qa'a.]]

Two necropolis sealings, found in 1985 and 1991 in Abydos (Umm el-Qa'ab), in or near the tombs of Den (called the Den seal impressions) and Qa'a (called the Qa'a sealing), show Narmer as the first king on each list, followed by Hor-Aha. The Qa'a sealing lists all eight of the kings of what scholars now call the First Dynasty in the correct order, starting with Narmer. These necropolis sealings are strong evidence that Narmer was the first king of the First Dynasty, hence the same person as Menes.

Name

thumb|right|[[Serekhs bearing the rebus symbols n'r (catfish) and mr (chisel) inside, being the phonetic representation of Narmer's name]]

The complete spelling of Narmer's name consists of the hieroglyphs for a catfish (nꜥr) and a chisel (mr), hence the reading "Narmer" (using the rebus principle). This word is sometimes translated as "raging catfish". However, there is no consensus on this reading. Other translations of the adjective before "catfish" include "angry", "fighting", "fierce", "painful", "furious", "bad", "evil", "biting", "menacing", and "stinging". Some scholars have taken entirely different approaches to reading the name that do not include "catfish" in the name at all, but these approaches have not been generally accepted.

Rather than incorporating both hieroglyphs, Narmer's name is often shown in an abbreviated form with just the catfish symbol, sometimes stylized, even, in some cases, represented by just a horizontal line. This simplified spelling appears to be related to the formality of the context. In every case that a serekh is shown on a work of stone or an official seal impression, it has both symbols. But, in most cases, where the name is shown on a piece of pottery or a rock inscription, just the catfish, or a simplified version of it appears.

Two alternative spellings of Narmer's name have also been found. On a mud sealing from Tarkhan, the symbol for the ṯꜣj-bird (Gardiner sign G47 "duckling") has been added to the two symbols for "Narmer" within the serekh. This has been interpreted as meaning "Narmer the masculine"; however, according to Ilona Regulski, "The third sign (the [ṯꜣj]-bird) is not an integral part of the royal name since it occurs so infrequently." Godron suggested that the extra sign is not part of the name, but was put inside the serekh for compositional convenience.

In addition, two necropolis seals from Abydos show the name in a unique way: While the chisel is shown conventionally where the catfish would be expected, there is a symbol that has been interpreted by several scholars as an animal skin. According to Dreyer, it is probably a catfish with a bull's tail, similar to the image of Narmer on the Narmer Palette in which he is shown wearing a bull's tail as a symbol of power. These inscriptions strongly suggest that Neithhotep was Djer's regent for a period of time, but do not resolve the question of whether she was Narmer's queen. In the first of Jarus' articles, he quotes Tallet as saying that Neithhotep "was not the wife of Narmer". However, Tallet, in a personal communication with Thomas C. Heagy explained that he had been misquoted. According to Tallet, she could have been Narmer's wife (Djer's grandmother), but that it is more likely (because Narmer and Hor-Aha are both thought to have had long reigns) that she was in the next generation—for example Djer's mother or aunt. This is consistent with the discussion in . Neithhotep is probably the earliest non-mythical woman in history whose name is known to us today.

Tomb and artifacts

Tomb

thumb|Chambers B17 and B18 in the [[Umm El Qa'ab|Umm el-Qa'ab, which constitute the tomb of Narmer]]

Narmer's tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos in Upper Egypt consists of two joined chambers (B17 and B18), lined in mud brick. Although both Émile Amélineau and Petrie excavated tombs B17 and B18, it was only in 1964 that Kaiser identified them as being Narmer's. Narmer's tomb is located next to the tombs of Ka, who likely ruled Upper Egypt just before Narmer, and Hor-Aha, who was his immediate successor.

As the tomb dates back more than 5,000 years, and has been pillaged, repeatedly, from antiquity to modern times, it is amazing that anything useful could be discovered in it. Because of the repeated disturbances in Umm el-Qa'ab, many articles of Narmer's were found in other graves, and objects of other kings were recovered in Narmer's grave. However, Flinders Petrie during the period 1899–1903, and, starting in the 1970s, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) have made discoveries of the greatest importance to the history of Early Egypt by their re-excavation of the tombs of Umm el-Qa'ab.

Despite the chaotic condition of the cemetery, inscriptions on both wood and bone, seal impressions, as well as dozens of flint arrowheads were found. (Petrie says with dismay that "hundreds" of arrowheads were discovered by "the French", presumably Amélineau. What happened to them is not clear, but none ended up in the Cairo Museum.) Flint knives and a fragment of an ebony chair leg were also discovered in Narmer's tomb, all of which might be part of the original funerary assemblage. The flint knives and fragment of a chair leg were not included in any of Petrie's publications, but are now at the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (University College London), registration numbers UC35679, UC52786, and UC35682. According to Dreyer, these arrowheads are probably from the tomb of Djer, where similar arrowheads were found.

It is likely that all of the kings of Ancient Egypt buried in Umm el-Qa'ab had funerary enclosures in Abydos' northern cemetery, near the cultivation line. These were characterized by large mud brick walls that enclosed space in which funerary ceremonies are believed to have taken place. Eight enclosures have been excavated, two of which have not been definitely identified. While it has yet to be confirmed, one of these unidentified funerary enclosures may have belonged to Narmer.

Artifacts

thumb|Narmer serekh in its full formal format on an alabaster vase from Abydos

Narmer is well attested throughout Egypt, southern Canaan and Sinai: altogether 98 inscriptions at 26 sites. At Abydos and Hierakonpolis Narmer's name appears both within a serekh and without reference to a serekh. At every other site except Coptos, Narmer's name appears in a serekh. In Egypt, his name has been found at 17 sites:

  • 4 in Upper Egypt: Hierakonpolis, Naqada, Abydos, and Coptos
  • 10 in Lower Egypt: Tarkhan, Helwan, Zawyet el'Aryan, Tell Ibrahim Awad, Ezbet el-Tell, Minshat Abu Omar, Saqqara, Buto, Tell el-Farkha, and Kafr Hassan Dawood
  • 1 in the Eastern Desert: Wadi el-Qaash
  • 2 in the Western Desert: Kharga Oasis and Gebel Tjauti

During Narmer's reign, Egypt had an active economic presence in southern Canaan. Pottery sherds have been discovered at several sites, both from pots made in Egypt and imported to Canaan and others made in the Egyptian style out of local materials. Twenty serekhs have been found in Canaan that may belong to Narmer, but seven of those are uncertain or controversial. These serekhs came from eight different sites: Tel Arad, En Besor (Ein HaBesor), Tell es-Sakan, Nahal Tillah (Halif Terrace), Tel Erani (Tel Gat), Small , Tel Ma'ahaz, and Tel Lod.

Narmer's serekh, along with those of other Predynastic and Early Dynastic kings, has been found at the Wadi 'Ameyra in the southern Sinai, where inscriptions commemorate Egyptian mining expeditions to the area.

Nag el-Hamdulab

thumb|[[Limestone head of a king, thought by Flinders Petrie to be Narmer, on the basis of the similarity to the head of Narmer on the Narmer Palette. This has not been generally accepted by Egyptologists.

According to Trope, Quirke & Lacovara, the suggestion that it is Narmer is "unlikely". Alternatively, they suggest the Fourth Dynasty king Khufu. Stevenson also identifies it as Khufu. Charron identifies it as a king of the Thinite Period (the first two dynasties), but does not believe it can be assigned to any particular king. Wilkinson describes it as "probably Second Dynasty".]]

First recorded at the end of the 19th century, an important series of rock carvings at Nag el-Hamdulab near Aswan was rediscovered in 2009, and its importance only realized then. Among the many inscriptions, tableau 7a shows a man wearing a headdress similar to the White Crown of Upper Egypt and carrying a scepter. He is followed by a man with a fan. He is then preceded by two men with standards, and accompanied by a dog. Apart from the dog motif, this scene is similar to scenes on the Scorpion Macehead and the recto of the Narmer Palette. The man, equipped with pharaonic regalia (the crown and scepter), can clearly be identified as a king. Although no name appears in the tableau, Darnell attributes it to Narmer, based on the iconography, and suggests that it might represent an actual visit to the region by Narmer for a "Following of Horus" ritual. In an interview in 2012, Gatto also describes the king in the inscription as Narmer. However, Hendricks (2016) places the scene slightly before Narmer, based, in part on the uncharacteristic absence of Narmer's royal name in the inscription.

  • The First Pharaoh (The First Dynasty Book 1) by Lester Picker is a fictionalized biography of Narmer. The author consulted with Egyptologist Günter Dreyer to achieve authenticity.
  • Murder by the Gods: An Ancient Egyptian Mystery by William G. Collins is a thriller about Prince Aha (later king Hor-Aha), with Narmer included in a secondary role.
  • Pharaoh: The Boy who Conquered the Nile by Jackie French is a children's book (ages 10–14) about the adventures of Prince Narmer.
  • The Third Gate by Lincoln Child is the third book in the Jeremy Logan series and revolves primarily around the discovery and exploration of a fictional secret burial place of Narmer.
  • Warframe uses Narmer's name for a faction added in The New War update that shares some similarities to the pharaoh's reign.
  • In The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan, one of siblings Carter and Sadie's parents comes from Narmer's lineage, the other from Ramses the Great (book one, The Red Pyramid, page 195).

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File:Mud jar sealing indicating King Narmer's estate MET 12.187.41 EGDP011668.jpg|A mud jar sealing indicating that the contents came from the estate of Narmer. Originally from Tarkhan, now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

File:Narmer-PotterySherdWithSerekhAndName MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png|Pottery sherd inscribed with the serekh and name of Narmer, on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

File:Narmer-Tjet2.JPG|Narmer wearing the Deshret crown of Lower Egypt on the Narmer Palette

File:Narmer tarkhan.jpg|Incised inscription on a vessel found at Tarkhan (tomb 414), naming Narmer; Petrie Museum, UC 16083

File:Early dynastic statue of a squatting baboon 02.jpg|Alabaster statue of a baboon divinity with the name of Narmer inscribed on its base, on display at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin

File:Narmer serekh from Kafr Hassan Dawood.jpg|Drawing of Narmer serekh on pottery vessel with stylized catfish and without chisel or falcon, copyright Kafr Hassan Dawood Mission

File:Flint arroheads from Narmer's tomb.jpg|Arrowheads from Narmer's tomb, Petrie 1905, Royal Tombs II, pl. IV.14. According to Dreyer,