Dynasty 2

Dynasty 2

The Second Dynasty Pharaohs
Hotepsekhemwy (2890 - 2652 BC)
Hotepsekhemwy, 'Pleasing in Powers', is the founder of the second dynasty. The Horus Name (Hotepsekhemwy) was the royal titulary most important name in this period; it was received at the accession. His birth name was Hotep which passed in the royal titulary as both Nesut-bity and Nebty name of the Horus Hotepsekhemui. We are told that his nebty name meant, "the Two Mistresses are at peace".
Hotepsekhemwy seem to have been buried at Saqqara, deviating from the Abydos custom with former rulers.
Attestations:
. Seal-impressions found at tomb of Qa'a at Umm el Qaab
. Seal impressions found in the western one of the two Saqqara tombs south of the Netjeryhet complex, under the pyramid of Unas.
. The Royal estate of Hotepsekhemwy is attested on the seals with the name 'Hwt Nswt-Bity Nebty HTP'.
. Statuette (pink granite) of a kneeling priest (Cairo C.G.1) once called Hotepdief and now more probably identifiable as Redjit .
. A bone cylinder perhaps from Helwan is at the Brooklyn Museum displays the serekh of Hotepsekhemwy in simplified but sharp drawing.
. 4 stone bowls fragmentary inscriptions found by Petrie in the Umm el Qaab tomb P (Peribsen) and one found in the tomb V (Khasekhemwy) at Abydos.
. Two inscribed stone bowls of Hotepsekhemwy were found by Reisner in Menkaura' s pyramid complex at Giza .
. An alabaster vessel fragment also bearing his serekh has been found by Brunton in the grave 3112 of Badari.
Raneb (2852 - 2813 BC)
Horus Nebra, was the second King of the Second Dynasty. It is thought that Raneb was Hotepsekhemwy's son, or perhaps his brother, but there is little evidence to prove such. Raneb, means "Re is the Lord", though it is possible that it should be read as Nebra, meaning "Lord of the Sun". According to manetho he reigned for 39 years, though modern scholars suggest that it was considerably less.
Manetho also tells us that Raneb introduced the worship not only of the sacred goat of Mendes, but also of the sacred bull of Mnevis at the old sun-worship center of Heliopolis, and the Apis bull at Memphis. Though once again modern thinking suggests that it was introduced in the reign of an earlier king, attested on a stele from the rule of Den.
Attestations:
. Seal-impressions found at Tomb A at Saqqara
. Statuette (pink granite) of a kneeling priest (Cairo C.G.1) once called Hotepdief and now more probably identifiable as Redjit .
. Memphite stele with inscriptions to Nebra located in the Metropolitan Museum.
. Rock graffiti near Armant in the western desert.
Nynetjer (2813 - 2766 BC)
Horus Nynetjer, 'He Who Belongs to the God', the god probably being Re, was the third King of the Second Dynasty. IThe royal annals record events between his 6th and 26th regnal year, including various feasts of gods, including Sokar, a "running of the Apis bull" in the 9th regnal year, a military campaign in the 13th year, and in year 15, the birth of Khasekhemwy, the fifth and last king of the 2nd dynasty. The foundation of a chapel named Hr-rn is recorded for the 7th regnal year.
The death of this king was followed by a very obscure period of about 20-30 years after which Khasekhem(wy)'s authority took the country back to a more prosperous age, thus opening the way to the Third Dynasty/Early Old Kingdom huge developments.
Attestations:
. Traces of Nynetjer is found with mud sealings at Saqqara. It is suggested that a underground gallery here was his tomb.
. He is mentioned on the Palermo Stone.
. Michailidis collection statuette, an alabaster- like 'hard stone with greenish-yellow sheen'.
. Two inscriptions on stone vessels have been found at Abydos.
Weneg (2766 - 2758 BC)
Derived from Manetho, he ruled for 8 years. Nothing is known from his rule, there is doubt even about his existence, and he is often omitted from the king list of the 2nd Dynasty. The royal names of Weneg have been found incised on stone vessels found in galleries beneath the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. Weneg, if he existed at all, may have ruled only in the north, as he is unattested outside of Saqqara. Since Unas leveled a good portion of Saqqara for his pyramid and causeway, Weneg’s tomb and tombs of others may lie beneath that pyramid.
Sened (2758 - 2738 BC)
Derived from Manetho, he ruled for 22 years. As with Weneg very little is known from his rule, and he is often omitted from the king list of the 2nd Dynasty. A block inscribed with the words nswt-bity Snd was found reused in the funerary temple of King Khafre at Giza. An inscription dated to the 4th Dynasty from the tomb of a man named Shery, who may served in the royal mortuary cults, mentions King Sened, and indicates that his mortuary cult was celebrated at Saqqara. Shery’s titles suggest a connection between the cults of Sened and Peribsen.
Sekhemib - Set Peribsen (2738 - 2716 BC)
Horus Sekhemib, 'Powerful in heart' - Set Peribsen, 'Hope of all hearts', The fourth king of the 2nd Dynasty came to the throne under the name of Sekhemib, and reigned for 17 years. During his reign the rivalry between Lower Egypt and the Delta, and Upper Egypt, reached a climax once again and a period of internal unrest began. It is thought possible that the basis for the story of the Contendings between Horus and Set is dated to this time, as the followers of each deity fought for control of the throne of unified Egypt.
Whereas all the kings up to now had had a Horus name and used the Horus falcon on their royal serekhs, Sekhemib changed that. He not only changed his name from Horus Sekhemib to Set Peribsen, but he also replaced the Horus falcon with the Set animal. His granite funerary stele from Abydos shows this serekh change.
Peribsen chose to be buried back in Abydos rather than in Saqqara as had his recent predecessors, he is not attested outside Upper Egypt.
Attestations:
. Granite funerary stele from Abydos
. A fairly small tomb (P) at Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos.
. Seal impressions bearing his name found at Elephantine.
Khasekhemwy (2716 - 2686 BC)
Horus Khasekhemwy, 'The Two Powerful Ones Appear', the fifth and last king of the 2nd Dynasty ruled for 30 years.
He also included both the Horus falcon and the Set animal on his serekh and added the epithet nbwy -htp im=f, meaning "the two ladies are at peace in him," perhaps referring to the tutelary goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt, once again united under his sole rule.
Khasekhemwy’s tomb at Abydos is unique, trapezoidal in shape, 230 feet in length and varying from some 56 feet wide at one end to 33 feet at the other, with a stone burial chamber in the center. A royal scepter of gold and sard, and several small stone pots with gold-leaf lid coverings, were overlooked by tomb-robbers.
He married a princess from Lower Egypt, Nemethap, probably in order to strenghen his position after the national unification. Nemethap is sometimes identified as a the ancestral figure of the 3rd Dynasty. He is known for having built forts at Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) and Abydos.