Semerkhet

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Semerkhet

Africanus: Semempsês, Eusebius: Semempsês, Mempses

Pharaoh of Egypt

Reign

9 years, 1st Dynasty

Predecessor

Anedjib

Successor

Qa'a

Royal titulary

Children

Qa'a?

Burial

Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos

Monuments

Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab

Semerkhet was the sixth king of Ancient Egypt's First Dynasty who ruled around 2950 BC. Although little is known of his reign, Semerkhet seems to have had a difficult time as king judging by the records of Manetho.

Manetho states that there were numerous disasters in Semerkhet's reign but he alleges that this was due to the fact Semerkhet was an usurper to the throne. Semerkhet deliberately scrubbed Anedjib's name from numerous artifacts, but Semerket's own name was later omitted from the Saqqara King List. He did, however, manage to build a much larger royal tomb than Anedjib despite his short 9 year reign. Semerkhet is only known otherwise from one or two contemporary artifacts and, more importantly, in the Palermo Stone Annals.

1 Reign
2 Further reading
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Reign

Although the third century BCE Egyptian priest Manetho records that this king ruled Egypt for eighteen years, and the Turin Canon (where he is called Semsem) gives him 72 years, these figures are considered less reliable than the 5th dynasty Palermo Stone. Toby Wilkinson in his analysis of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, specifically notes that Cairo Fragment One register III of this document gives "Semerkhet 8 1/2 years (this figure is certain, since the entire reign is recorded [here]." (Wilkinson: pp.78 & 258) Semerkhet's royal name, written in a serekh, was also preserved in this section of the document--hence the nine-year reign can only belong to him. Wilkinson concludes that this king had a reign of 9 full or partial years. (Wilkinson: p.80)

The only events listed on the Palermo Stone for his short reign seem to be religious observances. There is an ivory seal mentioning his name as well as that of Henuka, a dignitary who seems to have ministered to Semerkhet as well as to his successor, Qaa.

Semerkhet is buried in Tomb U of the royal necropolis at Umm el-Qa'ab, near Abydos.

[edit] Further reading

Toby A. H. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, Routledge, London/New York 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1, 79-80
Toby Wilkinson, Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt: The Palermo Stone and Its Associated Fragments, (Kegan Paul International), 2000.