First Dynasty of Egypt

All years are BC

First Dynasty	I	c. 3150–2890
Second Dynasty	II	2890–2686

Old Kingdom

Third Dynasty	III	2686–2613
Fourth Dynasty	IV	2613–2498
Fifth Dynasty	V	2498–2345
Sixth Dynasty	VI	2345–2181

First Intermediate

Seventh Dynasty	VII	spurious
Eighth Dynasty	VIII	2181–2160
Ninth Dynasty	IX	2160–2130
Tenth Dynasty	X	2130–2040
Early Eleventh Dynasty	XI	2134–2061

Middle Kingdom

Late Eleventh Dynasty	XI	2061–1991
Twelfth Dynasty	XII	1991–1803
Thirteenth Dynasty	XIII	1803–1649
Fourteenth Dynasty	XIV	1705–1690

Second Intermediate

Fifteenth Dynasty	XV	1674–1535
Sixteenth Dynasty	XVI	1660–1600
Abydos Dynasty		1650–1600
Seventeenth Dynasty	XVII	1580–1549

New Kingdom

Eighteenth Dynasty	XVIII	1549–1292
Nineteenth Dynasty	XIX	1292–1189
Twentieth Dynasty	XX	1189–1077

Third Intermediate

Twenty-first Dynasty	XXI	1069–945
Twenty-second Dynasty	XXII	945–720
Twenty-third Dynasty	XXIII	837–728
Twenty-fourth Dynasty	XXIV	732–720
Twenty-fifth Dynasty	XXV	732–653

Late Period

Twenty-sixth Dynasty	XXVI	672–525
Twenty-seventh Dynasty (1st Persian Period)	XXVII	525–404
Twenty-eighth Dynasty	XXVIII	404–398
Twenty-ninth Dynasty	XXIX	398–380
Thirtieth Dynasty	XXX	380–343
Thirty-first Dynasty (2nd Persian Period)	XXXI	343–332

Ptolemaic (Hellenistic)

Argead Dynasty	332–305
Ptolemaic Kingdom	305–30

The First Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty I)^[1] covers the first series of Egyptian kings to rule over a unified Egypt. It immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, possibly by Narmer, and marks the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period, a time at which power was centered at Thinis.

The date of this period is subject to scholarly debate about the Egyptian chronology. It falls within the early Bronze Age and is variously estimated to have begun anywhere between the 34th and the 30th centuries BC. In a 2013 study based on radiocarbon dates, the beginning of the First Dynasty - the accession of Hor-Aha - was placed at 3100 BC give or take a century (3218–3035, with 95% confidence).^[2]

Rulers

Known rulers in the history of Egypt for the First Dynasty are as follows:

Name	Reign		Notes
Name	Span	Dates	Notes
Narmer	Uncertain	Late 32nd century (?)	Usually identified as Menes, uniter of Upper and Lower Egypt.^[3] Probable successor of the protodynastic Naqada kings Scorpion or Ka. Succeeded by Hor-Aha.
Hor-Aha	Uncertain but long	From late 32nd century or early 31st^[4]	Sometimes identified as Menes. Father of Djer, possibly by Neithhotep or a wife, only attested much later, named Khenthap. Succeeded by the regency of Neithhotep.
Neithhotep	1 year (?)^[5]	(?)	Female. Regent for her son or grandson and successor Djer.
Djer	40–41 years	fl. 3000 BC	Father of Merneith. Succeeded by Djet, his probable son.
Djet	c. 10 years	From c. 2980 BC	Succeeded by his wife and probable sister Merneith. Father of Den.
Merneith	(?)	From c. 2970 BC	Female. Regent for her son and successor Den and possible pharaoh in her own right. Probably daughter of Djer and senior wife of Djet.
Den	42 years	From c. 2970 BC
Possible gap
Anedjib	8-10 years	From c. 2930 BC	Grandson of Djet and Merneith, possibly son of Den.
Possible gap
Semerkhet	8½ years	From c. 2920 BC	Formerly believed to be a usurper but legitimate and possible son of Den. Succeeded by Qa'a.
Qa'a	26–33 years	From c. 2910 BC	Last pharaoh of Dynasty I

Information about this dynasty is derived from a few monuments and other objects bearing royal names, the most important being the Narmer Palette and Narmer Macehead, as well as Den and Qa'a king lists.^[6] ^[7]^[8] No detailed records of the first two dynasties have survived, except for the terse lists on the Palermo Stone. The account in Manetho's Aegyptiaca contradicts both the archeological evidence and the other historical records: Manetho names nine rulers of the First Dynasty, only one of whose names matches the other sources, and offers information for only four of them.^[9] Egyptian hieroglyphs were fully developed by then, and their shapes would be used with little change for more than three thousand years.

Large tombs of pharaohs at Abydos and Naqada, in addition to cemeteries at Saqqara and Helwan near Memphis, reveal structures built largely of wood and mud bricks, with some small use of stone for walls and floors. Stone was used in quantity for the manufacture of ornaments, vessels, and occasionally, for statues. Tamarix ("tamarisk" or "salt cedar") was used to build boats such as the Abydos boats. One of the most important indigenous woodworking techniques was the fixed mortise and tenon joint. A ﬁxed tenon was made by shaping the end of one timber to ﬁt into a mortise (hole) that is cut into a second timber. A variation of this joint using a free tenon eventually became one of the most important features in Mediterranean and Egyptian shipbuilding. It creates a union between two planks or other components by inserting a separate tenon into a cavity (mortise) of the corresponding size cut into each component."^[10]

Calcite dish. From Royal Tomb "U", Semerkhet, at Abydos.
Necklaces with different types of beads. Carnelian, coral, and garnet.
Pottery jar with integral strainer.

Human sacrifice

Human sacrifice was practiced as part of the funerary rituals associated with all of the pharaohs of the first dynasty.^[11] It is clearly demonstrated as existing during this dynasty by retainers being buried near each pharaoh's tomb as well as animals sacrificed for the burial. The tomb of Djer is associated with the burials of 338 individuals.^[11] The people and animals sacrificed, such as donkeys, were expected to assist the pharaoh in the afterlife. For unknown reasons, this practice ended with the conclusion of the dynasty.

References

Citations

↑ Kuhrt (1995), p. 118.
↑ Dee, M.; Wengrow, D.; Shortland, A.; Stevenson, A.; Brock, F.; Girdland Flink, L.; Bronk Ramsey, C. (4 September 2013). "An absolute chronology for early Egypt using radiocarbon dating and Bayesian statistical modelling". Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 469 (2159): 20130395–20130395. doi:10.1098/rspa.2013.0395.
↑ Dee et al. (2013) note: "For this study, we take the foundation date to refer to the accession of king Aha of the First Dynasty, although his predecessor, Narmer, most probably held political control over the whole state. Historical foundation dates vary widely and recent estimates range from 3400 to 2900 BCE."
↑ Dee et al. 2013 provide the date 3080 BC within a margin of error of 30 years (p = 0.32). "Our analysis generates a chronometric date for the foundation of Egypt (accession of king Aha) of 3111–3045 BCE (68% hpd range; median 3085 BCE) or 3218–3035 BCE (95% hpd range)."
↑ In accordance with the "double death" and interregnum recorded on the Palermo Stone following the reign of Hor-Aha.
↑ "Qa'a and Merneith lists", Xoomer, IT: Virgilio .
↑ The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/1553
↑ The Narmer Catalog http://narmer.org/inscription/4048
↑ Manetho, Fr. 6, 7a, 7b. Text and translation in Manetho, translated by W.G. Waddell (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1940), pp. 27–35
↑ "Early ship construction – Khufu's solar boat", Egypt (Timeline), IL: Reshafim, January 2001, retrieved October 29, 2008 .
1 2 Shaw (2000), p. 68.

Bibliography

Kuhrt, Amélie (1995), The Ancient Near East: c. 3000–330 BC, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-01353-6 .
Shaw, Ian (2000), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-280458-8

Preceded by New creation	Dynasty of Egypt c. 3100 – 2890 BCE	Succeeded by Second dynasty

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First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs	Menes/Narmer Hor-Aha Djer Djet Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a
Regents	Neithhotep Merneith
Queen consorts	Benerib Herneith Penebui Nakhtneith (Khenthap) Semat Serethor Seshemetka Betrest
Officials	Amka Hemaka Sabef Meriiti
Other people	Ahaneith
Artefacts and monuments	Narmer macehead Narmer palette Tomb of Anedjib Den seal impressions Abydos boats MacGregor plaque Mastabas S3503 and S3504
Capital	Thinis

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