The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom but remained in use as late as the Roman Empire.
Horus name
This is the oldest form of the pharaoh's name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title. The king was thought to be the earthly embodiment of Horus, the son of Hathor (or Hathor-Isis), later becoming known as the Strong Bull of His Mother.
At least one Egyptian ruler, the Second Dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus, perhaps signifying an internal religious division within the country. He was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Set and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh.
By the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh.
Nebty ("two ladies") name
- Nekhbet, patron deity of Upper Egypt, represented by a vulture, and
- Wadjet, patron deity of Lower Egypt, represented by a cobra.
The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet, though it only became a fully independent title by the Twelfth Dynasty.
This particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun "nebty".
Horus of Gold
The meaning of this particular title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, as the symbol for gold can be taken to mean that Horus was "superior to his foes". Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaoh's eternal Horus name.
Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh. It always begins with the depiction of the horus falcon perched above a representation of the sun.
Throne name (praenomen)
This form of the name first came to prominence at the end of the Third Dynasty, and later would become the most important official title of the king.
Personal name (nomen)
Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, adding ordinals (e.g. "II", "III") to distinguish between different individuals bearing the same name.
Examples of the full titulary
Senusret I
Hatshepsut
The full titulary of Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Hatshepsut, providing a guide to pronunciation and its equivalent meaning and showing the differences if the pharaoh is a woman, is as follows,
- Praenomen - Maatkare - Truth [Ma'at] is the Ka of Re
- Nomen - Khnumt-Amun Hatshepsut - Joined with Amun, Foremost of Noble Ladies
- Horus name - Wesretkau - Mighty of Kas
- Nebty name - Wadjrenput - She of the Two Ladies, Flourishing of years
- Golden Horus - Netjeretkhau - Divine of appearance
Thutmose III
The full titulary of Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Thutmose III, providing a guide to pronunciation and its equivalent meaning, is as follows
- Horus name - Kanakht Khaemwaset - Horus Mighty Bull, Arising in Thebes
- nebty name - Wahnesytmireempet - He of the Two Ladies, Enduring in kingship like Re in heaven
- Horus of Gold - Sekhempahtydsejerkhaw - Horus of Gold Powerful of strength, Sacred of appearance
- praenomen - Menkheperre - He of the Sedge and the Bee, Enduring of form is Re
- nomen - Thutmose Neferkheperu - Son of Ra, Thutmose, beautiful of forms
References
- Allen, James P. (1999). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521774837.
- Dodson, Aidan Mark, and Dyan Hilton (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Cairo, London, and New York: The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. ISBN 977-424-878-3.
- Gardiner, Alan Henderson (1957). Egyptian Grammar; Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd, Oxford: Griffith Institute.
- Quirke, Stephen G. J. (1990). Who Were the Pharaohs? A History of Their Names with a List of Cartouches. London: British Museum Publications Limited.
- Schneider, Thomas (1993). "Zur Etymologie der Bezeichnung ‘König von Ober- und Unterägypten’". Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 120 166–181.
- von Beckerath, Jürgen (1999). Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. 2nd edition, Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday July 18, 2008 at 10:31:20 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
The full titulary, consisting of five names, did not come into standard usage until the Middle Kingdom but remained in use as late as the Roman Empire.
Horus name
This is the oldest form of the pharaoh's name, originating in the Predynastic Period. Many of the oldest-known Egyptian pharaohs were known only by this title. The king was thought to be the earthly embodiment of Horus, the son of Hathor (or Hathor-Isis), later becoming known as the Strong Bull of His Mother.
At least one Egyptian ruler, the Second Dynasty Seth-Peribsen, used an image of the god Seth instead of Horus, perhaps signifying an internal religious division within the country. He was succeeded by Khasekhemwy, who placed the symbols of both Set and Horus above his name. Thereafter, the image of Horus always appeared alongside the name of the pharaoh.
By the time of the New Kingdom the Horus name was often written without the enclosing serekh.
Nebty ("two ladies") name
- Nekhbet, patron deity of Upper Egypt, represented by a vulture, and
- Wadjet, patron deity of Lower Egypt, represented by a cobra.
The name is first definitively used by the First Dynasty pharaoh Semerkhet, though it only became a fully independent title by the Twelfth Dynasty.
This particular name was not typically framed by a cartouche or serekh, but always begins with the hieroglyphs of a vulture and cobra resting upon two baskets, the dual noun "nebty".
Horus of Gold
The meaning of this particular title has been disputed. One belief is that it represents the triumph of Horus over his uncle Seth, as the symbol for gold can be taken to mean that Horus was "superior to his foes". Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaoh's eternal Horus name.
Similar to the Nebty name, this particular name typically was not framed by a cartouche or serekh. It always begins with the depiction of the horus falcon perched above a representation of the sun.
Throne name (praenomen)
This form of the name first came to prominence at the end of the Third Dynasty, and later would become the most important official title of the king.
Personal name (nomen)
Modern historians typically refer to the ancient kings of Egypt by this name, adding ordinals (e.g. "II", "III") to distinguish between different individuals bearing the same name.
Examples of the full titulary
Senusret I
Hatshepsut
The full titulary of Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Hatshepsut, providing a guide to pronunciation and its equivalent meaning and showing the differences if the pharaoh is a woman, is as follows,
- Praenomen - Maatkare - Truth [Ma'at] is the Ka of Re
- Nomen - Khnumt-Amun Hatshepsut - Joined with Amun, Foremost of Noble Ladies
- Horus name - Wesretkau - Mighty of Kas
- Nebty name - Wadjrenput - She of the Two Ladies, Flourishing of years
- Golden Horus - Netjeretkhau - Divine of appearance
Thutmose III
The full titulary of Eighteenth Dynasty pharaoh Thutmose III, providing a guide to pronunciation and its equivalent meaning, is as follows
- Horus name - Kanakht Khaemwaset - Horus Mighty Bull, Arising in Thebes
- nebty name - Wahnesytmireempet - He of the Two Ladies, Enduring in kingship like Re in heaven
- Horus of Gold - Sekhempahtydsejerkhaw - Horus of Gold Powerful of strength, Sacred of appearance
- praenomen - Menkheperre - He of the Sedge and the Bee, Enduring of form is Re
- nomen - Thutmose Neferkheperu - Son of Ra, Thutmose, beautiful of forms
References
- Allen, James P. (1999). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521774837.
- Dodson, Aidan Mark, and Dyan Hilton (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Cairo, London, and New York: The American University in Cairo Press and Thames and Hudson. ISBN 977-424-878-3.
- Gardiner, Alan Henderson (1957). Egyptian Grammar; Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs. 3rd, Oxford: Griffith Institute.
- Quirke, Stephen G. J. (1990). Who Were the Pharaohs? A History of Their Names with a List of Cartouches. London: British Museum Publications Limited.
- Schneider, Thomas (1993). "Zur Etymologie der Bezeichnung ‘König von Ober- und Unterägypten’". Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 120 166–181.
- von Beckerath, Jürgen (1999). Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. 2nd edition, Mainz am Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Friday July 18, 2008 at 10:31:20 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
