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Second Dynasty of Egypt › Antique Origins
Definition and Origins
The Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 - c. 2670 BCE) rose from the turmoil which ended the first and was marked by uprisings (or, at least, internal difficulties) throughout. The precise cause of this civil unrest is unclear as sources for this period are confused and even the dates of the rulers are unreliable. Some of the names of the kings given by Manetho are not supported by any archaeological evidence and may be duplications of earlier rulers under other names. During the Second Dynasty, developments in culture and military expansion continued, especially in Nubia, but war between Upper and Lower Egypt seems to have occupied many of the rulers and the nation may even have divided during this time.
UNCERTAIN TIMES
Due to whatever national upheaval was going on, the history of the Second Dynasty is difficult to read. Scholars, historians, and archaeologists writing on the period repeatedly use terms such as "it is believed", "possibly", "perhaps", "probably", and "it is thought" in making most of the claims regarding the reigns of the pharaohs and what they accomplished. There is definite physical evidence of the reign of some kings by way of tombs, artifacts, and building projects but others exist in name only on lists such as Manetho's chronology, at Abydos, and in the Turin King List. Perhaps the most accurate reading of the Second Dynasty is that it served as a bridge between the founding of a central government in the First Dynasty and the consolidation of Egyptian culture in the Third.
RULERS OF THE SECOND DYNASTY
The following list of Second Dynasty rulers is based on the archaeological record with reference to the Turin King List and Manetho's chronology. No dates are given for these rulers because none can be verified.
THE SECOND DYNASTY MIGHT BE VIEWED AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THE FOUNDING OF A CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN THE FIRST DYNASTY AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF EGYPTIAN CULTURE IN THE THIRD.
Hotepsekhmenwy ( Greek Name: Boethos) resolved the conflict which ended the First Dynasty of Egypt and ruled for approximately thirty years. His name has been interpreted to mean "two powerful ones are at peace" in reference to whatever action he took to end the clash between the last two princes of the First Dynasty. This interpretation has been contested, however, because his name appears on the entranceway of the tomb of the king Qa'a (last king of the First Dynasty), who ruled before the alleged civil war of the princes. Although the details of his time are unclear, it seems Hotepsekhmenwy ruled over a difficult period of unrest in the country. Although he managed to control his kingdom, there seems little, if any, expansion and his efforts were concentrated on internal difficulties. Precisely what these difficulties may have been is not known but it seems they had to do with a conflict between Upper Egypt's control of Lower Egypt and the latter region's resistance.
Raneb (also known as Nebra, Greek Name: Kaiechos) was possibly the brother of Hotepsekhmenwy. He ruled for approximately fifteen years and may have seized power in a coup (though this is uncertain). He is the first Egyptian ruler to add the name of the sun god Ra to his name and thereby directly link himself and the title of the king to the gods (a practice which would continue throughout Egypt's history and would come to define the office of the ruler of Egypt). Images of the goddess Bastet (depicted as a cat or a woman with a cat's head) first appear under his reign and other religious iconography became more widespread, arguing for a more peaceful and productive rule than his predecessor; though this is by no means certain, and there is evidence the country continued to experience civil unrest and rebellion.
Bastet
Nynetjer (Greek Name: Binothris), like his predecessors, ruled over a difficult period in Egypt's history as evidenced by his division of the country into two separate realms. Whether this was caused by a famine (as some scholars suggest), which he felt could be more easily dealt with by splitting the country in half, or continued rebellion, is debated and there is no conclusive answer. It is thought that he granted women the right to rule but this is claim is contested as the evidence is too vague to interpret clearly.
Weneg-Nebty, the next ruler, is disputed and thought by most scholars to be Raneb or the later king Peribsen.
Senedj (Greek Name: Sethenes) may also be Peribsen, though this claim is disputed. Nothing is known of his reign.
Peribsen (also known as Seth-Peribsen) is considered an important ruler for the cultural changes which took place under his reign as well as for his name which replaced the god Horus with his rival Set. Horus the Younger was the son of the god Osiris who defeated Osiris' brother (and murderer) Set to restore balance to Egypt. It has been suggested that Peribsen's adoption of Set's name indicates a significant change in the religious orientation of Egypt at this time. Since Peribsen's name does not appear on any records of Lower Egypt, however, it has also been claimed that he ruled over a divided country and opted to distance himself from the Cult of Horus for political reasons. It has further been suggested that Peribsen was the first monotheist (predating Akhenaten by centuries) but this claim has been largely discredited as there is evidence of many different gods under his reign.
Stela of Peribsen
Peribsen re-organized the bureaucracy of Egypt and encouraged literacy and religious practice. The first complete sentence in Egyptian history dates from his reign and was found in his tomb. The sentence reads, "The golden one, he of Ombos, hath unified and handed over the two realms to his son, the king of Lower and Upper Egypt, Peribsen." According to scholar Marc Van de Mieroop, "Earlier inscriptions, often found on seals that were impressed on clay, were terse and provided little beyond people's names and titles." (30) The sentence found in Peribsen's tomb, on the other hand, clearly states how the god Set ("he of Ombos") legitimized the rule of Peribsen. As the sentence clearly states that Peribsen ruled over Upper and Lower Egypt, the claim that he adopted Set as his patron god to distance himself from the ruler of Lower Egypt has been repeatedly challenged.
Khasekhemwy (Greek Name: Cheneres) was the last king of the Second Dynasty. He may have been the son of Peribsen or a rival who defeated him in battle. Little is known of his reign but he may have again brought the two regions of Egypt under central rule after Peribsen's defeat (according to one theory) or after he ascended the throne as a legitimate successor. If one accepts the claim that Peribsen ruled over a united Egypt, then Khasekhemwy strengthened that bond. He is known for initiating numerous building projects throughout Egypt which may still be seen in the modern day at Hierakonopolis and Abydos. He was the father of the pharaoh Djoser, founder of the Third Dynasty of Egypt.
Phoenician Government › Antique Origins
Definition and Origins
The governments of such Phoenician cities as Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos were led by hereditary monarchs throughout their history. Those individual cities typically acted autonomously from each other and only rarely did they form mutual alliances.The absolute power of the Phoenician kings, even if they had at their disposal a council of elders for consultation, is attested by various ancient sources, including the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament. Below the king, matters of government were also carried out by a priestly class and those elite households who controlled the international trade upon which Phoenicia so prospered.
A COLLECTION OF CITY -STATES
Phoenicia was never a single political entity but rather a collection of culturally similar cities on the narrow strip of the Levant.Each city had its own independent system of government, which controlled the city and its surrounding territory. At certain times one city might be more dominant than another in the region but individual autonomy was not perhaps compromised.Sidon dominated in the 12th and 11th centuries BCE while thereafter Tyre was the most powerful Phoenician city. Only very occasionally did one Phoenician city form a formal alliance with another. Even when the cities acted with the same policies, they did so individually. An example is in the 5th century BCE when Phoenician cities contributed ships to the Persian fleet of Xerxes, each group acted under their own commander's orders.
THE KINGS OF THE PHOENICIAN CITIES WERE ABSOLUTE IN THEIR POWER UNTIL THE 7TH CENTURY BCE.
HEREDITARY MONARCHIES
Phoenician kings did not commemorate their reigns or achievements in art and inscriptions as in other cultures, and so information is often scarce, not only on the machinery of government but even such basics as who ruled when. We do know from certain tomb inscriptions and scattered sources from other contemporary cultures that the monarchies of the Phoenician cities were absolute in their power until the 7th century BCE. Unlike in other ancient societies where a ruler's wealth was usually acquired through some form of taxation on agricultural production, the Phoenician kings, not having quite so much territory to call upon, acquired their wealth either from directly engaging in trade expeditions themselves or taxing the trade of the city's elite merchants.
The monarchy was usually hereditary, even if there were sometimes revolts, wars, and dramatic changes of dynasty.Marriages of convenience with the royal houses of other cities were also arranged to maintain and increase the king's power.Inscriptions suggest that a long ancestral line was a mark of prestige. From an inscription on the coffin of King Ahiram of Byblos we have the following king list:
- c. 1000 BCE Ahiram
- 980 BCE Ittobaal
- 940 BCE Abibaal
- 920 BCE Yehimilk
- 900 BCE Elibaal
- 880 BCE Shipitbaal
The annals of Tyre and other complimentary sources produce the following list of reigning kings for Tyre:
- 969-936 BCE Hiram I
- 935-919 BCE Baal-eser I
- 918-910 BCE Abdastrato
- 909-898 BCE Methustratos
- 897-889 BCE Astharymos
- 888 BCE Phelles
- 887-856 BCE Ithobaal I
- 855-830 BCE Baal-asor II
- 829-821 BCE Mattan II
- 820-774 BCE Pygmalion
- 750-740 BCE Ithobaal II
- 739-730 BCE Hiram II
- 730-729 BCE Mattan II
- 729-694 BCE Elulaios
- 680-640 BCE Baal I
- Late 7th century BCE but specific dates unknown – Ithobaal III
- Baal II
- Mattan III
- Hiram III
There is no evidence of any queens ruling alone but an inscription at Sidon describes one Queen Unmiashtart who ruled as regent for her son Yatonmilk during the 5th century BCE. There is one other strong female leader mentioned in sources, the semi-mythical figure of Dido, sister of Pygmalion, the king of Tyre. Disgruntled with her brother's policies she is said to have collected a group of like-minded nobles and left Tyre to found her own city, Carthage, on the north coast of Africa.
THE PRIESTHOOD
Another class was the priests who tended the temples and performed rituals, once again, members would have come from the royal family and leading merchant families. There was sometimes a direct connection between the royal and priestly class, for example, Ozbaal, king of Byblos was the son of Paltibaal, the priest of Baalat, according to an inscription on his coffin. The monarch also had a priestly function, perhaps even holding the position of high priest and one of the king's secondary titles was 'Priest of Astarte'. Perhaps not unconnected with this fact, kings were keen for their deeds to match their frequently used additional titles of 'just' and 'righteous' by building temples and monuments in honour of deities such as Astarte, Baal, and Melqart. It is also true that some kings conveyed the idea of being the god's representative in their very name, for example, Baalbazer which signifies 'servant of Baal' or Abdastratus, 'servant of Astarte'. Some kings must have gone one step further and claimed to have actually been the god on earth, a claim much criticized by the Hebrew prophets, as seen in the book of Ezekial in the Bible.
Phoenician Religious Sacrifice
SENIOR OFFICIALS
The king of Tyre could consult a council of elders for advice but it is not known if this body met regularly to discuss policy or what its powers were. According to the ancient historian Arrian, the council could make decisions if the king was otherwise unavailable. The book of Ezekial mentions 'ancients' in the court of Byblos, which could well refer to a similar council. Finally, Diodorus, the 1st-century BCE historian, describes a council of 100 members at Sidon, mentioning that they sometimes took decisions contrary to those of the king. The membership of these councils was likely reserved for members of the royal family and those senior merchants who controlled the trade activities of the city.
Below the king were two specific positions of importance - the governor and the commander of the army. The former was responsible for supervising the court and city administrations. The title is mentioned in texts from Ugarit, El Amarna, and Cyprus, but once again, details are lacking.
ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
There is mention in the annals of Tyre of a peculiar if brief period of government during the 6th century BCE when the city was ruled at any one time by a pair of judges known as suffetes. Later, this system would be adopted by Carthage. When the Phoenician cities came under Assyrian domination in the 7th century BCE, the king had to rule alongside an Assyrian governor who guided policy. The king could not even open official correspondence without being in the presence of this governor. An exception to this dual governance was at Simira where there was not even a king and the Assyrian governor ruled alone. A similar arrangement existed in the 6th century BCE when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II imposed a minister to co-rule with the king at Tyre and again under the Persian domination of the following century.
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