Raneb
Encyclopedia
Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian
king
of the 2nd dynasty
. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon
is damaged and the year accounts are lost. The ancient Greek
historian
Manetho
suggests that Raneb's reign lasted 39 years, but Egyptologists question Manetho's view as a misinterpretation or exaggeration
of information that was available to him. They credit Raneb with either a 10 or 14 year rule.
is of great interest to Egyptologists, since it is written with the hieroglyphic sign of the sun
, which had not yet become the object of divine adoration during his lifetime. The first definite proof of the existence of the sun-deity
Ra
occurs at the beginning of the 3rd dynasty
during the reign of king Djoser
. Therefore the Raneb's serekh name is problematic regarding its translation and meaning. The typical translation of Raneb's name as "The sun is my lord" is therefore questionable, as this would assume that the Sun was already being worshiped as a deity. Therefore, Egyptologists prefer the translation "Lord of the sun (of Horus)", which implies the pharaoh's rule over the Sun (as a celestial body), which was also under Horus's control.
-era cartouche-name
Kakau, which can be translated as "The bull
of Apis". This links to the anecdote
written by Manetho, who said that under king Kêchoós (the Greek
version of the name Kakau) the deities Apies
, the goat of Mendes
and Menevus were "introduced and worshipped as gods". This view is questioned by modern Egyptologists, as there was already a cult
of Apis established during the 1st dynasty
, if not earlier. The name "Kakau" itself is problematic for this early pharaoh, as there was no name source from Raneb's time that could have been used to form the word.
The birth name of Raneb also remains unclear. A theory
by Egyptologist Jochem Kahl says that Raneb was the same person as the mysterious king Weneg-Nebti. He points to a vessel fragment made of volcanic
ash, which was found in the tomb
of king Peribsen (a later ruler during the 2nd dynasty) at Abydos
. On the pot sherd he believes there are traces of the weneg-flower beneath the incised name of king Ninetjer. To the right of Ninetjer's name the depiction of the Ka-house of king Raneb is partially preserved. This arrangement led Kahl to conclude that the weneg-flower and Raneb's name were connected to each other and king Ninetjer replaced the inscription
. Kahl also points out that king Ninetjer wrote his name mirrored
, so that his name deliberately runs in the opposite direction to Raneb's name. Kahl's theory is the subject of continuing discussion since the vessel inscription is damaged thus leaving plenty of room for varying interpretations.
Egyptologists such as Jürgen von Beckerath
and Battiscombe Gunn
identify Raneb with another mysterious early pharaoh: Nubnefer
. This link is questioned by other scholars, since the rulers of 2nd Dynasty often wrote their birth and Horus names in same way (for example: Hor-Raneb → Nisut-Bity-Nebty-Raneb). Thus the name "Nubnefer" may be the birth name of a different king.
-related and administrative
events, such as the "Erecting of the pillars of Horus". Under Raneb, the first depiction of the goddess Bastet occurs. The exact duration of Raneb's reign is the subject of investigations
. Reconstructions of the well known Palermo Stone
, a black basalt
table presenting the yearly events of the kings from the beginning of the 1st dynasty up to king Neferirkare
in the shape of clearly divided charts, leads to the conclusion that Raneb and his predecessor, king Hotepsekhemwy
, ruled altogether for 39 years. Since Raneb has fewer records of his rule than Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb is thought to have ruled for a shorter time. The calculations differ from 29 and 10 years to 25 and 14 years.
is unknown. Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck
and Peter Munro believe that Raneb was buried in the gallery tomb B beneath the cortege passage of the Unas
necropolis
at Saqqara
. Most of the artifact
s with Raneb's name were found there.
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom...
king
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
of the 2nd dynasty
Second dynasty of Egypt
The second dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasty I under the group title Early Dynastic Period. It dates approximately from 2890 to 2686 BC. The capital at that time was Thinis.-Rulers:...
. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon
Turin King List
The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is a hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio at Turin...
is damaged and the year accounts are lost. The ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Manetho
Manetho
Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...
suggests that Raneb's reign lasted 39 years, but Egyptologists question Manetho's view as a misinterpretation or exaggeration
Exaggeration
Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner. The exaggerator has been a familiar figure in Western culture since at least Aristotle's discussion of the alazon: 'the boaster is regarded as one who pretends to have distinguished qualities which he possesses either not at all...
of information that was available to him. They credit Raneb with either a 10 or 14 year rule.
Name sources
Raneb's Serekh nameSerekh
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a serekh is a rectangular enclosure representing the niched or gated façade of a palace surmounted by the Horus falcon, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name...
is of great interest to Egyptologists, since it is written with the hieroglyphic sign of the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, which had not yet become the object of divine adoration during his lifetime. The first definite proof of the existence of the sun-deity
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
occurs at the beginning of the 3rd dynasty
Third dynasty of Egypt
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur.The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth...
during the reign of king Djoser
Djoser
Netjerikhet or Djoser is the best-known pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt. He commissioned his official, Imhotep, to build the first of the pyramids, a step pyramid for him at Saqqara...
. Therefore the Raneb's serekh name is problematic regarding its translation and meaning. The typical translation of Raneb's name as "The sun is my lord" is therefore questionable, as this would assume that the Sun was already being worshiped as a deity. Therefore, Egyptologists prefer the translation "Lord of the sun (of Horus)", which implies the pharaoh's rule over the Sun (as a celestial body), which was also under Horus's control.
Identity
King Raneb is commonly identified with the RamessideNew Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
-era cartouche-name
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
Kakau, which can be translated as "The bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
of Apis". This links to the anecdote
Anecdote
An anecdote is a short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. It may be as brief as the setting and provocation of a bon mot. An anecdote is always presented as based on a real incident involving actual persons, whether famous or not, usually in an identifiable place...
written by Manetho, who said that under king Kêchoós (the Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
version of the name Kakau) the deities Apies
Apis (Egyptian mythology)
In Egyptian mythology, Apis or Hapis , was a bull-deity worshipped in the Memphis region.According to Manetho, his worship was instituted by Kaiechos of the Second Dynasty. Hape is named on very early monuments, but little is known of the divine animal before the New Kingdom...
, the goat of Mendes
Banebdjedet
Banebdjedet was an Ancient Egyptian ram god with a cult centre at Mendes. Khnum was the equivalent god in Upper Egypt. His wife was the goddess Hatmehyt who was perhaps the original deity of Mendes. Their offspring was "Horus the Child" and they formed the so called "Mendesian Triad"...
and Menevus were "introduced and worshipped as gods". This view is questioned by modern Egyptologists, as there was already a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
of Apis established during the 1st dynasty
First dynasty of Egypt
The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the Dynasty II under the group title, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt...
, if not earlier. The name "Kakau" itself is problematic for this early pharaoh, as there was no name source from Raneb's time that could have been used to form the word.
The birth name of Raneb also remains unclear. A theory
Theory
The English word theory was derived from a technical term in Ancient Greek philosophy. The word theoria, , meant "a looking at, viewing, beholding", and referring to contemplation or speculation, as opposed to action...
by Egyptologist Jochem Kahl says that Raneb was the same person as the mysterious king Weneg-Nebti. He points to a vessel fragment made of volcanic
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
ash, which was found in the tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
of king Peribsen (a later ruler during the 2nd dynasty) at Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
. On the pot sherd he believes there are traces of the weneg-flower beneath the incised name of king Ninetjer. To the right of Ninetjer's name the depiction of the Ka-house of king Raneb is partially preserved. This arrangement led Kahl to conclude that the weneg-flower and Raneb's name were connected to each other and king Ninetjer replaced the inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
. Kahl also points out that king Ninetjer wrote his name mirrored
Mirror writing
Mirror writing is formed by writing in the direction that is the reverse of the natural way for a given language, such that the result is the mirror image of normal writing: it appears normal when it is reflected in a mirror. It is sometimes used as an extremely primitive form of cipher...
, so that his name deliberately runs in the opposite direction to Raneb's name. Kahl's theory is the subject of continuing discussion since the vessel inscription is damaged thus leaving plenty of room for varying interpretations.
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath is a prominent German Egyptologist. He is a prolific writer who has published countless articles in journals such as Orientalia, Göttinger Miszellen , Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt , Archiv für Orientforschung and Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur among...
and Battiscombe Gunn
Battiscombe Gunn
Battiscombe "Jack" George Gunn was an English Egyptologist and philologist. He published his first translation from Egyptian in 1906. He translated inscriptions for many important excavations and sites, including Fayum, Saqqara, Amarna, Giza and Luxor...
identify Raneb with another mysterious early pharaoh: Nubnefer
Nubnefer
Nubnefer is the birth name of a king who may have ruled during the 2nd dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The exact length of his reign is unknown and his chronological position is unclear.- Name sources :...
. This link is questioned by other scholars, since the rulers of 2nd Dynasty often wrote their birth and Horus names in same way (for example: Hor-Raneb → Nisut-Bity-Nebty-Raneb). Thus the name "Nubnefer" may be the birth name of a different king.
Reign
Little is known about Raneb's reign. The pot inscriptions and seal impressions surviving from his time only name cultCult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
-related and administrative
Administration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.-United States:In United States usage, the term refers to the executive branch under a specific president , for example: the "Barack Obama administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency...
events, such as the "Erecting of the pillars of Horus". Under Raneb, the first depiction of the goddess Bastet occurs. The exact duration of Raneb's reign is the subject of investigations
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
. Reconstructions of the well known Palermo Stone
Palermo stone
The Palermo Stone is a large fragment of a stele known as the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. It contains records of the kings of Egypt from the first dynasty through the fifth dynasty....
, a black basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
table presenting the yearly events of the kings from the beginning of the 1st dynasty up to king Neferirkare
Neferirkare
*For the better known Fifth dynasty pharaoh by this name, see Neferirkare KakaiNeferirkare was an Eighth dynasty king of Ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only clearly attested in the Abydos King List but it is assumed that the reign length figure for the last 8th...
in the shape of clearly divided charts, leads to the conclusion that Raneb and his predecessor, king Hotepsekhemwy
Hotepsekhemwy
Hotepsekhemwy is the Horus name of a early Egyptian king who was the founder of the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is not known; the Turin canon suggests an improbable 95 years while the ancient Greek Historian Manetho reports that the reign of "Boëthôs" lasted for 38 years...
, ruled altogether for 39 years. Since Raneb has fewer records of his rule than Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb is thought to have ruled for a shorter time. The calculations differ from 29 and 10 years to 25 and 14 years.
Tomb
The location of Raneb's necropolisNecropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
is unknown. Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck
Wolfgang Helck
Hans Wolfgang Helck was a German Egyptologist, considered one of the most important Egyptologists of the 20th century. From 1956 until his retirement in 1979 he was a Professor at the University of Hamburg...
and Peter Munro believe that Raneb was buried in the gallery tomb B beneath the cortege passage of the Unas
Unas
Unas was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, and the last ruler of the Fifth dynasty from the Old Kingdom. His reign has been dated as falling between 2375 BC and 2345 BC...
necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
at Saqqara
Saqqara
Saqqara is a vast, ancient burial ground in Egypt, serving as the necropolis for the Ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis. Saqqara features numerous pyramids, including the world famous Step pyramid of Djoser, sometimes referred to as the Step Tomb due to its rectangular base, as well as a number of...
. Most of the artifact
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
s with Raneb's name were found there.