The second dynasty of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 (notated Dynasty II) is often combined with Dynasty I under the group title Early Dynastic Period

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...

. It dates approximately from 2890 to 2686 BC. The capital at that time was Thinis

Thinis

Thinis or This was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. Thinis is, as yet, undiscovered but well attested to by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes ,...

.

Rulers

The names of the actual rulers of Dynasty II are in dispute. For the first five pharaoh

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...

s, the sources are fairly close in agreement. Known rulers, in the History of Egypt

History of Egypt

Egyptian history can be roughly divided into the following periods:*Prehistoric Egypt*Ancient Egypt**Early Dynastic Period of Egypt: 31st to 27th centuries BC**Old Kingdom of Egypt: 27th to 22nd centuries BC...

, for Dynasty II are as follows:

Name	Years Reigned
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...	38
Raneb Raneb 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...  (now identified with Weneg)	39
Nynetjer Nynetjer Nynetjer is the Horus name of the third early Egyptian king during the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown. The Turin Canon suggests an improbable reign of 96 years and the ancient Greek historian Manetho suggested that Nynetjer's reign lasted 47 years...	40
Senedj Senedj Senedj is the name of an early Egyptian king who may have ruled during the 2nd dynasty. His historical standing remains uncertain, as there are no contemporary records about Senedj. The earliest mention of his name appears during the 4th dynasty. The exact duration of Senedj´s reign is unknown...	20

However, the identity of the next two or three rulers is unclear: we may have both the Horus

Horus

Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in the Ancient Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists...

-name or Nebty (meaning two ladies) -name and their birth names for these rulers; they may be entirely different individuals; or they may be legendary names. On the left are the rulers most Egyptologists place here; on the right are the names that ultimately come from 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...

's Aegyptica:

Proposed Ruler	Manetho's List
Seth-Peribsen Seth-Peribsen Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd dynasty. Unlike many other pharaohs of this dynasty, Peribsen is well-attested in the archaeological records...	Kaires
	Nepherkheres
Sekhemib-Perenmaat Sekhemib-Perenmaat Sekhemib, or Sekhemib-Perenma´at, is the horus name of an early Egyptian king who ruled during the 2nd dynasty. Similar to his predecessor Seth-Peribsen, Sekhemib is contemporarily well attested in archaeological records, but he doesn´t appear in any posthumous document...	Sesokhris

With the last ruler, we return to an agreement:

Name	Years Reigned
Khasekhemwy Khasekhemwy Khasekhemwy was the fifth and final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built several monuments, still extant, mentioning war against the Northerners...	17–18

Although 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...

 states the capital was at Thinis

Thinis

Thinis or This was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. Thinis is, as yet, undiscovered but well attested to by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes ,...

, the same as during Dynasty I, at least the first three kings were buried 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...

, suggesting the center of power had moved to Memphis

Memphis, Egypt

Memphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...

. Beyond this, little can be said about the events during this period; the annual records on the 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....

 only survive for the end of the reign of Raneb

Raneb

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...

 and for parts of Nynetjer

Nynetjer

Nynetjer is the Horus name of the third early Egyptian king during the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown. The Turin Canon suggests an improbable reign of 96 years and the ancient Greek historian Manetho suggested that Nynetjer's reign lasted 47 years...

's. One important event possibly happened during the reign of Khasekhemwy

Khasekhemwy

Khasekhemwy was the fifth and final king of the Second dynasty of Egypt. Little is known of Khasekhemwy, other than that he led several significant military campaigns and built several monuments, still extant, mentioning war against the Northerners...

: many Egyptologists read his name ("the Two Powers are Crowned") as commemorating the union of Upper

Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...

 and Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....

s.