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Merneith
Merneith, "beloved of Neith", was the wife of Djet and the mother of Den. When Djet died and Den was still a child, she appears to have governed Egypt in her son's name. She is the only woman of the First Dynasty buried among the kings at Abydos, in a tomb as large as theirs, and her name appears on a list of rulers made under Den. Whether she ruled as regent or as a king in her own right, and so whether she was the first woman to rule Egypt, is still debated.
- Reign
- Regent in the first years of Den, from about 2814 BCE, length unknown
- Dynasty
- 1st
- Predecessor
- Djet, her husband
- Successor
- Den, her son
- Family
- Possibly a daughter of Djer, wife of Djet, mother of Den
- Capital
- Probably Memphis
- Burial
- Tomb Y, Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos
- Main sources
- Her tomb and stelae, seal impressions from Den's tomb, vessels with her name
- Names
- Merneith or Meritneith, "beloved of Neith", written in a serekh, like a king's name, on seals from Saqqara and Naqada, "King's Mother" on a seal from Den's tomb, absent from the later king lists
Path to the throne
THEME ONE
Merneith's origins are uncertain. She may have been a daughter of Djer, which would make her the sister or half-sister of her husband Djet, but there is no firm evidence. She became Djet's principal queen, and after his death their son Den was too young to rule alone. A seal from Den's tomb calls her "King's Mother", and she seems to have governed for him in his first years.
Reign and government
THEME TWO
No record describes her government directly, but her name appears on seal impressions, labels and stone vessels, the usual traces of a working administration. On seals from Saqqara and Naqada it is written in a serekh, the frame normally reserved for kings. A seal impression from Den's tomb lists the kings of the dynasty by their Horus names, and Merneith is the only woman on it. Scholars still argue whether she held power as regent or ruled as a king in her own right.
Wars and foreign lands
THEME THREE
No military campaign is recorded for Merneith's time, and no image shows her at war. The trade with the southern Levant and the expeditions to the Eastern Desert attested under Djet and Den probably continued, but nothing in the sources links them to her by name.
Monuments and art
THEME FOUR
When Flinders Petrie excavated her tomb, tomb Y at Umm el-Qa'ab, in 1900, he took it for the tomb of an unknown king, because it matched the royal tombs in size and plan: a large burial chamber lined with mud brick, surrounded by rows of small graves. Two stone stelae with her name revealed the owner. A large mud-brick enclosure at Abydos and a mastaba at Saqqara with vessels bearing her name are also dated to her time.
Religion and beliefs
THEME FIVE
Her name links her to Neith, a warrior and creator goddess of the Delta, like the names of other royal women of the dynasty such as Neithhotep and Herneith. A funerary boat was buried in her tomb complex, meant to carry her in the afterlife together with the sun god. Around her tomb lie at least 40 subsidiary graves of servants who were buried with her.
Death and legacy
THEME SIX
Den went on to rule alone and became one of the longest-reigning and best-known kings of the dynasty. His officials honoured Merneith as "King's Mother", but a seal impression made under Qa'a, the last king of the dynasty, lists the kings without her, and the later king lists never mention her. Today she is often named as one of the first women to rule Egypt, though whether she reigned in her own right is still debated.
Key dates
- c. 2815 BCEDjet dies, leaving his young son Den as heir.
- From c. 2814 BCEMerneith governs in the name of Den.
- 1900Flinders Petrie excavates tomb Y at Abydos and at first takes it for a king's tomb.
- 1985A seal impression from Den's reign, listing the kings with Merneith as "King's Mother", is found at Abydos.
- 1991A seal impression from the reign of Qa'a lists the kings of the dynasty without her.