The Narmer Palette is an Egyptian Ceremonial engraving. The Chevron shaped stone tablet is over two feet tall. It also is known as the Victory Palette and Great Hierakonopolis Palette. The palette shows the first Dynasty King conquering his foes and uniting upper and lower Egypt. The palette is almost the first of its kind dating back 3200-3000BCE. It also depicts one of the earliest hieroglyphics to date. The tablet is said to be made from a single siltstone and represents the first ceremonial tablet of its kind. The very fact that the tablet is found to be carved on both sides shows that it was used for ceremonial purposes and not of the ordinary kind. The palette intricately depicts the king of the First Dynasty in Egypt defeating his enemies and securing the Approval of the gods for uniting the lower and upper parts of Egypt.
The engraving shows a king defeating is enemies only to unite Egypt under one rule. Traditionally such a King is called Menes- a king of the first dynastic rule of Egypt that united both the lower and upper halves.
Menes was also associated with his predecessor Narmer who also had ambitions of uniting Egypt under one rule using peaceful means. This was according to discoveries made by the BCE historian Manetho. Another ruler who also had aspirations of ruling a unified Egypt was Hor –Aha, Menes’ successor.
Based on earlier records of Manetho the chronology depicts Menes as the first king of Egypt’s dynasty. But since then records have been lost. Piecing back the earlier records however shows that Manetho might have been wrong. Subsequent archeological finds of artifacts and temples shows the view that Menes was the first king to be wrong. When the Narmer palette was eventually found, there was no express sign showing that it belonged to Menes as the King of the first Dynasty in Egypt. As time passed Menes is now come to symbolize the three kings wishing to unite the upper and lower halves of Egypt and not just one king.
Later Egyptologist Flinders Petrie associated Menes with Narmer, claiming that the two were in fact one person. Menes was merely an honorary name meaning “one who endures” and was conferred on Narmer, this was according to Petrie. As for Hor- Aha- the name is again associated with Menes in that the king was also given the honorary title of Menes.
So technically the reference to Narmer was then assumed to be the first king of first dynasty Egypt. The Narmer palette was conferred on him when he united both halves of Egypt under a single rule. The palette shows the king of upper Egypt defeating the then ruler of lower Egypt into uniting Egypt as a whole.
Based on found records and archeological finds Egypt’s unification took place between 3150 BCE to 2680 BCE. Dates for unification of the first dynasty is normally accepted to be 3150BCE but for the second dynasty it is between 2890-2670BCE. This shows that the unification under the second dynasty rule did not last and every king had to put up with civil unrests. Records of the time show that mostly all the unrest was between the lower and upper halves of Egypt and there was no foreign element at play.
Unification under Narmer’s rule was most assuredly done under a military campaign and not through peaceful means. This was as depicted by the palette.
On one side of the palette we see Narmer wearing the war crown of Upper Egypt as well as the wicker crown signifying his defeat of Lower Egypt. At the bottom of the same side we see two people capturing the entwined bodies of two serpentine beasts. The two serpentine beasts are commonly interpreted as being the Lower and Upper halves of Egypt. There is however no proof for this interpretation.
Still lower on the section, the king is depicted as a bull ramming the city walls and trampling his enemies with his hooves.
The other side of the Narmer Palette shows a single large image of Narmer with his war club with which he is about to strike down his enemy that he is holding by the hair. Beneath his feet are two men who are either dead or trying to escape his wrath. At the back of the king is a servant who holds his sandals and above is the god Horus that is supposedly pleased with the proceedings.
The Narmer Palette Scenes:
The engraving shows a king defeating is enemies only to unite Egypt under one rule. Traditionally such a King is called Menes- a king of the first dynastic rule of Egypt that united both the lower and upper halves.
Menes was also associated with his predecessor Narmer who also had ambitions of uniting Egypt under one rule using peaceful means. This was according to discoveries made by the BCE historian Manetho. Another ruler who also had aspirations of ruling a unified Egypt was Hor –Aha, Menes’ successor.
Based on earlier records of Manetho the chronology depicts Menes as the first king of Egypt’s dynasty. But since then records have been lost. Piecing back the earlier records however shows that Manetho might have been wrong. Subsequent archeological finds of artifacts and temples shows the view that Menes was the first king to be wrong. When the Narmer palette was eventually found, there was no express sign showing that it belonged to Menes as the King of the first Dynasty in Egypt. As time passed Menes is now come to symbolize the three kings wishing to unite the upper and lower halves of Egypt and not just one king.
Later Egyptologist Flinders Petrie associated Menes with Narmer, claiming that the two were in fact one person. Menes was merely an honorary name meaning “one who endures” and was conferred on Narmer, this was according to Petrie. As for Hor- Aha- the name is again associated with Menes in that the king was also given the honorary title of Menes.
Archeological Finds
So technically the reference to Narmer was then assumed to be the first king of first dynasty Egypt. The Narmer palette was conferred on him when he united both halves of Egypt under a single rule. The palette shows the king of upper Egypt defeating the then ruler of lower Egypt into uniting Egypt as a whole.
Based on found records and archeological finds Egypt’s unification took place between 3150 BCE to 2680 BCE. Dates for unification of the first dynasty is normally accepted to be 3150BCE but for the second dynasty it is between 2890-2670BCE. This shows that the unification under the second dynasty rule did not last and every king had to put up with civil unrests. Records of the time show that mostly all the unrest was between the lower and upper halves of Egypt and there was no foreign element at play.
Unification under Narmer’s rule was most assuredly done under a military campaign and not through peaceful means. This was as depicted by the palette.
Narmer Palette Depictions:
On one side of the palette we see Narmer wearing the war crown of Upper Egypt as well as the wicker crown signifying his defeat of Lower Egypt. At the bottom of the same side we see two people capturing the entwined bodies of two serpentine beasts. The two serpentine beasts are commonly interpreted as being the Lower and Upper halves of Egypt. There is however no proof for this interpretation.
Still lower on the section, the king is depicted as a bull ramming the city walls and trampling his enemies with his hooves.
The other side of the Narmer Palette shows a single large image of Narmer with his war club with which he is about to strike down his enemy that he is holding by the hair. Beneath his feet are two men who are either dead or trying to escape his wrath. At the back of the king is a servant who holds his sandals and above is the god Horus that is supposedly pleased with the proceedings.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.