Featured Article Summary #103

Nynetjer, also known as Ninetjer or Banetjer, was the third pharaoh of Egypt’s Second Dynasty, before the Old Kingdom. His reign dates are not certain, but historians often place it between the late 29th and early 27th century BC, for roughly 40 years. He is the best-attested early Second Dynasty king in archaeological evidence and appears on several later king lists, and he likely succeeded Raneb. However, the end of his reign is unclear, with evidence suggesting the state split or weakened along religious and political lines, possibly with separate rulers in Upper and Lower Egypt until Khasekhemwy reunited Egypt. Records of his reign mainly describe religious festivals and censuses for taxation, and royal activity was mostly centered near Memphis in Lower Egypt, with perhaps a Nubian campaign. His large Saqqara tomb was complex and long, and even after later disturbance it still held original funerary items such as jars of food and drink and stone tools used in burial rituals. Nynetjer is one of the best-attested early kings of Egypt’s Second Dynasty: his name is found on many stone vessels and clay sealings from his tomb at Saqqara, and similar inscriptions appear on items from Abydos, Djoser’s step pyramid complex, and several other elite tombs. His name is also carved on a rock inscription in Lower Nubia. There, it appears in an unusual serekh showing only the “N” sign, with “Netjer” (“God”) placed above it instead of the usual Horus falcon, possibly reflecting later religious changes seen in other rulers’ titulary. Most Egyptologists place Nynetjer as the third ruler of the early Second Dynasty, after Raneb, based mainly on Hetepedief’s statue, where the king names appear in an order that matches this sequence. Additional evidence—such as royal stone bowls from Hotepsekhemwy and Raneb later being reused—also supports that Nynetjer followed them. Ancient king lists from later periods (including records preserved on the Palermo Stone, Turin Canon, Abydos list, Saqqara table, and Manetho’s history) also rank Nynetjer third, though his name appears in changed or corrupted forms. Historians estimate Nynetjer’s reign length by using surviving pieces of Old Kingdom royal annals and the placement of later reigns. Most reconstructions suggest a long rule, usually between 38 and 49 years, and a 2000 study using the Palermo Stone estimates about 40 years. Other sources give very different numbers (such as 96 years in the Turin Canon, which is rejected), but archaeological evidence—like an early Sed-festival statue and related vessels—also points to him reigning for at least about 30 years. The Palermo Stone mainly lists the usual religious and royal ceremonies of King Nynetjer, including the biennial “Following of Horus” linked to taxation, regular temple festivals, and special Sokar rites every six years. It also suggests that goddesses like Bastet and Neith were worshipped and that most of these activities were centered in the Memphite region, with a possible Nubian expedition hinted at by a separate inscription. The royal annals also record special events such as founding “Hor-ren” in his seventh regnal year and a major event involving “Shem-Ra” and “Ha,” which may refer either to suppressing unrest or to growth of the sun-god Ra’s cult. A later fragment (the Cairo Stone) may preserve additional, uncertain events from his later reign, including further Sokar and Following of Horus festivals, plus suggestions about creating an Anubis statue and an “appearance” of the king; later writers discuss Binōthris in a way that Emery connects to the long rule of queens in Egypt’s First Dynasty.