Narmer
Narmer is generally identified as the first pharaoh of a unified Egypt. He ruled around 3100 BC, at the very beginning of the historical record, and much of what is claimed about him rests on a single object. The Narmer Palette, found at Hierakonpolis in 1898, is a shield-shaped slab of siltstone about sixty-four centimetres high, carved on both faces. On one side the king wears the white crown of Upper Egypt and raises a mace over a kneeling captive; on the other he wears the red crown of Lower Egypt and inspects rows of decapitated bodies. His name appears in a serekh at the top of both faces, written with the catfish and chisel signs. It has been read since its discovery as a record of the conquest of the north by the south and the unification of the two lands, which is the founding event of Egyptian history. It is also a ceremonial object rather than a chronicle, and the imagery is formulaic — the smiting pose recurs on royal monuments for three thousand years. Unification was probably a process over generations rather than a single victory, and Narmer may be recording something already accomplished, or claiming something not yet complete. Whether he is the same person as Menes, the founder named in later king lists, is disputed and probably true. His tomb at Abydos is modest by later standards. Objects with his name have been found as far as southern Canaan, indicating trade or control there. His queen may have been Neithhotep, whose tomb is larger than his.
- Lived: 3150 BCE – 3100 BCE
- Nationality: Egyptian
- Roles: pharaoh, founder, military_leader
