Though Peribsen may have been a usurper in the view of the prevailing Horus faction, he may equally have been the scion of a still older line from which the chiefs of Upper Egypt, in times before the kings, descended; at any rate he placed himself in opposition to the Horus Khasekhem who, early in his reign, had gone south to put down a rebellion of the Nubian tribes. This rebellion defeated, Khasekhem returned to the frontiers of Egypt to find Set, in the person of Peribsen, in possession of what he, the Horus, saw as his patrimony. A series of fierce engagements took place, up and down the Valley; the outcome was victory for Khasekhem and defeat for the Set-King. Khasekhem, it is then suggested, assumed a modified throne-name, ‘the Horus Khasekhemwy’. This meant ‘In him the Two Powers are reconciled’, a significant and majestic assertion indeed, in all the circumstances.
This concept of what might have happened in such immensely distant an epoch is merely an attractive thesis, but it provides a plausible reconstruction of events as they may have happened in the Valley so long ago. This version of the conflict of Horus and Set, on which it is based, presented in terms of the rightful (or accepted) claimant (Horus) returning from an excursion beyond the frontiers to find his kingdom usurped (by Set), depends on a long hieroglyphic text inscribed on the walls of the great Horus temple at Edfu,34 one of the most important religious centres in Old Kingdom Egypt. The version which survives is only derived from Ptolemaic times; it is possible, however, that it preserves much older material.
The text purports to be an historical record of the rebellion of Set against Horus and is represented as being declaimed by Imhotep, the chief minister of King Netjerykhet, and the most powerful magus in Egyptian popular legend. He is depicted standing before a nameless king, probably Net-jerykhet himself, and recounting the story of the rebellion. Netjerykhet reigned in the early Third Dynasty; he may have been directly descended from Khasekhemwy. The notional Set rebellion would have taken place in the closing period of the Second Dynasty. It is indeed a speculative interpretation but one which has much appeal in explaining what was clearly a crucial and profoundly memorable experience for Egypt in Early Dynastic times.
Whatever else it may do the story of the conflict of Horus and Set confirms the essentially political character of the two protagonists. Peribsen became Set, Khasekhem-Khasekhemwy was Horus and the long saga began. However, it is not without point that Khasekhemwy, the victorious incarnate god, saw his role as conciliator as the most important of his qualities. Like the founder of the dynasty he believed himself to be the reconciler of the opposing factions in the state.
Some of the earliest attempts at royal portraiture in the round, following the single example of Ninetjer come from the end of the Second Dynasty: two statues, one in limestone, the other in schist of King Khasekhem-Khasekhemwy. For works made very nearly five thousand years ago, the statues are remarkable. One, in Cairo,35 has been oddly bisected: however, its quality is evident. In particular, the carving of the king’s cloak, as it stands away from his throat, is masterly. The other, in the Ashmolean Museum,36 Oxford, is one of the supreme masterpieces of Egyptian art. It shows the
(b)
Figure 6.3 King Khasekhem-Khasekhemwy, (a) the last king of the Second Dynasty, incorporated the symbolic animals of both the god Horus and the god Set on his serekh (b), thus ensuring his long-lasting reputation as the reconciler of the opposing factions within the Egyptian state in the formative years of the earliest dynasties.
Sources: (a) As King Khasekhem, reproduced by permission of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; (b) Reproduced from W. M.F. Petrie, Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties Part II pl. XXIII.197, by courtesy of the Egypt Exploration Society.
Figure 6.4 King Khasekhemwy presided over a period of rapid material advance and achievement in Egypt. This scene, of the king taking part in the ceremony of ‘Stretching the Cord’ at the founding of a temple, was part of the door-jamb of his palace at Hierakonpolis.
Source: photograph John G. Ross.
King seated on his throne, wrapped in his cloak and wearing the White Crown of the south; beneath his feet the enemies of Egypt are trampled. The king is tranquil, his eyes placid; already he has assumed his full divinity and sits enthroned above all creation. The technique of carving is assured and highly skilled; the sculptor works the stone with absolute mastery and without any hint of uncertainty.
According to Manetho, the king who corresponds to Khasekhem Khasekhemwy in his history was a giant, standing, if it is to be believed, some eight feet tall. He is said to have ruled Egypt for forty-eight years and to have been a great military leader; but it is Khasekhemwy’s genius as conciliator that is graphically demonstrated, in yet another evidence of the early Egyptians’ genius for synthesizing a whole spectrum of experience in one brilliant design motif, by the presentation of his royal name, in the serekh enclosure, surmounted by the figures of the two gods, Set standing at peace with Horus. It is one of the most perceptive pieces of political propaganda graphics in all history; it is also quite unique in all the long history of the Egyptian royal formulary.
The tomb of Khasehkemwy at Abydos is an immense, trapezoidal structure, identified and published more than a century ago.37 It has been re-excavated by the German Archaeological Expedition,38 whose findings have added considerably to the understanding of the importance of this most significant early king of Egypt. One result of these excavations has been the identification of a large number of seal impressions which bear the name of Netjerykhet, of the succeeding Third Dynasty. It appears that Netjerykhet officiated at Khasehkemwy’s funeral, the duty of an heir, ideally of a son. From this it has been deduced that Netjerykhet must have followed Khasekhemwy to the throne and that there was no familial break between the two dynasties. Netjerykhet may have been the older king’s step-son or his grandson, by Netjerykhet’s mother, Nebmaathep. This lady was Khasekhemwy’s daughter and may also have been his wife.
Near the tomb of Khasekhemwy American archaeologists have found an extraordinary flotilla of stone ships buried in the desert.39 The flotilla is still under excavation and it is likely that they will be found to have come from the First Dynasty, their location close to Khasekhemwy’s tomb accidental.
A very large enclosure, visible from the air at Saqqara, close to the Step Pyramid’s enclosing walls, has long puzzled archaeologists. Known as Gisr el-Mudir it has recently been the subject of remote sensing techniques employed by the National Museum of Scotland’s Saqqara survey.40 Gisr el-Mudir is huge, almost twice the size of Netjerykhet’s enclosure, the walls of which run for about a mile and a half. It is not known yet who was responsible for its construction but it has been speculated that it might well be Khasekhemwy.
World History
