| Hotepsekhemwy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bedjatau, Bedjau, Boethos, Bochus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Stone vase bearing Hotepsekhemwy's serekh,National Archaeological Museum (France) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 25–29, 38 years c. 29th century BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Qa'a (most likely) orSneferka,Horus Bird | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Raneb | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Children | Perneb andRaneb ? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | Gallery Tomb A, Saqqara (?) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | 2nd Dynasty; startingc. 2890 BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hotepsekhemwy is theHorus name of anearly Egyptian king who was the founder of theSecond Dynasty of Egypt. The exact length of his reign is not known; theTurin canon suggests an improbable 95 years[4] while the ancient EgyptianhistorianManetho reports that the reign of "Boëthôs" lasted for 38 years.[5]Egyptologists consider both statements to be misinterpretations or exaggerations. They credit Hotepsekhemwy with either a 25- or a 29-year rule.[6]
Hotepsekhemwy's name has been identified by archaeologists atSaqqara,Giza,Badari andAbydos from clay seal impressions,stone vessels and bone cylinders. Several stone vessel inscriptions mention Hotepsekhemwy along with the name of his successorRaneb.[1][7][8][9]
TheHorus name of Hotepsekhemwy is the subject of particular interest to Egyptologists and historians, as it may hint at the turbulent politics of the time. The Egyptian word "Hotep" means "peaceful" and "to be pleased" though it can also mean "conciliation" or "to be reconciled". So Hotepsekhemwy's full name may be read as "the two powers are reconciled" or "pleasing in powers", which suggests a significant political meaning. In this sense, "the two powers" could be a reference toUpper Egypt andLower Egypt as well as to the major deitiesHorus andSeth.[1][10][11]
From the reign of Hotepsekhemwy onward it became a tradition to write the Horus name and theNebty name in the same way. It is thought that some kind ofphilosophic background affected that choice, since the Horus name reveals a clearly defined, symbolic meaning in its translation. Horus- and nebty names being the same might also indicate, that the Horus name was adopted after ascending the throne.[1]
The name of Hotepsekhemwy's wife is unknown. A "son of the king" and "priest of Sopdu" namedPerneb might have been his son, but since the clay seals providing his name and titles were found in a gallery tomb which is attributed to two kings equally (Hotepsekhemwy and his successor,Raneb), it is uncertain whose son Perneb really was.[12][13]
Hotepsekhemwy is commonly identified with theRamessidecartouche namesBedjau from theAbydos King List,Bedjatau from Giza,Netjer-Bau from theSaqqara King List and the nameBau-hetepju from theroyal canon of Turin. EgyptologistWolfgang Helck points to the similar nameBedjatau, which appears in a short king list found on a writing board from themastaba tombG1001 of the high officialMesdjeru. "Bedjatau" means "the foundryman" and is thought to be a misreading of the name "Hotepsekhemwy", since thehieroglyphic signs used to write "Hotep" in its full form are very similar to the signs of a pottery kiln and a chick inhieratic writings. The signs of twoSekhem sceptres were misread as a leg and a drill. A similarphenomenon might have occurred in the case of KingKhasekhemwy, where the two sceptres in the Horus name were misread as two leg-symbols or two drill-signs. The Abydos king list imitates thisOld Kingdom name form of "Bedjatau". The names "Netjerbau" and "Bau-hetepju" are problematic, since Egyptologists can't find any name source from Hotepsekhemwy's time that could have been used to form them.[1][14][15]
Little is known about Hotepsekhemwy's reign. Contemporary sources show that he may have gained the throne after a period of political strife, including ephemeral rulers such asHorus Bird andSneferka (the latter is also thought to be an alternate name used by kingQa'a for a short time). As evidence of this, Egyptologists Wolfgang Helck,Dietrich Wildung andGeorge Reisner point to the tomb of king Qa'a, which was plundered at the end of1st Dynasty and was restored during the reign of Hotepsekhemwy. The plundering of the cemetery and the unusually conciliatory meaning of the name Hotepsekhemwy may be clues of a dynastic struggle. Additionally, Helck assumes that the kings Sneferka and Horus Bird were omitted from later king lists because their struggles for the Egyptian throne were factors in the collapse of the first dynasty.[1][10][16]
Seal impressions provide evidence of a new royal residence called "Horus the shining star" that was constructed by Hotepsekhemwy. He also built a temple nearButo for the little-known deityNetjer-Achty and founded the "Chapel of the White Crown". Thewhite crown is a symbol ofUpper Egypt. This is thought to be another clue to the origin of Hotepsekhemwy's dynasty, indicating a likely source of political power.[1][17] Egyptologists such asNabil Swelim point out that there is no inscription from Hotepsekhemwy's reign mentioning aSed festival, indicating the ruler cannot have ruled longer than 30 years (the Sed festival was celebrated as the anniversary marking a reign of 30 years).[18]The ancient Egyptian historianManetho called HotepsekhemwyBoëthôs (apparently altered from the nameBedjau) and reported that during this ruler's reign "a chasm opened nearBubastis and many perished". Although Manetho wrote in the 3rd century BC—over two millennia after the king's actual reign—some Egyptologists think it possible that this anecdote may have been based on fact, since the region nearBubastis is known to be seismically active.[5]
The location of Hotepsekhemwy's tomb is uncertain. Egyptologists such asFlinders Petrie,Alessandro Barsanti andToby Wilkinson believe it could be the giant undergroundGallery Tomb A beneath the funeral passage of theUnas-necropolis at Saqqara. Many seal impressions of king Hotepsekhemwy have been found in these galleries.
Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck andPeter Munro are not convinced and think thatGallery Tomb B is instead the burial site of kingRaneb, as several seal impressions of this ruler were also found there.[9][19][20][21][22]
The more accepted theory is that Hotepsekhemwy and his son Raneb shared Tomb A.
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