Jürgen von Beckerath translates the hieroglyphs of "Djer" as "Defender of Horus."[5] The King lists of theNew Kingdom (13th century BC) record the third pharaoh asꞽttꞽ, which is sometimes also translated asIteti.[6] The earliest names given in these lists are almost certainly later tradition, asthrone names, the one used in official annals, are only attested from the reign ofDen, the fifth pharaoh. In fact, it's possible thatꞽttꞽ is the result of a later scribe mistaking one of Djer's honorific (recorded in thePalermo Stone) as an actual name.[7]
In theAegyptiaca of the Egyptian priestManetho (3rd century BC), the third pharaoh is recorded asKenkenês (Κενκενης).I. E. S. Edwards theorized that this name actually refers to an alternate spelling ofDen's throne name, which in turn led to other corruptions in the king list.[8]
According to the Roman historianJulius Africanus, Manetho wrote that the third pharaoh ruled 31 years.[9] Modern reconstructions of the near-contemporary (and therefore, more accurate)Palermo Stone ascribes Djer a reign of at least 40 years. According toToby Wilkinson, the annals record "41 complete or partial years." Wilkinson also notes that years 1–10 of Djer's reign are preserved inregister II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II of Cairo stone fragment C1.[10] However, this is not the only proposed reconstruction.Erik Hornung argues that the Palermo Stone records 47 years for Djer,[11] whileWolfgang Helck proposes 57 years.[12]
Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, however) atWadi Halfa,Sudan
The inscriptions, onivory and wood, are in a very early form ofhieroglyphs, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the First Dynasty practice ofhuman sacrifice.[19] An ivory tablet fromAbydos mentions that Djer visitedButo andSais in theNile Delta.
Manetho claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise onanatomy that still existed in his own day, over two millennia later.[21]
Djer was a son ofHor-Aha and a grandson ofNarmer. Djer fatheredMerneith, wife ofDjet and mother ofDen. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such asGreat One of the Hetes-Sceptre andShe who Sees/Carries Horus were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer inAbydos or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:
Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried inUmm el-Qa'ab atAbydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomb contains the remains of 318 retainers who were buried with him.[25] At some point, Djer's tomb was devastated by fire, possibly as early as theSecond Dynasty.[26] During theMiddle Kingdom, the tomb of Djer was revered as the tomb ofOsiris,[26] and the entire First Dynasty burial complex, which includes the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition. An image of Osiris on a funerarybier was placed in the tomb, possibly by theThirteenth dynasty pharaohDjedkheperu.[26]
Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:[27]
Labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name ofMeritneith.
Fragments of two vases inscribed with the name of QueenNeithhotep.
Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb.
In the subsidiary tombs, excavators found objects including stelae representing several individuals, ivory objects inscribed with the name ofNeithhotep, and various ivory tablets.[27]
Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled fromMemphis – and indeedHerneith, one of Djer's wives, was buried nearby atSaqqara.
^abcW. Grajetzki: Ancient Egyptian Queens: a hieroglyphic dictionary
^abcDodson and Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2004
^W. M. Flinders Petrie:The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties, 1901, Part II, London 1901, pl. XXVII, 96
^Thomas Kühn:Die Königsgräber der 1. & 2. Dynastie in Abydos. In:Kemet. Issue 1, 2008.
^abcBaker, Darrell D. (2008).Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth DYnasty 3300-1069 BC. Egypt: The American University in Cairo Press. p. 93.
^abB. Porter and R.L.B. Moss. Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, V. Upper Egypt: Sites. Oxford, 1937
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