| Weneg | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weneg-Nebty, Uneg | ||||||||||
![Alabaster fragment with the throne name Nisut-bitj-Nebty-Weneg.[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWeneg.png) Alabaster fragment with the throne nameNisut-bitj-Nebty-Weneg.[1] | ||||||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||||||
| Reign | length of reign unknown | |||||||||
| Predecessor | Nynetjer | |||||||||
| Successor | unknown | |||||||||
| ||||||||||
| Dynasty | 2nd Dynasty; around 2740 B.C. | |||||||||
Weneg (orUneg), also known asWeneg-Nebty, is the throne name of anearly Egyptian king, who ruled during theSecond Dynasty. Although his chronological position is clear toEgyptologists, it is unclear for how long King Weneg ruled. It is also unclear as to which of thearchaeologically identifiedHorus-kings corresponds to Weneg.
The name "Weneg" is generally accepted to be anebti- or throne name, introduced by the crest of theTwo Ladies (the goddessesNekhbet andWadjet) and thesedge-and-bee-crest. Weneg's name appears in blackink inscriptions onalabaster fragments and in inscriptions onschist-vessels. Seventeen vessels bearing his name have been preserved; eleven of them were found in the underground galleries beneath thestep pyramid of kingDjoser atSakkara. Egyptologists such asWolfgang Helck andFrancesco Tiradritti point out that all the inscriptions are made in the place of existing inscriptions, which means that the names that were originally placed on the vessels were completely different.
The symbol that was used to write Weneg's name is the object of significant dispute between Egyptologists to this day. The so-called "weneg flower" is rarely used in Egyptian writing. Mysteriously, the weneg flower is often guided by six vertical "strokes", three of them on each side of the flower bud. The meaning of these strokes is unknown. After Weneg's death, his heraldic flower was not used again until kingTeti (6th dynasty), when it was used in hisPyramid Texts to name a “Weneg” as asky anddeath deity which was addressed with "Son ofRa" and "follower of the deceased king". So it seems that the weneg flower was somehow connected with the Egyptiansun and death cult. But the true meaning of the flower as a king's name remains unknown.[2][3][4][5]
Since Weneg's name first became known to Egyptologists, scholars have been trying to match thenebti name of Weneg to contemporary Horus-kings. The following sections discuss some of the theories.
EgyptologistJochem Kahl argues that Weneg was the same person as kingRaneb, the second ruler of the 2nd dynasty. He points to a vessel fragment made from anigneous material, which was found in the tomb of kingPeribsen (a later ruler of the 2nd dynasty) atAbydos. He believed he had found on the pot shard weak, but clear, traces of the weneg flower beneath the inscribed name of kingNinetjer. On the right side of Ninetjer's name the depiction of theKa house of king Raneb is partially preserved. The complete arrangement led Kahl to the conclusion that the weneg flower and Raneb's name were connected to each other and king Ninetjer later replaced the inscription. Kahl also points out that king Ninetjer wrote his name mirrored, so that his name points in the opposite direction to Raneb's name.[6] Kahl's theory is the subject of continuing debate since the vessel inscription is badly damaged and thus leaves plenty of room for varying interpretations.
Egyptologists such asNicolas Grimal,Wolfgang Helck andWalter Bryan Emery identify Weneg with kingSekhemib-Perenmaat and with theRamesside royal cartouche-nameWadjenes. Their theory is based on the assumption that Sekhemib andSeth-Peribsen were different rulers and that both were the immediate successors of king Ninetjer. But this theory is not commonly accepted, because clay seals of Sekhemib were found in the tomb of kingKhasekhemwy, the last ruler of the 2nd dynasty. The clay seals set Sekhemib's reign close to Khasekhemwy's, whilst the Ramesside name "Wadjenes" is placed near the beginning of the 2nd dynasty.[7][8][9]
Egyptologists such asPeter Kaplony andRichard Weill argue that Weneg was a separate king from other kings of the period. They suggest that Weneg succeeded Ninetjer and his name is preserved in Ramesside kinglists under the name "Wadjenes". Their assumption is firstly based on the widely accepted theory that Ramesside scribes interchanged the weneg flower with thepapyrus haulm, changing it into the name "Wadjenes". Secondly, Kaplony and Weill's theory is based on the inscription on theCairo stone. They believe that the name "Wenegsekhemwy" is preserved over the third line of year events.[10] This theory is also not widely accepted, as the Cairo stone is badly damaged and the very weak traces of thehieroglyphs leave too much room for different interpretations.
Little is known about Weneg's reign. The vessel inscriptions mentioning his name only show reports about ceremonial events, such as the "raising up of the pillars of Horus". This feast is frequently reported on vessels from Nynetjer's reign, which brings Weneg's chronological position very close to that of Nynetjer.
The length of Weneg's rulership is unknown. If he was the same person as king Wadjenes, he ruled (according to theRoyal Canon of Turin) for 54 years. If Weneg was the same person as king "Tlas", mentioned by the historianManetho, he ruled for 17 years. But modern Egyptologists have doubts about both statements and evaluate them as misinterpretations or exaggerations. If Weneg was actually a separate ruler, as Richard Weill and Peter Kaplony believe, he may have ruled for 12 years, depending on their reconstructions of the Cairo stone inscriptions.
One theory suggests that the once unified kingdom of Egypt was divided after Nynetjer's death into two parts. Consequently, for a period after king Weneg's death, two kings ruled at the same time over Egypt suggesting that Weneg was an independent ruler. This assumption is based on the observation that both the Thinite and Memphite king lists of the Ramesside era mention the names "Wadjenes" and "Senedj" as the immediate successors of king Nynetjer. The Abydos king lists, for example, mention only six kings for the 2nd dynasty, whilst all the other kinglists mention nine kings. So Weneg may have been the last king who had ruled over the whole of Egypt, before sharing his throne (and control over Egypt) with another king. It remains unclear who the other king may have been.[4][10][11][12][13][14] Weneg's successor may have beenSenedj but even that is uncertain in this shadowy period of the 2nd dynasty of Egypt.
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