| Crocodile | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shendjw | ||||||||||||||||||||
 black ink inscription fromTarkhan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | Naqada III | |||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Scorpion I? | |||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Iry-Hor? | |||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| Burial | TT 1549,Tarkhan (?) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Predynastic Egypt | |||||||||||||||||||
Crocodile (also read asShendjw;[1]fl. c. 3170 BC) is the provisional name of a predynastic ruler, who might have ruled during the lateNaqada III epoch. The few allegedink inscriptions showing his name are drawn very sloppily, and the reading and thus whole existence of king "Crocodile" are highly disputed. His tomb is unknown.
The proposed existence of Crocodile is based onGünter Dreyer's and Edwin van den Brink's essays. They are convinced that Crocodile was a local king who ruled at the region ofTarkhan. According to Dreyer, Crocodile's name appears in black ink inscriptions on burnt earthen jars and on several seal impressions found in tomb TT 1549 at Tarkhan and tomb B-414 atAbydos. He sees a crawling crocodile and a rope curl beneath it and readsShendjw ("the subduer").[1] Van den Brink thinks alike and readsShendjw, too, but sees only a large rope curl sign inside theserekh.[2]
Almost nothing is known about Crocodile's reign. If he existed, he might have had his capital at Tarkhan, where his proposed tomb was excavated. Dreyer places him in a time shortly before the kingsIry-Hor,Ka andNarmer. He points to guiding inscriptions on the jars mentioning aHen-mehw ("brought from Lower Egypt"). This specific diction of designations of origin is archaeologically proven for the time before three mentioned kings, from King Ka onward, it wasInj-mehw (with the same meaning).[1]
One artifact that possibly depicts King Crocodile, was found atHierakonpolis in the so-calledMain deposit. The artifact is a piece of a broken mace head which shows traces of a once-completed relief scene. The conserved part of the relief shows the head and upper torso of a seated king figure inside ahebsed-pavilion. It wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt, ahebsed cloak and a flail. Right before the face of the king traces of a golden rosette (the predynastic crest of the kings) and a certain hieroglyph are visible. All but the hieroglyph are damaged, leaving room for interpretations. Mainstream Egyptologists consider the sign to be either the name of Crocodile or KingScorpion II.[3]
A clay seal impression fromMinshat Abu Omar is also of special interest to Egyptologists: in the centre of the impression it shows aserekh-like frame with abucranium above and a crocodile crawling through grass inside. Right of this crest a divine standard is depicted, a recumbent crocodile with two projectings (eitherlotus buds[1] or ostrich feathers[4]) sprouting out of its back and is sitting on that standard. The whole arrangement is surrounded by rows of crocodiles with rope curls beneath, which seems to point to the proposed reading of Crocodile's royalserekh. But Egyptologists Van den Brink andLudwig David Morenz argue against the idea that the seal impression talks about the ruler. In their opinion, the inscription celebrates the foundation of a shrine for the godSobek at a city namedShedyt (alternativelyShedet).[2] The city and the shrine are known fromOld Kingdom inscriptions; the main cult centre was located atMedinet el-Fayum. For this reason, Sobek was worshipped during early dynasties as "Sobek of Shedyt".[5]
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