Early Dynastic Egypt (25 page)

ỉtỉ(?)
(after Petrie 1901: pl. XXII.179);

(10) two writings of
Hr-sb3-b3w
(after Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 303; and Petrie 1901: pl. XXIII.200); (11)
Hr-sb3-h ntỉ- pt
(after Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 304). Not to same scale.

Consequently, we know rather more about the administration of domains than of estates.

Domains

The oval frames denoting royal domains were once identified as vineyards, because of the close association of one such foundation of Netjerikhet with wine production. However, it has become clear that they represent a more general type of royal land- holding—often, though by no means exclusively, associated with vineyards (Kaplony 1963, I: 123) – established to support royal activities, especially the king’s mortuary cult. It appears that each king of the Early Dynastic period founded a new domain, the name of which usually expressed an aspect of the god Horus (Kaplony 1963, I: 104).

The earliest attested domain,
hr-sh ntỉ- w,
‘Horus who advances the mountain (?)’, first appears on a sealing from the reign of Djer (Petrie 1901: pl. XVI.124). It was maintained throughout the following reign under the management of the same individual (Amka), and survived into the reign of Den when it was successively the responsibility of Ankhka (Emery 1938:64, fig. 25, 1949:75, fig. 37), Medjedka (Emery 1958: pls 80–1) and Hemaka (Emery 1938:62, fig. 19, 1958: pl. 8.21). For some reason, the tomb of Merneith contained no references to
hr-sh ntỉ- w,
a fact which is of clear, but unknown, significance (Kaplony 1963, I: 92). A seal-impression from the reign of Djet mentions a second royal domain,
W3 -hr,
‘Horus flourishes’ (Petrie 1900: pl. XVIII.5; Emery 1954:116, fig. 50). Given the striking similarity between this name and the king’s Horus name
(W3 ),
the domain was probably Djet’s own foundation, though it was maintained into the succeeding reign. Throughout its existence,
W3 -hr
was apparently administered by the same official, Sekhemkasedj. The regency of Merneith, early in the reign of Den, saw the foundation of two new domains. The first,
tpỉ-t-w,
is rarely attested (Petrie 1900: pl. XXI.22); the second,
hr-tpỉ-h t,
‘Horus, first of the corporation (of gods)’ (Petrie 1900: pl. XXI.23), continued to flourish throughout Den’s majority, being administered by the high official Hemaka (for example, Petrie 1900: pl. XXV.53–6; Emery 1938:63, figs 21, 23). After the death of Den, each of his successors founded a new domain. The one established by Anedjib was called
hr-sb3-h t,
‘Horus, star of the corporation’ (Petrie 1900: pl. XXVI.63; Emery 1949:95, fig. 55); Semerkhet’s foundation was named
hr- sr- h t,
‘Horus, holy of the corporation’ (Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIII.76); Qaa’s domain was called
hr-nbw-h t,
‘Horus, the gold one of the corporation’ (Petrie 1900: pl. XXIX.82–4;

Figure 4.2
Estates. Names of estates connected with provisioning the royal tomb, preserved on Early Dynastic seal-impressions and inscribed stone vessels from Abydos and Saqqara: (1)
hwt hnn
(after Emery 1954:118, fig. 159); (2)
hwt Zmtỉ-gstw(l)

(after Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 182); (3)
hwt Hr-P
(after Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 295);

1. hwt ỉhw
   (after Petrie 1900: pl. XX.15);
   
2. hwt ỉhw-nbw nswt-bỉty Mr-(p-)bỉ3
   (after Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIIL73); (6)
   hwt (s)n r n rw(?)
   (after Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 749); (7) (8) (9) estate of unknown reading, attested in the reigns of Den, Anedjib and Nebra (after Kaplony 1963,
   

III: figs 249, 251, 264); (10)
hwt ỉptỉ(?)

(after Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIII.77); (11)

hwt p-Hr-msn
(after Petrie 1900: pl. IX.1);

(12)
hwt p-Hr-msn nswt-bíty Mr-p-bỉ3
(after Petrie 1900: pl. XXVI.58); (13)
hwt p-Hr[-msn] ỉrỉ-nbty
(after Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIII.72); (14)
hwt nswt-bíty nbtỉ Htp
(Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 282); (15)
hwt z3- h3-nb
(after Petrie 1900: pl. IX.2); (16)
hwt z3-h3-Hr
(after Lacau and Lauer 1959: pl. 6, no. 27); (17) (18) department responsible for raising (and slaughtering?) pigs (after Petrie 1900: pls XXII.33, XXVI.60); (19) unidentified department denoted by two sealed jars (after Petrie 1900: pl. XXI.29). Not to same scale.

Emery 1958: pl. 106.11). Hence, the three foundations of the late First Dynasty seem to have been named according to a convention. A new naming scheme appears to have been introduced at the beginning of the Second Dynasty. Hetepsekhemwy called his domain
hr-h -sb3,
‘Horus risen as a star’ (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 281). No domains are attested from the reigns of Nebra and Ninetjer, but this is probably due to the general paucity of inscriptions from the early Second Dynasty. It is highly likely that both these kings established their own domains or, at the very least, maintained the domains founded by their predecessors. The record becomes clear again towards the end of the Second Dynasty. The general non-conformity of Peribsen’s reign is reflected in the unusual name given to his domain,
wỉ3w-ỉtỉ
(?), ‘boats of the sovereign’ (Petrie 1901: pl. XXII.178–80). This foundation was maintained by his successor Khasekhemwy (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 297), who also founded a new domain with a more traditional name,
hr-sb3-b3w,
‘Horus, the star of souls’ (Petrie 1901: pl. XXIII. 199–200). Finally, at the beginning of the Third Dynasty, Netjerikhet established a domain by the name of
Hr- sb3-h ntỉ-pt,
‘Horus, the foremost star of the sky’ (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 304). This was to survive longer than any previous royal foundation: at the end of the Third Dynasty it was administered by Pehernefer (Junker 1939), and it was still in existence in the Nineteenth Dynasty, an amazing 1400 years after Netjerikhet’s death (Sethe, in Garstang 1902:21).

THE ADMINISTRATION OF DOMAINS

Three principal titles were connected with the administration of domains,
-mr, h rp
and
hrỉ-w 3.
Many, if not all, of the officials delegated to administer royal foundations were probably royal relatives (Malek 1986:35). The titles
-mr
and
h rp
are first attested in the reign of Djet (Petrie 1900: pls XVIII.6, XIX.8 and 1901: pl. XXXI.8, respectively);
hrỉ-w 3
appears in the reign of Den (Petrie 1900: pl. XXIV.47). For some domains, only one title is attested; other domains appear in combination with two or more

titles. So it is not entirely clear what distinguished the three offices. Evidence from other areas of the administration suggests that the
-mr
may have been the administrator with overall control of the domain’s land-holdings (since
-mr
later came to designate a district administrator with a particular geographical responsibility). An exact translation of the title is difficult. Any lasting connection with irrigation would seem to be ruled out by the titles
-mr zmỉt,
‘administrator of the desert’, and
-mr h 3st,
‘administrator of the hill-country’, attested from the reigns of Qaa and Netjerikhet respectively (Gardiner and Peet 1955:53; Emery 1958:31, pl. 39; cf. Martin-Pardey 1976:44). Perhaps by the end of the First Dynasty the title had lost its original meaning and had simply come to designate an administrative position (Martin-Pardey 1976:44). The
h rp
(‘controller’) may have been in charge of the personnel belonging to and/or employed by the domain. The
hrỉ-w 3
may have exercised a more executive power, implementing royal wishes and decrees with regard to the operations of the domain. Towards the end of the Second Dynasty, this distinction of roles seems to have become blurred: no
h rp
of a domain is attested after the reign of Peribsen, and the last
hrỉ-w 3
of a domain is attested in the reign of Netjerikhet (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 304). It was the office of
-mr
which survived throughout the Early Dynastic period.

Several other, more minor, titles connected with domain administration are attested in Early Dynastic inscriptions, particularly from the first-half of the First Dynasty. The title
hrỉ-w 3 h rpw
is confined to the reign of Den (Petrie 1900: pl. XXIV.47–8, 1901: pl. XX.153; Emery 1958: pls 8.21, 79.16–17), and seems to indicate an official with delegated authority to implement decisions. The exact translation and significance of many other titles remains obscure. For example, the title written with the hieroglyph of a swimming man has been read
nbỉ
(from the verb ‘to swim’), but the meaning of this in the context of domain administration is unclear, unless it involves a pun on the word
nb,
‘lord’. An ingenious, though speculative, suggestion makes a connection between the title
nbỉ
and the word for ‘smelter’ (also
nbỉ),
known from Old Kingdom scenes of metalworkers. If both words share a common derivation, the root meaning of
nbỉ
may be ‘to pour’. In this case, the title may have designated the official who actually filled containers with produce (by pouring) from a given domain (Kaplony 1963, I: 126). A compound title,
h rp nbỉ,
is more common from the reign of Den onwards (for example, Petrie 1901: pl. XIX.146–50). Difficulties also surround the meaning of the title read as
nh nw
(for example, Petrie 1901: pl. XVI.122) (or
h rp nh nw
in the reign of Den [for example, Petrie 1901: pl. XVIII.142–3]). A connection with the town of Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) seems unlikely, given the contexts in which the title occurs, as does a link with the word
nh n,
‘fortress’. Rather easier to understand are the pair of titles
hrỉ- ỉb
(Petrie 1901: pl. XIX.153) and
h rp hrỉ-ỉb
(for example, Petrie 1901: pl. XVIIL140). They refer to a position ‘at the heart of the system and probably designated senior officials within the administration of domains.

A notable feature of the administration during the reign of Den is the preponderance of titles compounded with the word
h rp
‘controller’. Examples already quoted are
h rp nbỉ, h rp nh nw
and
h rp hrỉ-ỉb.
Whether the appearance of such compound titles indicates administrative reforms cannot be proven, but other evidence suggests that Den’s reign was a period of innovation.

By the reign of Peribsen, only the titles
h rp, h rp hrỉ-ỉb, hrỉ-w 3
and
-mr

remained in the context of domain administration (Kaplony 1963, I: 155). Only the last

survived into the Third Dynasty. This may suggest a rationalisation of domain administration, possibly by discontinuing some of the ancient (honorific?) titles in favour of a more explicit and stream-lined structure.

Estates

Specific estates are attested from the reign of Djet onwards. Some are impossible to identify with certainty; others probably indicate individual localities, specialised production centres, or particular institutions closely associated with the king and his household. The identity of the earliest known estate,
hwt hnn
(Emery 1954:118, fig. 159), is unclear, as is the foundation named after King Den,
hwt Zmtỉ-gstw(?)
(Emery 1958: pl. 81.36). A seal-impression of Nebra may record an estate in the vicinity of Buto,
hwt Hr-P
(Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 295). Certainly, Buto was an important centre from Predynastic times and undoubtedly maintained close ideological links with the monarchy throughout the Early Dynastic period. A sealing from the tomb of Merneith mentions
hwt ỉhw
(Petrie 1900: pl. XX.15), and judging by the much later inscriptions of Metjen and Pehernefer, this may have been the name of a particular locality in the western Delta, perhaps in the vicinity of Kom el-Hisn (Wenke and Brewer 1996:268). The Delta seems to have been closely associated with cattle rearing—as reflected in the prevalence of cattle amongst the emblems of the Delta nomes—and
hwt ỉhw
may have been the most important cattle- producing centre of early times. A further connection between the western Delta and cattle rearing may be indicated by the herds depicted on the so-called ‘Libyan palette’ (Wenke and Brewer 1996:268). Another estate connected with cattle, ‘the estate of the golden cattle of the dual king’
(hwt ỉhw-nbw nswt-bỉty Mr-(p-)bỉ3)
is mentioned on sealings of Anedjib from Abydos (Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIII.73–4). An estate perhaps set up to supply the court with a particular commodity is the foundation called
hwt (s)n r n rw
(?), ‘the estate of natron of the gods’, mentioned in an inscription from the reign of Ninetjer (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 749). A further estate of unknown reading is mentioned on sealings of Den and Anedjib, and may still have been in existence during the reign of Nebra (Kaplony 1963, III: figs 249, 251, 264).