The Children of Adam and Eve

Djer was the second or third pharaoh of the first dynasty of Egypt, which dates from approximately 3100 BC. Some scholars, However, debate whether the first pharaoh, Menes or Narmer, and Hor-Aha might have been different rulers. If they wereseparate rulers, this would make Djer the third pharaoh in the dynasty. A mummified wrist of Djer or his wife was discovered, but has been lost.

Djer's Horus name means "Horus who succours".

The Abydos King List lists the second pharaoh as Teti, the Turin Canon lists Iteti, while Manetho lists Athothis.

While the Egyptian Priest Manetho, writing in the third century BC, stated that Djer ruled for 57 years, modern research by Toby Wilkinson in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt stresses that the near-contemporary and therefore, More accurate PalermoStone ascribes Djer a reign of "41 complete and partial years." Wilkinson notes that Years 1-10 of Djer's reign are preserved in register II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II ofCairo Fragment One.

The evidence for Djer's life and reign is:

Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos.
Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in Saqqara.
Inscriptions in graves 3503, 3506 and 3035 in Saqqara.
Seal impression and inscriptions from Helwan (Saad 1947: 165; Saad 1969: 82, pl. 94).
Jar from Turah with the name of Djer (Kaiser 1964: 103, fig.3).
UC 16182 ivory tablet from Abydos, subsidiary tomb 612 of the enclosure of Djer (Petrie 1925: pl. II.8; XII.1).
UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer (tomb 461 in Abydos, Petrie 1925: pl. III.1, IV.8).
Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, However) at Wadi Halfa, Sudan.

The inscriptions, on ivory and Wood, are in a very early form of hieroglyphs, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the early Old Kingdom practice of human sacrifice. An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djervisited Buto and Sais in the Nile Delta. One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of Setjet", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.

Djer was a son of the pharaoh Hor-Aha and his wife Khenthap. His grandfather was probably Narmer, and his grandmother was Neithhotep. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre and She whoSees/Carries Horus were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in Abydos or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:

Nakhtneith (or Nekhetneith), buried in Abydos and known from a stela.
Herneith, possibly a wife of Djer. Buried in Saqqara.
Seshemetka, buried in Abydos next to the King. She was said to be a wife of Den in Dodson and Hilton.
Penebui, her name and title were found on an ivory label from Saqqara.
bsu, known from a label in Saqqara and several Stone vessels (Reading of name uncertain; name consists of three fish hieroglyphs).

Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in Abydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomB.C.ontains the remains of 300 retainers who were buried with him. Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:

A stela of Djer, now in the Cairo Museum probably comes from Abydos.
Sealings of a King named Khent.
Labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name of Meritneith.
Fragments of two vases inscribed with the name of Queen Neithhotep.
Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb.

In the subsidiary tombs excavators found:

Stela of several individuals.
Ivory objects with the name of Neithhotep.
Ivory tablets.

From the 18th Dynasty on, the tomb of Hor-Aha was revered as the tomb of Osiris, and the First Dynasty burial complex, which includes both this and the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition.

Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from Memphis – and indeed Herneith, one of Djer’s wives, was buried nearby at Saqqara. Manetho also claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on anatomy thatstill existed in his own day, over two millennia later.

Djer was the second or third pharaoh of the first dynasty of Egypt, which dates from approximately 3100 BC. Some scholars, However, debate whether the first pharaoh, Menes or Narmer, and Hor-Aha might have been different rulers. If they wereseparate rulers, this would make Djer the third pharaoh in the dynasty. A mummified wrist of Djer or his wife was discovered, but has been lost.

Djer's Horus name means "Horus who succours".

The Abydos King List lists the second pharaoh as Teti, the Turin Canon lists Iteti, while Manetho lists Athothis.

While the Egyptian Priest Manetho, writing in the third century BC, stated that Djer ruled for 57 years, modern research by Toby Wilkinson in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt stresses that the near-contemporary and therefore, More accurate PalermoStone ascribes Djer a reign of "41 complete and partial years." Wilkinson notes that Years 1-10 of Djer's reign are preserved in register II of the Palermo Stone, while the middle years of this pharaoh's reign are recorded in register II ofCairo Fragment One.

The evidence for Djer's life and reign is:

Tomb in Umm el-Qa'ab, Abydos.
Seal prints from graves 2185 and 3471 in Saqqara.
Inscriptions in graves 3503, 3506 and 3035 in Saqqara.
Seal impression and inscriptions from Helwan (Saad 1947: 165; Saad 1969: 82, pl. 94).
Jar from Turah with the name of Djer (Kaiser 1964: 103, fig.3).
UC 16182 ivory tablet from Abydos, subsidiary tomb 612 of the enclosure of Djer (Petrie 1925: pl. II.8; XII.1).
UC 16172 copper adze with the name of Djer (tomb 461 in Abydos, Petrie 1925: pl. III.1, IV.8).
Inscription of his name (of questioned authenticity, However) at Wadi Halfa, Sudan.

The inscriptions, on ivory and Wood, are in a very early form of hieroglyphs, hindering complete translation, but a label at Saqqarah may depict the early Old Kingdom practice of human sacrifice. An ivory tablet from Abydos mentions that Djervisited Buto and Sais in the Nile Delta. One of his regnal years on the Cairo Stone was named "Year of smiting the land of Setjet", which often is speculated to be Sinai or beyond.

Djer was a son of the pharaoh Hor-Aha and his wife Khenthap. His grandfather was probably Narmer, and his grandmother was Neithhotep. Women carrying titles later associated with queens such as Great One of the Hetes-Sceptre and She whoSees/Carries Horus were buried in subsidiary tombs near the tomb of Djer in Abydos or attested in Saqqara. These women are thought to be the wives of Djer and include:

Nakhtneith (or Nekhetneith), buried in Abydos and known from a stela.
Herneith, possibly a wife of Djer. Buried in Saqqara.
Seshemetka, buried in Abydos next to the king. She was said to be a wife of Den in Dodson and Hilton.
Penebui, her name and title were found on an ivory label from Saqqara.
bsu, known from a label in Saqqara and several Stone vessels (Reading of name uncertain; name consists of three fish hieroglyphs).

Similarly to his father Hor-Aha, Djer was buried in Abydos. Djer's tomb is tomb O of Petrie. His tomB.C.ontains the remains of 300 retainers who were buried with him. Several objects were found in and around the tomb of Djer:

A stela of Djer, now in the Cairo Museum probably comes from Abydos.
Sealings of a king named Khent.
Labels mentioning the name of a palace and the name of Meritneith.
Fragments of two vases inscribed with the name of Queen Neithhotep.
Bracelets of a Queen were found in the wall of the tomb.

In the subsidiary tombs excavators found:

Stela of several individuals.
Ivory objects with the name of Neithhotep.
Ivory tablets.

From the 18th Dynasty on, the tomb of Hor-Aha was revered as the tomb of Osiris, and the First Dynasty burial complex, which includes both this and the tomb of Djer, was very important in the Egyptian religious tradition.

Manetho indicates that the First Dynasty ruled from Memphis – and indeed Herneith, one of Djer’s wives, was buried nearby at Saqqara. Manetho also claimed that Athothes, who is sometimes identified as Djer, had written a treatise on anatomy thatstill existed in his own day, over two millennia later.

Herneith was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st dynasty.

It is not known who Herneith's Parents were. She is thought to be a queen of Djer but there is no conclusive evidence. Tyldesley suggests Herneith as a possible mother of Den, but it is More commonly thought that Merneith was his mother.

Grajetzki mentions that even though Herneith is known from her tomb in Saqqara and her name is found together with signs that may refer to her role as a queen, confidently interpreting this information has proven difficult. If theinterpretations are correct, Herneith may have held the titles of "The First One" and "Consort of the Two Lords".

A large tomb in Saqqara (tomb S3507) is thought to beLong to Herneith. Inscriptions on vases found in the tomb mention King Djer, King Den and King Qa'a. The tomb is a mudbrick mastaba. However, a pyramid-like mound was found within thestructure, covered with brick. This combination of mastaba and grave mound represents a combination of Northern (mastaba) and Southern (grave mound) tomb architecture.

Nakhtneith was a Queen consort of ancient Egypt. She lived during the 1st dynasty. Her name means "Strong is (the goddess) Neith".

Nakhtneith was the wife of Pharaoh Djer. She is known from a stela found in Abydos (stela 95) where she was buried near her husband.

Penebui was an Ancient Egyptian queen consort and a wife of Pharaoh Djer. Her name is found at Saqqara. Djer also had at least two other wives. Penebui's title was Great one of the hetes-sceptre.