Early Dynastic Egypt
Page 18
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);
hwt ỉhw (after Petrie 1900: pl. XX.15);
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).
A seal-impression from the tomb of Semerkhet makes reference to hwt ỉptỉ (?) (Petrie 1900: pl. XXVIII.77). This may be an estate connected with the queen’s household, since the word ỉpt means ‘harem palace’. The institution called hwt p-Hr-msn (for example, Lacau and Lauer 1959: pl. 4 no. 21)—also read hwt p-Hr-w j (Dreyer et al. 1996:71)- has been identified as the royal palace, perhaps located in Buto for the king as ruler of Lower Egypt (Weill 1961:135). It is mentioned in inscriptions of the First, Second and Third Dynasties (Lacau and Lauer 1965:80, no. 216; Dreyer et al. 1996:76, fig. 28, pl.
15.b left, and 72, fig. 25, pl. 14.a). In the reigns of Anedjib and Semerkhet, the estate— perhaps representing the entirety of the palace, its lands and income—bore the king’s name: hwt p-Hr-msn nswt-bíty Mr-p-bỉ3 and hwt p-Hr[-msn] iri-nbty, respectively (Petrie 1900: pls XXVI.58–60, XXVIII.72). A different, though perhaps related, estate is known from the reign of Hetepsekhemwy at the beginning of the Second Dynasty, once again bearing the king’s name: hwt nswt-bỉty nbty Htp (Kaplony 1963, III: figs 281–2). The other hwt closely associated with the king, the hwt z3-h3-nb/hwt z3-h3-Hr, appears in inscriptions from the end of the First Dynasty (Petrie 1900: pls IX.1–2, XXX; Lacau and Lauer 1959: pl. 6 nos 26–9; Dreyer et al. 1996:75, pl. 15.b right). It too has been
interpreted as the royal residence (Weill 1961:141), but more likely refers to the royal tomb as a separate institution with its own economic demands and administrative apparatus (Roth 1991:166–8).
The treasury and its activities
We have seen how Egypt’s agricultural resources were exploited by the court through the mechanism of royal foundations. The actual collection of revenue, its storage, processing and redistribution was the responsibility of a separate institution, the treasury (Figure 4.3). This was the government department which directly managed the income of the state, and as such stood at the very centre of the administration. It was the treasury that assessed and levied taxation, filled the government coffers with agricultural produce, and supplied the various branches of the court with revenue to fund their activities and commodities to sustain their employees.
Taxation and collection
Ink inscriptions on pottery vessels from the late Predynastic period make it clear that, right from the beginning of the Egyptian state, taxation was levied separately on the two halves of the country (Figure 4.4). Inscriptions on vessels from the tomb of ‘Ka’ at Abydos mention either Lower Egyptian or Upper Egyptian revenue (Petrie 1902: pls I- III). A similar division in the collection of produce is attested in the following reigns of Narmer and Aha (Kaplony 1964: figs 1061, 1063; Emery 1939: pls 14 [sic], 20–2). The separate collection of revenue from Upper and Lower Egypt is also indicated by a sealing of Peribsen which mentions the seal-bearer of the Lower Egyptian delivery (h tmw ỉnw- H3), probably the individual responsible for the treasury’s income from Lower Egypt (Petrie 1901: pl. XXII.184, 186). As well as highlighting the duality which pervaded Egyptian thought, this binary division in the treasury’s operations probably reflects geographical and topographical factors. The physical difference between Upper and Lower Egypt would have made the collection of agricultural produce a very different undertaking in each region. In Upper Egypt, where the fields are distributed along the narrow floodplain, gathering revenue could have been achieved by a fleet of barges cruising slowly up-or downstream. By contrast, access to the fields of Lower Egypt, spread throughout the Delta, would have been far more difficult. It is quite likely that central collection points would have been established at strategic locations, probably on the major Nile branches. In short, the collection of revenue by the central treasury would have been most efficiently organised by dividing the country into two halves.
This practice may be reflected in the two different names given to the treasury in the Early Dynastic period. Inscriptions mention either the pr-h , ‘white house’, or the pr- dšr, ‘red house’. The former seems to be the earlier name for the treasury and is first attested early in the reign of Den, on seal-impressions from the tomb of Merneith (Petrie 1900: pls XXII.36, XXIII.40). Towards the end of the First Dynasty, for reasons
Figure 4.3 The treasury and its functions. The chart shows the principal operations carried out by the treasury in the Early Dynastic period (based upon information from contemporary sources: seal-impressions,
inscribed stone vessels, and the Third Dynasty tomb inscription of Pehernefer).
Figure 4.4 Taxation. Ink inscriptions of King ‘Ka’ on cylinder vessels from his tomb complex at Abydos. They record produce received by the royal treasury through separate taxation of (1) Lower Egypt and (2) Upper Egypt (after Petrie 1902: pls 1.2, 111.30). These inscriptions provide evidence for the early division of Egypt into two units for administrative purposes.
which are unclear, the name for the treasury was changed to pr-dšr. This institution is attested in the reigns of Anedjib (Petrie 1900: pl. XXVII.68), Qaa (Petrie 1900: pls XXIX.85, XXX) and Ninetjer (Lacau and Lauer 1959: pl. 14 no. 70; Kaplony 1963, III: figs 746, 748). With the accession of Sekhemib/Peribsen, the name reverted to pr-h (Petrie 1901: pls XXI.167, 169, and XXII.182, 183), only to be changed back to pr-dšr under Khasekhemwy (Petrie 1901: pl. XXIII.191, 192, 196). The name remained pr-dšr during the reign of Netjerikhet (Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 318), and was changed for the last time under his successor Sekhemkhet to prwỉ-h , ‘the two white houses’ (Goneim 1957:14–15), perhaps reflecting an amalgamation of two previously separate institutions. Because the colours white and red are also the colours of the Upper and Lower Egyptian crowns respectively, it is tempting to see the pr-h as an Upper Egyptian institution, the pr-dšr as its Lower Egyptian counterpart. The two names would then reflect the logical division of the treasury’s operations into two halves. However, the two seem never to have coexisted, so the preference given to one name or the other might reflect the central administration’s shifting centre of gravity. The initial change from pr-h to pr-dšr might indicate a relocation of the state redistributive apparatus to Memphis in the latter part of
the First Dynasty. The continued use of the name pr-dšr by the kings of the early Second Dynasty certainly complements the location of their tombs at Saqqara and the general Lower Egyptian emphasis of the court at this time. The change of name back to the older pr-h under Sekhemib/Peribsen ties in with the Upper Egyptian emphasis of his reign: Peribsen re-adopted Abydos as the site of the royal mortuary complex and he is attested only in Upper Egypt. The final change in nomenclature (to prwi-h ) under Sekhemkhet possibly indicates an ideological compromise, reconciling the competing traditions of Upper and Lower Egypt in a new, unified institution.
Storage
Inscriptions of the Second Dynasty mention a sub-department of the treasury called the pr-šn (Lacau and Lauer 1959: pl. 18 no. 90; Kaplony 1963, III: fig. 367). The derivation of the word is not altogether clear, but it seems to have been either the department responsible for (corvée?) labour or, more likely perhaps, the department charged with the storage of agricultural produce prior to its redistribution. The pr-šn wou
ld then have comprised large-scale storage facilities and would probably have managed the government surpluses held in long-term storage—for example, the ‘buffer’ stocks of grain—as well as the produce received in the form of taxation and later redistributed.
Cereals were probably the staple crops of Egyptian agriculture in the Early Dynastic period, as in later times, and grain supplies must have lain at the heart of the treasury’s operations. The storage of large stocks of grain was a vital necessity, not only to pay the court itself with its hundreds of dependent officials, but also to guard against years with poor harvests. At such times, the emergency supplies held by the government provided the only security for ordinary Egyptians, the vast majority of whom were peasant farmers. The ability of the government to provide a degree of economic security must have brought real benefits to the Egyptian population, and would have been one of the most tangible benefits of a united country with a centrally controlled economy. Curiously, the central government granaries are not explicitly attested before the Third Dynasty, although they must have existed from the very beginning of the Egyptian state, perhaps under a different department of the treasury. They may have been an integral part of the pr-h /pr-dšr in the first two dynasties, only to be given separate status at the beginning of the Third Dynasty. Granaries are mentioned on a seal-impression of Sanakht from Beit Khallaf (Garstang 1902: pl. 19.7; Seidlmayer 1996b: pl. 23), while the official Pehernefer was ‘overseer of all the king’s granaries’ (ỉmỉ-r3 šnwt nb nt nswt) at the end of the Third Dynasty (Junker 1939).