Merneith (also written Merit-Neith and Meryt-Neith) was a consort and a regent of Ancient Egypt during the First Dynasty. She may have been a ruler of Egypt in her own right, based on several official records. Suppose this was the case and the earlier royal wife Neithhotep never ruled as an independent regent. In that case, Merneith may have been the first female pharaoh and the earliest queen regnant in recorded history. Her rule occurred around 2950 BC. for an undetermined period. Merneith’s name means “Beloved by Neith“, and her stele contains symbols of that ancient Egyptian deity. She may have been Djer‘s daughter and was probably Djet’s senior royal wife. The former meant that she would have been the great-granddaughter of unified Egypt’s first pharaoh, Narmer. She was also the mother of Den, her successor.
Family Tree
Merneith is linked with the kings Djer, Djet and Den in various seal impressions and inscribed bowls. Merneith may have been the daughter of Djer, but there is no conclusive evidence. As the mother of Den, Merneith was likely the wife of Djet. No information about the identity of her mother has been found.
A clay seal found in the tomb of her son, Den, was engraved with “King’s Mother, Merneith”. It also is known that Den’s father was Djet, making it likely that Merneith was Djet’s royal wife.
From Abydos comes a small ivory fragment with the remains of two figures. They may show Merneith together with her son, king Den.
Biography
Merneith is believed to have become ruler upon the death of Djet. The title she held, however, is debated. It is possible that her son Den was too young to rule when Djet died, so she may have ruled as regent until Den was old enough to be the king in his own right. Before her, Neithhotep is believed to have governed the same way after her husband, King Narmer, died, as Narmer’s son was too young to rule. Her name was written on a Naqada seal inside a serekh, the way the kings’ names were registered. This would mean Merneith may have been the second female in Egypt’s first dynasty to have ruled as pharaoh.
The most substantial evidence that Merneith was a ruler of Egypt is her tomb. This tomb in Abydos (Tomb Y) is unique among the otherwise exclusively male tombs. Merneith was buried close to Djet and Den. Her tomb is of the same scale as the tombs of the kings of that period. Two grave stelae bearing her name were discovered near her tomb. Merneith’s name is not included in the king lists from the New Kingdom. A seal containing a list of pharaohs of the first dynasty was found in the tomb of Qa’a, the third known pharaoh after Den, her son. However, this list does not mention the reign of Merneith.
A few other pieces of evidence exist elsewhere about Merneith:
- Merneith’s name appears on a seal found in the tomb of her son, Den. The seal includes Merneith on a list of the first dynasty kings. Merneith’s name was the only name a woman enclosed on the list. All the names on the list are the Horus names of the kings. However, Merneith’s name is accompanied by “King’s Mother”.
- Merneith’s name may have been included on the Palermo Stone.
- Items from the great mastaba (Nr 3503, 16 x 42 m) in Saqqara, where her name has been found in inscriptions on stone vessels, jars, and seal impressions. In particular, there is one seal from Saqqara, which shows Merneith’s name in a serekh.
- The so-called Merneith Enclosure is a group of tombs from the cemetery at Shunet el-Zebib. These tombs are dated to the time of Merneith.
- Merneith’s name was found on objects in king Djer’s tomb in Umm el-Qa’ab.
- Tombs at Abydos and Saqqara
- At Abydos, the tomb belonging to Merneith was found in an area associated with other pharaohs of the first dynasty, Umm el-Qa’ab. Two stelae made of stone, identifying the tomb as hers, were found at the site.
In 1900 Flinders Petrie discovered Merneith’s tomb and believed it belonged to a previously unknown pharaoh because of its nature. The tomb was excavated and shown to contain a large underground chamber lined with mud bricks, surrounded by rows of small satellite burials, with at least 40 subsidiary graves for servants.
The burial of servants with a ruler was a consistent practice in the tombs of the early first dynasty pharaohs. The servants were thought to assist the ruler in the afterlife. Large numbers of sacrificial assets were also buried in her tomb complex, which is another honour afforded to pharaohs that provided the ruler with powerful animals for eternal life. This first dynasty burial complex was essential in the Egyptian religious tradition, and its importance grew as the culture endured.
