Pharaoh, King and Ruler of Egypt: Semerkhet

Semerkhet (Faithful Friend)

Most egyptologists believe that Semerkhet ruled Egypt only for eight and a half years, since they have discovered very little about him except a large stela with his name carved on it and the documentation of his entire reign on the Cairo stone showing each festival and ceremony.

There is some evidence that king Semerkhet may have usurped the throne (although if it was his father, king Anedjib, we are not sure how that works) since he reused many of the same inscriptions and simply erased the previous name and entered his own. However, he was listed in the king lists, so there is some legitimacy for his reign.

His tomb shows more changes from his predecessors, too, the retainers toms are attached directly to the main burial chamber, which some have interpreted to mean that the subsidiary burials were made at the same time as the king was buried, implying sacrifices. The whole complex was built as a single structure. With the earlier burials, the subsidiary graves were laid out in ranks around the kings tomb, and it was assumed that they were buried afterwards.

King Semerkhet is buried in Tomb U of the royal necropolis at Umm el-Qa'ab, near Abydos.

Notably, Semerkhet is the first king without a corresponding mastaba-tomb in Saqqara from his reign (or at least, they haven't been found yet). Most likely, his ministers and officials outlived him and went on to serve later kings.

The Reign

Although the third century BCE Egyptian priest Manetho records that this king ruled Egypt for eighteen years, and the Turin Canon (where he is called Semsem) gives him 72 years, these figures are considered less reliable than the 5th dynasty Palermo Stone. Toby Wilkinson in his analysis of the Palermo Stone in Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt, specifically notes that Cairo Fragment One register III of this document gives "Semerkhet 8 1/2 years (this figure is certain, since the entire reign is recorded." Semerkhet's royal name, written in a serekh, was also preserved in this section of the document hence the nine-year reign can only belong to him. Wilkinson concludes that this king had a reign of 9 full or partial years.

The only events listed on the Palermo Stone for his short reign seem to be religious observances. There is an ivory seal mentioning his name as well as that of Henuka, a dignitary who seems to have ministered to king Semerkhet as well as to his successor, king Qaa.

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