The name of the second dynasty Pharaoh Sendji (Sened) appears in the Abydos kings list, the Saqqara Kings List, the Turin list, and is referred to in a private tomb (belonging to the funerary priest Shery) in Saqqara. However, there is no contemporary evidence of his rule of Ancient Egypt.
Some scholars suggest that he was in fact Weneg, or Sekhemhib (Seth-Peribsen) while other scholars believe that he ruled an area of Lower (northern) Egypt at the same time as Sekhemhib (Seth-Peribsen).
The only contemporary artefact inscription relating to him is a shard from a diorite bowl with the (partially damaged) text “The king of Upper- and Lower Egypt, Senedj”. The next reference to his rule dates to the fourth dynasty. The false door of the mastaba tomb of the high priest Shery at Sakkara confirms his titles as “overseer of all wab-priests of king Peribsen in the necropolis of king Senedj”, “overseer of the ka-priests of king Senedj”, and “god’s servant of Senedj”.
Sendji is also mentioned in the Brugsch Papyrus (Papyrus Berlin 3038), a medical text thought to date to the nineteenth dynasty. The text alleges that is was first composed during the first dynasty and presented to Sendji as part of his inheritance. Despite the lack of evidence of his reign, Manetho states that he held the throne for 41 years and the Turin Canon grants him an amazing 70 years.
Pharaoh’s Names
Manetho; Sethenes
Nomen; Sendj
Nomen; Nesu Sendj
Nomen; Sendji (from the Abydos kings list)
Nomen; Sendj (from the Turin list and the Saqqara Kings List)
Bibliography
- Bard, Kathryn (2008) An introduction to the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt
- Clayton, Peter A (1994) Chronicle of the Pharaohs
- Dodson, A and Hilton, D. (2004) The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt
- Kemp, Barry J (1991) Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilisation
- Malek, J (2000) “The Old Kingdom”, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt Ed I. Shaw
- Rice, Michael (1999) Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt
- Van De Mieroop, Marc (1999) A History of Ancient Egypt
Copyright J Hill 2016