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Second Dynasty of Egypt
c. 2890 BC–c. 2686 BC
Statue of Khasekhemwy, Ashmolean Museum
Capital	Thinis
Common languages	Egyptian language
Religion	ancient Egyptian religion
Government	Absolute monarchy
Historical era	Bronze Age
• Established	c. 2890 BC
• Disestablished	c. 2686 BC
Preceded by Succeeded by First Dynasty of Egypt Third Dynasty of Egypt

The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last ruler, Khasekhemwy, but is otherwise one of the most obscure periods in Egyptian history.

Though archaeological evidence of the time is very scant, contrasting data from the First and Third Dynasties indicates important institutional and economic developments during the Second Dynasty.

Rulers

For the first three pharaohs, sources are fairly close in agreement and the order is supported by an inscription on the statuette of Hetepdief, who served in the mortuary cults of these three kings.

Name		Years Reigned	Burial
Hotepsekhemwy		25–29	Gallery Tomb A, Saqqara?
Nebra (also known as Kakau)		10–14	Gallery Tomb A, Saqqara?
Nynetjer		40	Gallery Tomb B, Saqqara

But the identity of the next few rulers is unclear. Surviving sources might be giving the Horus name or the Nebty name and the birth names of these rulers. They may also be entirely different individuals, or could be legendary names. This might never be resolved.

It has been theorised that following the reign of Nynetjer, the country was split and ruled by two successors due to the overly complex state administration of the whole of Egypt.

The following list contains various king names from different sources:

Name		Years reigned (Manetho)	Notes	Burial
Weneg / Wadjenes		17	Listed as the fourth king of the dynasty on the Turin, Saqqara and Abydos king lists. Only attested in Lower Egypt. Weneg is generally accepted as a nebti (or throne) name and it is unknown what his horus name was. Theorised to be the same person as Raneb, Sekhemib-Perenmaat or a completely separate king from the others of the Second dynasty. Known as Tlas in Manetho's Aegyptica.
Senedj		41	Listed as the fifth king of the dynasty on the Turin, Saqqara and Abydos king lists. Horus name unknown. May be identifiable with Horus Sa. Known as Sethenes in Manetho's Aegyptica.
Khaires		17	Mentioned in Manetho's Aegyptica. Unknown which historical king this name refers to.
Neferkara I		25	Only attested in later documents dated long after the time period of the Second dynasty. Listed as the sixth king of the dynasty in the Saqqara and Turin King lists, but omitted from the Abydos King List. May have only ruled Lower Egypt. Known as Nephercheres in Manetho's Aegyptica.
Neferkasokar		48	Only attested in later documents dated long after the time period of the Second dynasty. Listed as the seventh king of the dynasty in the Saqqara and Turin King lists, but omitted from the Abydos King List. May have only ruled Lower Egypt. Known as Sesochris in Manetho's Aegyptica.
Hudjefa I		?	Name literally means "erased" or "missing", showing that this king's name was unknown or lost by the Nineteenth Dynasty. Listed as the eighth king of the dynasty on the Saqqara Tablet, but omitted from the Abydos King List. May have only ruled Lower Egypt. Theorised to be the same person as Peribsen and may have been deliberately omitted.
Seth-Peribsen		?	Name connected to Seth deity rather than the traditional Horus. Attested by contemporary inscriptions, but not on later king lists. Only attested in Upper Egypt.	Tomb P, Umm El Qa'ab
Sekhemib-Perenmaat		?	Attested by contemporary inscriptions, but not on later king lists. May be the same person as Seth-Peribsen or his immediate successor.	Tomb P, Umm El Qa'ab (?)
Nubnefer		?	Birth name of a king, unknown placement. Name does not appear on any known official king lists. May be birth name of Raneb or a completely separate ephemeral king who ruled at some point following Nynetjer's reign.

With the last ruler, the sources return to an agreement:

Name		Years Reigned	Notes	Burial	Consort(s)
Khasekhemwy		17–18	Known as Kheneres in Manetho's Aegyptica. Reigned for 30 years according to Manetho.	Tomb V, Umm El Qa'ab	Nimaathap

Manetho states Thinis was the capital, as in the First Dynasty, but the first three kings were buried at Saqqara, suggesting the center of power had moved to Memphis. Beyond this, little can be said about the events during this period as the annual records on the Palermo stone only survive to the end of the reign of Nebra and for parts of Nynetjer's. One important event, the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, might have occurred during the reign of Khasekhemwy as many Egyptologists read his name as "the Two Powers arise".

Comparison of regnal lists

See also

• Dynasties of ancient Egypt
• Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)
• Predynastic Egypt

References

1. Shaw, Ian, ed. (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. p. 480. ISBN 0-19-815034-2.
2. Romer, John (2013) . "Chapter 18 – The Lost Dynasty". A History of Ancient Egypt. Vol. 1. London, ENG: Penguin Books. pp. 221–222. ISBN 978-1-8-4614377-9. Whatever else was taking place at the court of the Second Dynasty of kings, it is clear that the fundamental institutions of pharaonic government, its systems of supply, not only survived throughout that century and a half, but flourished to the extent that, when the kings emerge into the light of history again with the pyramid builders of the Third Dynasty, the state on the lower Nile was more efficient than it had ever been: that there was, therefore, strong institutional continuity.
3. Bard, Kathryn A. (2002) . "Chapter 4 – The Emergence of the Egyptian State". In Shaw, Ian (ed.). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (paperback) (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-19-280293-4. There is much less evidence for the kings of the 2nd Dynasty than those of the 1st Dynasty until the last two reigns (Peribsen and Khasekhemwy). Given what is known about the early Old Kingdom in the 3rd Dynasty, the 2nd Dynasty must have been a time when the economic and political foundations were put in place for the strongly centralized state, which developed with truly vast resources. Such a major transition, however, cannot be demonstrated from the archaeological evidence for the 2nd Dynasty.
4. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. (1999). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.
5. Nicolas Grimal: A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell, Weinheim 1994, ISBN 978-0-631-19396-8, p. 55.
6. ^ Lundström, Peter. "The Dynasties of Manetho". Pharaoh.se. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
7. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. (1999). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.
8. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. (1999). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. p. 87. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.
9. Kahl, Jochem (2007), "Ra is my Lord", Searching for the Rise of the Sun God at the Dawn of Egyptian History, Wiesbaden{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
10. Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 978-3-447-02677-2, pp. 103–107.
11. Von der Way, Thomas (1997), "Zur Datierung des "Labyrinth-Gebäudes" auf dem Tell el-Fara'in (Buto)", Göttinger Miszellen, 157: 107–111
12. Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit: Ägyptologische Abhandlungen., Volume 45. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4, p. 125.
13. Wilkinson, Toby A. H. (1999). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.
14. Walter Bryan Emery: Ägypten – Geschichte und Kultur der Frühzeit. Fourier, Munich 1964, p. 106.
15. Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thintenzeit. (Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Volume 45), Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4, pp. 104–111, 183.
16. Hermann A. Schlögl: Das Alte Ägypten. Geschichte und Kultur von der Frühzeit bis zu Kleopatra. Verlag C. H. Beck, München 2006, ISBN 3-406-54988-8, p. 78.
17. I. E. S. Edwards: The early dynastic period in Egypt; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1964; p. 25.
18. Wilkinson, Toby (1999). Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. p. 89. ISBN 0-415-26011-6.

v t e Second Dynasty of Ancient Egypt
Attested pharaohs	Hotepsekhemwy Nebra Weneg Nynetjer Seth-Peribsen Sekhemib-Perenmaat Khasekhemwy
Obscure pharaoh names	Horus Ba Ba Horus Sa Hudjefa I Neferkara I Neferkasokar Nubnefer Senedj Sneferka Wadjenes
Queens consort	Menka Nimaathap
Other royals	Khenmetptah Satkhnum Sehener Shepset-ipet Wadjitefni (Mesen-ka) Nisuheqet Perneb
Other people	Inykhnum Nefer-Setekh Pehen-Ptah
Monument	Gisr el-Mudir Shunet El Zebib
Capital	Thinis

• Second Dynasty of Egypt
• States and territories established in the 3rd millennium BC
• States and territories disestablished in the 3rd millennium BC
• Dynasties of ancient Egypt
• 29th century BC in Egypt
• 28th century BC in Egypt
• 27th century BC in Egypt
• 3rd-millennium BC establishments in Egypt
• 3rd-millennium BC disestablishments in Egypt
• 3rd millennium BC in Egypt