Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)

"dual king" in hieroglyphs
M23
X1		 L2
X1

nswt-bjtj
"[He] of the Sedge and the Bee"
Early example of the nswt-bjtj crest: Pharaoh Nubnefer, Second Dynasty.

The prenomen, also called cartouche name or throne name[1] (Ancient Egyptian: 𓆥 nswt-bjtj "of the Sedge and Bee") of ancient Egypt, was one of the five royal names of pharaohs. The first pharaoh to have a Sedge and Bee name was Den during the First Dynasty.[1]

Most Egyptologists believe that the prenomen was a regnal name.

The first part of the title, ni-su, seems to have referred to the eternal institution of kingship itself. It was, in fact, the word for "king" in expressions[.] The word bjt, on the other hand, more properly referred to the ephemeral holder of the position. In this way, both the divine and the mortal were referenced in the phrase, along with the obvious dual division of the northern and southern lands. For these reasons, the translation "Dual King" is preferred today.[1]

Others think that it originally represented the birth name of the rulers.[2]

The term "of the Sedge and Bee"[3] is written by the hieroglyphs representing a sedge, representing Upper Egypt (𓇓 Gardiner M23) and a bee, representing Lower Egypt (𓆤 L2), each combined with the feminine ending t (𓏏 X1), read as nsw.t and bj.t respectively; the adjectival nisba ending -j is not represented in writing.[2][4]

During the first three dynasties, the prenomen was depicted either alone or in pair with the Nebty name. Semerkhet was the first pharaoh who devoted his prenomen to the Two Ladies. From Pharaoh Huni, the probable last king of the Third Dynasty onward, the prenomen was encircled by the cartouche (the elongated form of the shen ring).[2]

  1. ^ a b c Leprohon, Ronald J. (2013). The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary. SBL Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-58983-736-2.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference TAH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Rainer Hannig, Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch: (2800 - 950 v. Chr.) (2006), p. 261.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference JKN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).