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Protodynastic Period of Egypt

 
Protodynastic Period of Egypt

 
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The Protodynastic Period of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 (generally dated 3200 BC - 3000 BC) refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is equivalent to the archaeological phase known as Naqada III
Naqada III

Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqadan period of ancient Egyptian history. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which had begun to take place in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities....
. It is sometimes known as Dynasty 0 or the Late Predynastic Period.

The Protodynastic Period is characterised as being the time when ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 was undergoing the process of political unification, leading to a unified state during the Early Dynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt

The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3150 BC. It is generally taken to include the First dynasty of Egypt and Second dynasty of Egypt Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom....
.






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The Protodynastic Period of Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 (generally dated 3200 BC - 3000 BC) refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is equivalent to the archaeological phase known as Naqada III
Naqada III

Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqadan period of ancient Egyptian history. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which had begun to take place in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities....
. It is sometimes known as Dynasty 0 or the Late Predynastic Period.

Narmerpalette Rom Front
The Protodynastic Period is characterised as being the time when ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
 was undergoing the process of political unification, leading to a unified state during the Early Dynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt

The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3150 BC. It is generally taken to include the First dynasty of Egypt and Second dynasty of Egypt Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom....
. Furthermore, it is during this time when the Egyptian language
Egyptian language

Egyptian is a branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages language family along with the Chadic languages, Berber languages, Semitic languages, Cushitic languages and possibly Omotic languages languages....
 was first being recorded in hieroglyphs. There is also strong archaeological evidence of Egyptian settlements in southern Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
 during the Protodynastic Period, which have been regarded as colonies
Colony

In politics and in history, a colony is a Territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies....
 or trading entrepôts
Entrepôt

An entrep?t is a trading post where merchandise can be Import and exported without paying import Duty , often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrep?t instead....
.

State formation began during this era and perhaps even earlier. Various small city-states arose along the Nile
Nile

The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the List of rivers by length in the world.The Nile has two major tributary, the White Nile and Blue Nile, the latter being the source of most of the Nile's water and silt, but the former being the longer of the two....
. Centuries of conquest reduced Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt

File:Ancient Egypt map-en.svgUpper Egypt is a narrow strip of land that extends from the Cataracts of the Nile section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Asyut is sometimes known as Middle Egypt....
 to three major states: Thinis
Thinis

Thinis is the mythological city from where Egypt, according to Manetho's chronological list, were united by the Thinnite Confederacy. It is said to have happened during the reign of the Pharaoh Menes....
, Naqada
Naqada

Naqada is a town on the west bank of the Nile in the Egyptian governorate of Qena Governorate. It was known in Ancient Egypt as Nubt and in classical antiquity as Ombos....
, and Nekhen
Nekhen

Nekhen, was the religious and political capitol of Upper Egypt at the end of the Predynastic Egypt period and probably, also during the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt ....
. Not much is known of Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the Fertile Crescent Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
's political makeup but they may have shared in Naqada's Set
Set (mythology)

In Ancient Egyptian religion, Set is an ancient god, who was originally the god of the desert, Storms, Darkness, and Chaos. Because of the developments in the Egyptian language over the 3,000 years that Set was worshipped, by the Greek period, the t in Seth was pronounced so indistinguishably from th that the Greeks spelled it a...
 cult while Thinis and Nekhen were part of the Horus
Horus

Horus is a god of the Ancient Egyptian religion, most commonly known by the Greek language version Horus, of the Egyptian language Heru/Har....
 cult. Being sandwiched by Thinis and Nekhen, Naqada was the first to fall. Thinis then conquered Lower Egypt. Nekhen's relationship with Thinis is uncertain but these two states may have merged peacefully with the Thinite royal family ruling all of Egypt. The Thinite kings are buried at Abydos
Abydos, Egypt

Abydos , one of the most ancient cities of Upper and Lower Egypt, is about 11 km west of the Nile at latitude 26? 10' N. The Egyptian name of both the eighth Nome of Upper Egypt and its capital city was Abdju, technically, 3bdw as in the hieroglyphs shown to the right, the hill of the symbol or reliquary, in which...
 in the Umm el-Qa'ab
Umm el-Qa'ab

Umm el-Qa`ab is the necropolis of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt kings at Abydos, Egypt, in Egypt. Its modern name means 'Mother of Pots', as the whole area is littered with the broken pot shards of offerings made in later times ....
 cemetery.

Most Egyptologists consider Narmer
Narmer

Narmer was an Ancient Egypt Pharaoh who ruled in the 31st century BC. Thought to be the successor to the Predynastic Egypt King Scorpion and/or Ka , he is considered by some to be the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First dynasty of Egypt, and therefore the first king of all Egypt....
 to be the last king of this period (although some place him in the First Dynasty
First dynasty of Egypt

The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the Second dynasty of Egypt under the group title, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt. At that time the capital was Thinis....
), as well as the so-called "Scorpion King(s)", whose name may refer to, or be derived from, the goddess, Serket
Serket

In Egyptian mythology, Serket is the goddess of healing stings and bites who originally was the deification of the scorpion.Scorpion stings lead to paralysis and Serket's name describes this, as it means tightens the throat, however, Serket's name also can be read as meaning causes the throat to breathe, and so, as well as bein...
, a special early protector of other deities and the rulers.

See also

  • Naqada III
    Naqada III

    Naqada III is the last phase of the Naqadan period of ancient Egyptian history. It is the period during which the process of state formation, which had begun to take place in Naqada II, became highly visible, with named kings heading powerful polities....


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