Editing Huni (section)

== Name and identity ==

=== Huni's cartouche name ===
Huni's identity is difficult to establish, since his name is passed down mostly as cartouche name and in different variations. The earliest mention of his cartouche name may possibly be on the granite cone from Elephantine, which might be contemporary. Otherwise, the earliest appearances of Huni's cartouche can be found on the Palermo Stone P1, dating to the 5th dynasty, and on the [[Prisse Papyrus]] of the [[Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt|13th dynasty]]. Huni's cartouche can also be found in the [[Saqqara King List|Saqqara kinglist]] and the [[Turin Canon]], both dating back to the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|19th dynasty]]. The [[Abydos King List|Abydos kinglist]], which also dates to the 19th dynasty, mysteriously omits Huni's name and gives instead a ''[[Neferkara I|Neferkara]]'' who is unknown to Egyptologists.<ref name=TAHW>Toby A. H. Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt''. Routledge, London/ New York 1999, {{ISBN|0-415-18633-1}}, p. 85–89.</ref> One suggestion for this omission is that ''Neferkara'' was the nomen for ''Huni''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Zu den an der Pyramide Lepsius XIII gefundenen Namen Die Frage nach Nfr-k3 und B3-k3|last=Theis|first=Christoffer|volume=43|pages=438|year=2014|series=Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur|publication-place=Hamburg|publisher=Buske|language=de|jstor=44160285}}</ref>

The reading and translation of Huni's cartouche name is also disputed. In general, two basic versions of his name exist: an old version, which is closest to the (lost) original, and a younger version, which seems to be based on ramesside interpretations and misreadings.

[[File:Huni2.png|thumb|right|170px|Huni's cartouche on the back of the Palermo stone in Neferirkare's register.<ref name=WoHe2/>]]
The older version uses the hieroglyphic signs ''candle wick'' (Gardiner sign V28), ''[[juncus]] sprout'' (Gardiner sign M23), ''bread loaf'' (Gardiner sign X1) and ''water line'' (Gardiner sign N35). This writing form can be found on Old Kingdom objects such as the Palermo Stone recto (reign of Neferirkare), the tomb inscription of [[Metjen]], the stone vessel found in [[Abusir]] and the granite cone from Elephantine. Whilst the stone vessel from Abusir writes Huni's name without a cartouche, but gives the ''Niswt-Bity''-title, all other Old Kingdom writings place the king's name inside an oval cartouche.<ref name=WoHe2/>

The ramesside versions use the hieroglyphic signs ''candle wick'' (Gardiner sign V28), ''beating man'' (Gardiner sign A25), ''water line'' (Gardiner sign N35) and ''arm with a stick'' (Gardiner sign D40). The cartouche No. 15 in the Kinglist of Saqqara writes two vertical strokes between the water line and the beating arm. The Prisse Papyrus omits the candle wick and the beating arm.<ref name=WoHe2/> Egyptologist [[Ludwig Borchardt]] had already proposed by the beginning of the 20th century that the old and ramesside cartouche versions were referring to one and the same king. He proposed that ramesside scribes erroneously took away the juncus sign of the [[Prenomen (Ancient Egypt)|''Niswt-Bity'' title]] and placed it before the royal cartouche, not realizing that this sign was part of the original birth- or throne-name of Huni. He also proposed that the candle wick was misinterpreted as the sign for "smiting", tempting the ramesside scribes to place the hieroglyph of a beating man behind it.<ref name=LuBo/> These conclusions are still shared by scholars today.<ref name=RSH/>

Following his hypothesis, Borchardt reads Huni's cartouche name as ''Niswt Hw'' ("king Hu").<ref name=LuBo>Ludwig Borchardt: ''König Hu''. In: ''Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde (ZÄS)''; 46th edition, Berlin/Cairo 1909, p. 12.</ref> However, [[Hans Gödicke]] instead reads ''Ny Swteh'' or ''Nyswteh'' ("He who belongs to the smiters") and is convinced that Huni's name was [[Theophoric name|theophoric]]. In particular, he compares Huni's name construction with those of the kings [[Nynetjer]] ("He who belongs to the deified of Horus") and [[Nyuserre Ini|Nyuserre]] ("He who belongs to those with the power of Re").<ref>Hans Gödicke: ''Der Name des Huni''. In: ''Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde (ZÄS)''; 81st edition, Berlin/Cairo 1956, p. 18.</ref> [[Rainer Stadelmann]] and [[Wolfgang Helck]] strongly refute Gödicke's reading, pointing out that no single Egyptian document mentions a deity, person, place or even a single colloquial term named "Swteh". Thus there is no grammatical source that could have been used to make a royal name "Nyswteh". Helck instead suggests a reading as ''Hwj-nj-niswt'' and translates it as "The utterance belongs to the king".<ref name=RSH>[[Rainer Stadelmann]]: ''King Huni: His Monuments and His Place in the History of the Old Kingdom.'' In: Zahi A. Hawass, Janet Richards (Hrsg.): ''The Archaeology and Art of Ancient Egypt. Essays in Honor of David B. O’Connor.'' Band II, Conceil Suprême des Antiquités de l’Égypte, Kairo 2007, p. 425–431.</ref><ref name=WoHe2/>

=== Huni's possible Horus name ===
The [[Horus name]] of Huni is unknown. There are several theories to connect the cartouche name "Huni" with contemporary Horus names.

In the late 1960s, the [[Louvre Museum]] bought a stele showing a king whose Horus name is ''Horus-[[Qahedjet]]'' ("the crown of Horus is raised"). For stylistical reasons the stele may be dated to the late Third Dynasty and it seems possible that it refers to Huni, whose Horus-name it provides.<ref>Toby Wilkinson: ''Early Dynastic Egypt'', Routledge, London/New York 1999, {{ISBN|0-415-18633-1}}, page 104-105.</ref> However, its dating and authenticity have been put into question several times, and today the stela is believed to be either fake, or dedicated to king [[Thutmose III]] (18th dynasty) while imitating the artistic style of Dynasty III.<ref>Jean-Pierre Pätznik, Jacques Vandier: L’Horus Qahedjet: Souverain de la IIIe dynastie?. page 1455–1472</ref>

[[Peter Kaplony]] promotes an ominous name found in the burial shaft of an unfinished pyramid at [[Zawyet el'Aryan]]. The monument is connected with a possible pharaoh named [[Bikheris]]. The name in question reads ''Neb-hedjetnwb'' ("lord of the golden crown") and is thought by Kaplony to be Huni's possible Horus name. However, Egyptologists such as [[Aidan Dodson]] contradict this theory and argue that ''Neb-hedjetnwb'', with its gold hieroglyph, should rather be the Golden Horus name of Bikheris.<ref>Aidan Dodson: ''On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan''. In: ''Discussion in Egyptology''. University Press, Oxford (UK) 1985, p. 22.</ref><ref>Peter Kaplony: ''Die Rollsiegel des Alten Reichs: Katalog der Rollsiegel'' (= ''Monumenta aegyptiaca'', vol. 3). Fondation Egypt. Reine Elisabeth, Cairo 1981, p. 146–155.</ref>

Other Egyptologists, such as [[Toby Wilkinson]] and Rainer Stadelmann, identify Huni with the contemporarily well-attested king ''Horus-[[Khaba]]'' ("the soul of Horus appears"). Their identification is based on the circumstance that both kings' Horus names appear on incised stone vessels without any further guiding notes. It was a fashion that began with the death of king [[Khasekhemwy]] (end of the 2nd dynasty) and ended with king [[Sneferu]] (beginning of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|4th dynasty]]). Thus, it was a very typical practice of the 3rd dynasty. Additionally, Stadelmann points to the [[Layer Pyramid]] at Zawyet el'Aryan. This monument was possibly built by Khaba, since a nearby mastaba contained several stone vessels with his Horus name. Since the Turin Canon credits a reign of 24 years to Huni, Stadelmann argues that this time span would perfectly fit to finish the Layer Pyramid. Furthermore, Stadelmann points to the large amount of discovered mud seal impressions, stone bowls and widespread find spots throughout Egypt. In his opinion, the archaeological context also speaks for a longer-lasting reign. Thus, he identifies Khaba with Huni.<ref name=TAHW/><ref name=RSH/>