Editing Narmer (section)

===Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt===
The famous [[Narmer Palette]], discovered by [[James Quibell|James E. Quibell]] in the 1897–1898 season at [[Hierakonpolis]],{{sfn|Quibell|1898|pp=81–84, pl. XII-XIII}} shows Narmer wearing the crown of Upper Egypt on one side of the palette, and the crown of Lower Egypt on the other side, giving rise to the theory that Narmer unified the two lands.{{sfn|Gardiner|1961|pp=403–404}} Since its discovery, however, it has been debated whether the Narmer Palette represents an actual historic event or is purely symbolic.{{efn|According to {{harvnb|Schulman|year=1991–92}} the Narmer Palette commemorates a conquest of Libyans that occurred earlier than Narmer, probably during Dynasty 0. Libyans, in this context, were not people who inhabited what is modern Libya, but rather peoples who lived in the north-west Delta of the Nile, which later became a part of Lower Egypt.

Schulman describes scenes from ''Dynasty V'' (2 scenes), ''Dynasty VI'', and ''Dynasty XXV''. In each of these, the king is shown defeating the Libyans, personally killing their chief in a classic "smiting the enemy" pose. In three of these post-Narmer examples, the name of the wife and two sons of the chief are named—and they are the same names for all three scenes from vastly different periods. This proves that all, but the first representation, cannot be recording actual events, but are ritual commemorations of an earlier event. The same might also be true of the first example in Dynasty V.

The scene on the Narmer Palette is similar, although it does not name the wife or sons of the Libyan chief. The Narmer Palette could represent the actual event on which the others are based. However, Schulman (following {{harvnb|Breasted|1931}}) argues against this on the basis that the Palermo Stone shows predynastic kings wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt suggesting that they ruled a unified Egypt. Hence, the Narmer Palette, rather than showing a historic event during Narmer's reign commemorates the defeat of the Libyans and the unification of Egypt which occurred earlier.

{{harvnb|Köhler|2002|p=505}} proposes that the Narmer Palette has nothing to do with the unification of Egypt. Instead, she describes it as an example of the "subjecting the enemy" motif which goes back as far as ''Naqada Ic'' (about 400 years before Narmer), and which represents the ritual defeat of chaos, a fundamental role of the king. {{harvnb|O'Connor|2011}} also argues that it has nothing to do with the unification, but has a (very complicated) religious meaning.}} Of course, the Narmer Palette could represent an actual historical event while at the same time having a symbolic significance.

In 1993, [[Günter Dreyer]] discovered a "year label" of Narmer at Abydos, depicting the same event that is depicted on the Narmer Palette. In the First Dynasty, years were identified by the name of the king and an important event that occurred in that year. A "year label" was typically attached to a container of goods and included the name of the king, a description or representation of the event that identified the year, and a description of the attached goods. This year label shows that the Narmer Palette depicts an actual historical event.{{sfn|Dreyer|2000}} Support for this conclusion (in addition to Dreyer) includes Wilkinson{{sfn|Wilkinson|1999|p=68}} and Davies & [[Renée Friedman|Friedman]].{{sfn|Davies|Friedman| 1998|p=35}} Although this interpretation of the year label is the dominant opinion among Egyptologists, there are exceptions including [[John Baines (Egyptologist)|Baines]]{{sfn|Baines|2008|p=23}} and [[David Wengrow|Wengrow]].{{sfn|Wengrow |2006|p=204}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = Narmer Palette
| total_width = 350
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Narmer Palette.jpg
| caption1 = Narmer Palette
| image2 = Narmer Palette recto.svg
| caption2 = Drawing (front)
| image3 = Narmer Palette verso.svg
| caption3 = Drawing (back)
| footer = 
}}

{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| header = Narmer Macehead
| total_width = 350
| caption_align = center
| image1 = Narmer Macehead.png
| caption1 = The [[Narmer Macehead]]
| image2 = Narmer Macehead drawing.svg
| caption2 = Narmer Macehead (drawing). The design shows captives being presented to Pharaoh Narmer enthroned in a [[Shrine|naos]]. [[Ashmolean Museum]], [[Oxford]].{{sfn|Wengrow|2006|pp=41–44}}
| footer = The scene depicts a ceremony in which captives and plunder are presented to King Narmer, who is enthroned beneath a canopy on a stepped platform. He wears the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, holds a flail, and is wrapped in a long cloak. To the left, Narmer's name is written inside a representation of the palace facade (the ''serekh'') surmounted by a falcon. At the bottom is a record of animal and human plunder; 400,000 cattle, 1,422,000 goats, and 120,000 captives.{{sfn|Millet|1990|pp=53–59}}
| perrow = 
| width = 37
}}

Archaeological evidence suggests that Egypt was at least partially unified during the reigns of [[Ka (pharaoh)|Ka]] and [[Iry-Hor]] (Narmer's immediate predecessors), and perhaps as early as [[Scorpion I]]. Tax collection is probably documented for Ka{{sfn|Dreyer| Hartung| Pumpenmeier| 1993|p=56, fig. 12}} and Iry-Hor.{{sfn|Kahl|2007|p=13}} The evidence for a role for Scorpion I in Lower Egypt comes from his tomb Uj in Abydos (Upper Egypt), where labels were found identifying goods from Lower Egypt.{{sfn|Dreyer|2011|p=135}} These are not tax documents, however, so they are probably indications of trade rather than subjugation. There is a substantial difference in the quantity and distribution of inscriptions with the names of those earlier kings in Lower Egypt and [[Canaan]] (which was reached through Lower Egypt), compared to the inscriptions of Narmer. Ka's inscriptions have been found in three sites in Lower Egypt and one in Canaan.{{sfn|Jiménez-Serrano|2007|p=370, table 8}} Iry-Hor inscriptions have also been found in two sites in Lower Egypt and one in Canaan.{{sfn|Jiménez-Serrano|2007|p=370, table 8}}{{sfn|Ciałowicz|2011|pp=63–64}} This must be compared to Narmer, whose ''serekhs'' have been found in ten sites in Lower Egypt and nine sites in Canaan (see discussion in "Tomb and Artefacts" section). This demonstrates a qualitative difference between Narmer's role in Lower Egypt compared to his two immediate predecessors. There is no evidence in Lower Egypt of any Upper Egyptian king's presence before Iry-Hor. The archaeological evidence suggest that the unification began before Narmer, but was completed by him through the conquest of a polity in the north-west Delta as depicted on the Narmer Palette.{{sfn|Heagy|2014|pp=73–74}}

The importance that Narmer attached to his "unification" of Egypt is shown by the fact that it is commemorated not only on the Narmer Palette, but on a cylinder seal,{{sfn|Quibell|1900|p=7, pl. XV.7}} the Narmer Year Label,{{sfn|Dreyer|2000}} and the Narmer Boxes;{{sfn|Dreyer|2016}} and the consequences of the event are commemorated on the [[Narmer Macehead]].{{sfn|Quibell|1900|pp=8–9, pls. XXV, XXVIB}} The importance of the unification to ancient Egyptians is shown by the fact that Narmer is shown as the first king on the two necropolis seals, and under the name Menes, the first king in the later King Lists. Although there is archaeological evidence of a few kings before Narmer, none of them are mentioned in any of those sources. It can be accurately said that from the point of view of Ancient Egyptians, history began with Narmer and the unification of Egypt, and that everything before him was relegated to the realm of myth.