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The Dynastic Period: c.4000 BC–3100 BC

From c.4000 BC to c.3100 BC the Egyptian population was fragmented and comprised various tribes living in Lower and Upper Egypt. As the population increased and the desert encroached, so did the people’s need to expand their access to water and land. Tribal warfare would have been commonplace, although inter-tribal trading between the north and the south was also evident.

Centres of power developed in small autonomous political entities in Lower Egypt and at two centres in Upper Egypt, specifically at Nubt (Naqada) and Nekhen (Hierakonpolis). This somewhat chaotic situation was about to change, with the establishment of what is called Dynasty 0 (zero).

The consolidation of Upper and Lower Egypt under a single centre of rule took place in c.3100 BC. This time of unification is generally recognized as the beginning of ancient Egyptian civilization. The actual dynamics are uncertain, but the name of King Narmer is preeminent. He is generally recognized as the first king of a unified Upper and Lower Egypt.

An immensely important artefact in the Cairo Museum called the ‘Palette of King Narmer’ shows Narmer wearing the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt. The palette also contains some of the earliest known hieroglyphs. Little is known about Narmer. His base of power was Nekhen, where the ‘lords of Nekhen’ banded together to secure domination of the entire land under a single king.

The Palette of King Narmer