The first pharaoh of a united Egypt was Menes, a king of Upper Egypt, who united both Upper and Lower Egypt and rules from Memphis. However, due to the lack of contemporary records, some scholars have suggested that Menes could have been a a mythical figures.
Still, many experts (Manetho, Herodotus) consider that Menes and Narmer are the same person. Narmer was the first of the eight kings of the First Dynasty. The name of Narmer was found on a calcite vase from Abydos.
It was under the First Dynasty that the center of development and political power switched from the south to the north, and the city of Memphis was established at the apex of the Delta, on the west bank of the Nile southwest of present-day Cairo.
The best known of the First Dynasty kings was Den, who must have come to the throne at a young age, considering his long reign. Upon reaching his maturity, Den married Queen Herneth. He began vigorous military campaigns and fought in the eastern desert.
There is evidence of military operation against enemies in both Asia and Libya. During his campaigns he overran an enemy encampment and brought a harem of females back to Egypt.
Much higher degree of craftsmanship is discernible in the artistic production of Den’s reign.
Den was the first king of Egypt to adopt the title conventionally transliterated as ‘he of the sedge and the bee’, rendered as ‘king of Upper and Lower Egypt’.
Early Dynastic in Egypt
