Our best guess for the period of the life of Narmer, first king of Egypt, is around 3200 B.C. A. Just before Narmer’s time, Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, Upper and Lower Egypt. 1. The kings of these regions were symbolized by their crowns. The king in the south wore a tall, white crown, conical in shape. The pharaoh in the north wore a shorter, red crown. 2. Interestingly, no crown has ever been found. The crown may have been considered magical, lending power to its wearer. For this reason, the crown was passed down from king to king; it could not be taken to the next world by the departing pharaoh. B. Sometime around 3150 B.C., Narmer, a king of the south, conquered the north, and Egypt became one nation. In doing so, Narmer established the political schema that would make Egypt great for 3,000 years. III. The Narmer Palette (3150 B.C.), the world’s first historical document, tells the story of the unification of Egypt. A. The Narmer Palette is a piece of slate about 22 inches long and 24 inches wide. It was probably a ceremonial palette used to grind cosmetics that anointed statues of the gods. B. The Narmer Palette is carved on both sides with the story of Narmer’s conquest. 1. On one side of the palette is a king wearing the tall, white crown of the south and holding a mace. He is poised to smite an enemy whom he is holding by the hair. 2. How do we know this king is Narmer? At the top of the palette is a small rectangle representing a palace façade. Inside the rectangle are two small objects, a fish and a chisel. The pronunciations of these two words combine to form the name Narmer. 3. The Narmer Palette contains the first hieroglyphic inscriptions, which were not just phonetic or pictographic. Hieroglyphs are a mixture of these two systems of writing. 4. On the same side of the palette is a falcon depicted holding a captive, who has a ring through his nose. The falcon is the god Horus, who is traditionally associated with the pharaoh. 5. On the other side of the palette, Narmer is shown in a procession wearing the red crown. His size, twice as large as anyone else on the palette, is another indication of his importance. This is the first example we have of a figure depicted in hierarchical proportion. 6. In front of Narmer in the procession is his vizier, a small, hunched figure wearing a leopard skin. The procession is marching toward a group of enemies who have been beheaded. 7. Maybe the most important feature of the Narmer Palette is the depiction of two mythological beasts with long necks that are intertwined, forming a circle. The intertwined necks are symbols of the unification of Egypt. 8. Finally, beneath these two beasts is a bull that has broken down the wall of a city and is trampling someone within. The bull is another symbol of the pharaoh in ancient Egypt. C. The Narmer Palette was probably carved by two different people. The hieroglyphs show clearly different styles. There may have been some time separating the carving of the first side and the second side. IV. Narmer’s achievement—unifying Egypt—had important benefits. A. Keep in mind that Egypt’s king was a god. Throughout history, from Plato in The Republic to Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, thinkers have recognized that an all-powerful ruler can accomplish great things. B. Narmer took advantage of the Nile’s yearly overflow to grow an even greater surplus of food. He directed the digging of irrigation canals, marshalling the “gift of the Nile” for the general good. C. As mentioned earlier, the food surplus supported a professional standing army for Egypt, increasing its power in the Near East. D. Narmer established the tradition of a strong central government that would enable Egypt to rule the Near East for the next 3,000 years.