Jochem Kahl

'ra is My Lord': Searching for the Rise of the Sun God at the Dawn of Egyptian History (Menes - Studien Zur Kultur Und Sprache Der Aegyptischen Fruehzeit Und Des Alten Reiches) Jochem Kahl

Due to extremely poor and difficult sources, we are as much in the dark about the history of the Egyptian 2nd Dynasty (c.2850-2700 BCE) as we are about the Gods worshipped at that time. Nor are we sure about the reigns and order of kings from this period. having assumed that veneration of the Sun God Re began during the 2nd Dynasty, opinion has changed over the last thirty years: evidence for the worship of Re has been found only for the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty.

This book looks at hitherto overlooked sources and examines known materials in a new light to show that the cult of Re can be traced back to the first half of the 2nd Dynasty and may even be traced to the 1st Dynasty. Kahl uncovers connections between the God Re and the Egyptian writers and draws conclusions for future study of Egyptian royal divinity and for the political history of the 2nd Dynasty.