Nebiryraw I c. 1627–1601 BC
A Theban king who, by the Turin king list, reigned for 26 years. The Juridical Stela from Karnak, now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is dated to his first year and records the sale of a governor's office at Elkab. Kim Ryholt puts him in the 16th Dynasty, while other scholars count him among the early kings of the 17th.
Throne name: Sewadjenre
s-wꜣḏ-n-rꜥ: “He whom Ra has made flourish”
Sign by sign
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
- Folded cloth S29s The sound s.
- Papyrus stem M13wꜣḏ Green, fresh, flourishing.
- Papyrus roll Y1 Determinative for writing and abstract ideas.
- Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
Where to see Nebiryraw I's name today
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square holds some of the most important inscribed objects in Egypt, from the Narmer Palette, with one of the first royal names, to the Merneptah Stela, with the first mention of Israel. You can follow the script here from its beginnings to long New Kingdom texts.
SiteKarnak Temple
Karnak has more royal hieroglyphs in one place than anywhere else in Egypt: battle texts, obelisks, chapels and the cartouches of dozens of pharaohs. It was the great temple of the god Amun, built and rebuilt for about 2,000 years.
MuseumPetrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
The Petrie Museum at University College London holds more than 80,000 objects from Flinders Petrie's excavations, and much of what is written on them is everyday: stelae, labels, letters and accounts. Kings appear on temple reliefs from Koptos, among them Senusret I before the god Min and a slab with the name of Pepi II.
Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).