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    (-2600) Biography of Methen

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    Akhlys
    Metjen was an ancient Egyptian official who lived during the transition from the Third to Fourth Dynasty under the pharaohs Huni and Sneferu. Some of Metjen's titles included "Confidant of the king" and "Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt'". According to his tomb inscription, Metjen inherited titles from his father and was assigned others, rising to high positions over his career, including administrator of several provinces. Metjen's tomb inscription provides valuable insights into his professional life and rise within the Egyptian administration in the late Third Dynasty.

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    (-2600) Biography of Methen

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    Akhlys
    369 views10 pages
    Metjen was an ancient Egyptian official who lived during the transition from the Third to Fourth Dynasty under the pharaohs Huni and Sneferu. Some of Metjen's titles included "Confidant of the king" and "Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt'". According to his tomb inscription, Metjen inherited titles from his father and was assigned others, rising to high positions over his career, including administrator of several provinces. Metjen's tomb inscription provides valuable insights into his professional life and rise within the Egyptian administration in the late Third Dynasty.

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    (-2600) Biography of Methen

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    Metjen was an ancient Egyptian official who lived during the transition from the Third to Fourth Dynasty under the pharaohs Huni and Sneferu. Some of Metjen's titles included "Confidant of the king" and "Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt'". According to his tomb inscription, Metjen inherited titles from his father and was assigned others, rising to high positions over his career, including administrator of several provinces. Metjen's tomb inscription provides valuable insights into his professional life and rise within the Egyptian administration in the late Third Dynasty.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    369 views10 pages

    (-2600) Biography of Methen

    Uploaded by

    Akhlys
    Metjen was an ancient Egyptian official who lived during the transition from the Third to Fourth Dynasty under the pharaohs Huni and Sneferu. Some of Metjen's titles included "Confidant of the king" and "Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt'". According to his tomb inscription, Metjen inherited titles from his father and was assigned others, rising to high positions over his career, including administrator of several provinces. Metjen's tomb inscription provides valuable insights into his professional life and rise within the Egyptian administration in the late Third Dynasty.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 10

    Metjen

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


    Metjen in hieroglyphs
    Personal name:

    Metjen
    mṯn
    The leader
    Honorary title:

    Rekh-neswt
    rḫ-nsw.t
    Confidant of the king

    Metjen (also read as Methen) was an ancient Egyptian high official at the transition time from
    3rd Dynasty to 4th Dynasty. He is famous for his tomb inscription, which provide that he
    worked and lived under the kings (pharaohs) Huni and Sneferu.[1]

    Identity
    Family

    Portrait and titles of Metjen from his tomb chapel.

    According to his own tomb inscriptions, Metjen was a son of the high official Inpu-em-Ankh,
    a judge at the royal court of justice and a royal scribe. Metjen's mother was a high priestess
    named Neb-senet. Metjen also had children, which he indirectly mentions, but their names are
    not handed down.[1][2]
    Titles

    As a high-ranking official, Metjen bore several elite titularies:

    • Confidant of the king (Egyptian: Rekh-neswt). A title that allowed Metjen to receive
    audiences at the pharaoh.[3]
    • Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt' (Egyptian: Wer-medi-shemaw). The exact meaning
    of this title is unknown, some scholars believe it designated the royal court of justice.[4]
    • Privy council (Egyptian: Sa'ab). Significantly, there is next to nothing known about this
    office, but it must have been one of the most wanted curatorial and political posts of that
    era (right after the title "Great one of the 'ten of Upper Egypt').[1]
    • Administrator of Hat-mehyt (Egyptian: Adj-mer Hat-mehyt).[5]
    • Administrator of Khepesh (Egyptian: Adj-mer Khepesh). The reading of the last sign is
    uncertain, but it must designate a certain nome.[6]
    • Administrator of the Khasuu-nome (Egyptian: Adj-mer-khasuu).[7]
    • Curator of the endowment estate of king Huni in the Khepesh nome (Egyptian: Heqa-
    hwt-Huni-khepesh). The exact geographical location of the estate is unknown, but it is
    mentioned on the famous Palermo stone.[2]
    • Curator of the Ka-house of queen Nimaathapi (Egyptian: Heqa-hwt-ka-Nimaathapi).[2]

    Career

    Metjen's tomb inscriptions are of the highest interest to Egyptologists and historians alike. They
    are in fact the very first Ancient Egyptian private texts that reveal more than only titles and
    offering formulae. Metjen is the first high official who reports his own professional and
    curatorial career by listing his official and honorary titles in chronological order and describing
    the support of his career by his parents.[1][2]

    According to Metjen's autobiography, he inherited many of his titles after the death of his father,
    other high ranked titles were assigned to him by his father himself. The inheritance included
    also several decrees which allowed Metjen to found his own estates and even small towns.
    Metjen started as a royal scribe, then became overseer of the royal scribes and confidant of the
    king, then he became administrator of several palatinates and royal storages. Finally, he became
    "great one of the 'Ten of Upper Egypt'" and privy council. Additionally, the royal house gave
    several estates to Metjen, whereupon he founded the town Sheret-Metjen (Egyptian: Šr.t-Mṯn)
    at his favorite estate. As a sign of gratitude, Metjen in turn donated hundreds of precious trees
    to royal domains. At the peak of his career, Metjen was also mayor of several cities, curator of
    the endowment estate of king Huni and supervisor of the mortuary cult for queen
    Nimaathapi.[1][2]

    Contemporary office partners included Netjeraperef,[8] Khabawsokar, Pehernefer and


    Akhetaa,[9] who were also holding office under Huni and Sneferu. All their tomb inscriptions
    reveal that the time of both kings must have been a very prosperous one; and economy and
    office administration flourished.[10]

    Tomb
    Metjen's tomb, mastaba L6, was found in 1842 by German Egyptologist Carl Richard Lepsius
    at Saqqara. He excavated the tomb and ordered the dismantling of the tomb for preservation.
    Metjen's tomb chapels are now completely on display at the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.[1][2]
    Here was also found the Statue of Metjen.
    Metyen

    Relieve de Metyen.
    Museo egipcio de Berlín.

    Metyen
    en jeroglífico

    Mṯn

    Metyen (Mechen) fue un dignatario del Imperio Antiguo, cuya vida transcurrió entre finales de
    la tercera dinastía y principios de la cuarta dinastía, durante el reinado del faraón Seneferu. Su
    padre era un escriba que ejercía como juez llamado Anubisemanj. De su madre solo se conoce
    el nombre, Nebsent.

    Durante su carrera Metyen fue el escriba administrador de numerosos palacios ubicados en la


    parte occidental del delta del Nilo, entre ellos el de Buto.1 Luego fue el nomarca de los nomos
    Neit Mehet y Ka Dyu en el Delta,nota 1 lo que hace de él un personaje importante en la
    administración del reino. Fue gobernador militar de una de las fortalezas construidas para
    defender el país contra las incursiones de los nómadas libios que colonizaron la región
    occidental y amenazaban regularmente las ricas tierras del Delta en el área de Menfis.

    Títulos

    Rej-nesu
    en jeroglífico

    Rḫ-nsw

    Metyen significa El jefe, pero en su tumba tiene otros muchos títulos:


    • Rej-nesu: Conocido del Rey.
    • Wer-medy-shemau: El Mayor de los Diez del Alto Egipto.
    • Ady-mer-hat-mehit: Director de Hat-mehit.2
    • Ady-mer-jepesh: Jefe de Jepesh.3nota 2
    • Heqa-hut-Huni-jepesh: Fundador de Huni jepesh.4nota 3
    • Ady-mer-jasuu: Administrador de Xois. (en el nomo VI del Bajo Egipto).5

    Tumba

    Mastaba de Metyen. Museo egipcio de Berlín.

    Puerta falsa de la tumba de Metyen en Abusir, según Lepsius.

    Su tumba (L6) se encuentra en Saqqara, al norte de la pirámide escalonada de Dyeser (Zoser);


    es una mastaba descubierta en Abusir en 1842 por Karl Richard Lepsius. En ella se encontraron
    estelas y estatuas de los fallecidos. Los relieves que cubren las paredes ilustran los temas de la
    mastaba funeraria clásica. Una pared de la tumba ofrece la biografía de Metyen, que
    probablemente murió al final del reinado de Seneferu o principios del de Jufu (Keops).6 Este
    texto es una de las biografías más antiguas que se conocen del Imperio Antiguo.

    Después de indicar todos los cargos que Metyen había ocupado y su ascenso a través de la
    administración real, el texto indica una lista de territorios que recibió por Real Decreto, en parte
    para ganarse la vida y en segundo lugar para atender a su culto funerario.7
    El decreto también establecía una ofrenda diaria de cien panes para el culto funerario de la
    reina, madre del príncipe Nimaathap.8 A cambio también recibió una casa de 200 codos con
    todo su equipo y el personal necesario para su mantenimiento, y doce fincas en tres nomos del
    Delta del Nilo: Las dimensiones de las tierras concedidas por el faraón son impresionantes y
    muestran la importancia del personaje: un recinto de dos mil arouras con viñas,nota 4 huertos
    llenos de higueras y otros árboles frutales y un estanque para remar. La donación fue
    acompañada por los campesinos y los sirvientes necesarios para la gestión y explotación de las
    fincas, además de un gran número de aldeas en las que los trabajadores vivían con sus familias.

    Este texto de comienzos de la cuarta dinastía arroja luz sobre una práctica que fue aumentando
    a lo largo del Imperio Antiguo, mostrando que una persona podía ascender en la jerarquía y la
    corte real y ser recompensado por el faraón en persona por sus propios méritos.

    Referencias

    Notas

    • • Nomos V y VI del Bajo Egipto.

    • • El último signo de Jepesh está borroso.

    • • La lectura de Chepesch es incierta.

    • Esta es la primera noticia sobre la propiedad de viñedos y la producción de vino por una persona
    distinta del faraón en Egipto. (cifr. McGovern et al, op cit. pág. 204.)

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