It’s always a shame when important people die humorously pathetic deaths. It’s one thing of they’re assassinated or die after a long struggle through a terrible disease, but being killed so feebly is truly dishonoring. I came across another one of those demises while I was reading The History of the Ancient World.
Over 5000 years ago, the ruler of the White Kingdom and all of Upper Egypt set out to conquer the Red Kingdom of Egypt. Little did he know that in doing so, his success would build the first empire. This man was Narmer (sometimes known as Menes), whose name quite poetically means “raging catfish” which was truly complimentary since the catfish was considered the most aggressive of fish.
Narmer began the first dynasty of the now united Egyptian civilization as recorded by the priest Manetho. According to Herodotus, Narmer celebrated the awesome victory by constructing a new capital, Memphis, meaning “White Walls”. From this city, the kings of Egypt (up until the capital changed to Thebes during the end of the First Intermediate Period) could control both the northern delta and the southern valley.
After a sixty-four year reign, he undertook a traditional quest as a display of his power over the enemies of the land to satisfy the peoples’ need for a symbolic victory. Narmer as “Lord of the Two Lands” with the Double Crown atop his head, decided to partake in a hippo hunt, where he was cornered by a hippopotamus and gored on the spot. It was a pretty degrading downfall for a larger-than-life empire-builder.
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