Peribsen

King c.2730 BC.

    Peribsen was a ruler of the Second Dynasty whose connection with the despised god Seth has been the subject of discussion. Unlike other kings whose names were preceded by a Horus-name (indicating their allegiance to the god Horus), Peribsen's name was associated with a Seth-name, and he also used the name 'Seth-Re'. In addition, on one of his seal impressions, there occurs the inscription 'The Ombite (i.e. Seth) has given the Two Lands to his son Peribsen.'

    Like other early rulers, Peribsen had a funerary monument (tomb or cenotaph) at Abydos which was excavated by Petrie; here jar-sealings were discovered that bore the names of Seth-Peribsen and Horus Sekhemib, and it has been suggested that these names both refer to one ruler who, for political and religious motives, changed his allegiance from Horus to Seth. It is equally possible that these names may in fact refer to two distinct men. The title of 'Conqueror of the foreign lands' which Peribsen bore may indicate that he had introduced the cult of Seth into the north-eastern Delta.

    There is also confusion and difficulty over his relationship with *Kha'sekhem and *Kha'sekhemui; it is possible that he ruled concurrently with *Kha'sekhem over a divided Egypt, or that *Kha'sekhem may have succeeded him as ruler of the country, once again uniting the supporters of Horus with those of Seth. *Kha'sekhem perhaps then marked this unification by taking a new name—*Kha'sekhemui— although another interpretation is that *Kha'sekhemui succeeded *Kha'sekhem.

BIBL. Petrie, W.M.F. The Royal Tombs of the earliest dynasties, (two vols) London: 1900-1; Petrie, W.M.F. Abydos. (three vols) London: 1902-4; Newberry, P.E. The Set Rebellion of the Second Dynasty. Ancient Egypt Vol.2 (1922) pp. 40-6; Griffiths, J.G. The conflict of Horus and Seth. Liverpool: 1960.

Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Egypt by Rosalie and Antony E. David

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(reigned c. 2760 BC)

   Ruler of Dynasty 2 and successor to Nynetjer. There appears to have been a religious conflict during his reign between the followers of the gods Horus and Seth. Peribsen changed the standard inscription of the royal titulary, writing his name in a serekhnot as a Horus name but as one preceded by that of Seth.

Historical Dictionary Of Ancient Egypt by Morris L. Bierbrier