Ta-Seti
Welcome to The Nile Valley Level 2, Lesson 2: Ta-Seti
In this lesson, you will learn about:
The first kingdom in history
Nile Valley traditions
Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will understand:
Where Ta-Seti was located
What has been discovered by archaeologists
Which deities were first worshiped in Ta-Seti
Ta-Seti was the very first kingdom in history.
This kingdom encompassed Nubia, which today is northern Sudan and southern Egypt, and was founded in 5900 BC. It was discovered in 1962 as archaeologists recovered remains from a graveyard.
Over 1000 painted pots were retrieved, and large tombs were uncovered. Housed in the tombs were distinguished individuals with jewellery. Some of the jewellery was covered in symbols resembling Kemetic hieroglyphs.
At one of the oldest tombs an incense burner dedicated to the deity Horus was found. Symbols similar to Kemetic royalty covered this artefact, but the artefact predates Kemet by several years. The incisions also depict an important figure sitting on a boat wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt and standing above a ship. This may in fact depict the first king in human history.
The presence of Horus at a Ta-Seti tomb emphasises the development of official religion at Qustul, an ancient city along the Nile. This same religion that would be practiced in Kemet for millenia. Evidence shows the story of Horus came from Ta-Seti and was inherited by the people of Kemet.
Osiris also seems to have originated in Ta-Seti, and the Heb-Sed festival was performed there. This festival was performed to identify the king with Osiris, the god of resurrection and ruler of the Underworld - the Kemetic afterlife. Many other deities, such as Isis and Set, were also said to be from Ta-Seti.
The people of Ta-Seti remained inhabitants of the only kingdom on earth for over 200 years. Some of these people helped to found Kemet to the north of Ta-Seti. They helped birth writing in the area and fashioned pharaonic civilisation.