The name "Hor-aha" means the Fighter . On King Aha's monuments , there are some indications mentioning his wars against the Libyans and the Nubians . Moreover , there is a reference to some religious ceremonies like his coronation ceremony .
After Narmer's death , Hor-aha ascended the throne and became the first king of the First Dynasty . Perhaps , he may be identified with Menes of the classical historians . In that case , he would be the founder of the
Thinite Period
(First Dynasty) . If he was the same person as Narmer , then he was the cult inaugurator of the Crocodile-god , Sobek in the region of Faiyum as well as the
Memphis
founder (some 20 miles south of the apex of the Delta , near the natural frontier between the North and the South) . He chose this place to be the capital Memphis , because of its strategic position to control both Upper & Lower
Egypt
. Memphis was at the top of Upper Egypt and belonged to Lower Egypt . Aha controlled the Northerners , and settled in Lower Egypt to be ready to attack the Northerners at any time . This was the place of the different Egyptian capitals through
ages .
The new capital was known as Mn-nfr and latter on , Memphis . Manf was called 'The White Wall' , which is the wall surrounding the country .
According to this strategic point , Hor-aha ruled the newly-united Egypt where he took his new capital and built a great temple dedicated to the god Ptah , who remained the patron deity of the city throughout its long history . Here also , on the desert edge behind the city , he set up his northern tomb , the first of a long series of funerary monuments which were to be built by his successors . He would probably have established both his administration and the cult of the Apis-Bull at Memphis . It is likely that he also organized the newly unified land by starting a policy of conciliation with the North , which is deduced from the fact that the name of his wife , Neith-hotep (may Neith be pleased) , which was formed from the name of the goddess Neith , originally worshipped at Sais in the Delta . The tomb of Neith-hotep , excavated at Niqada , was provided with a large amount of objects including a tablet bearing the name of Aha .
It seems that Aha founded a temple of Neith at
Sais and celebrated the festivals of
Anubis
and Sokar as well as his own royal jubilee or Sed-festival .
Aha Reign was peaceful , except for a series of wars against the Nubians that he defeated . Later , he established his rule as far up river as the first cataract . He also defeated the Libyans and established trade relations with Syria and Palestine . These military and economic initiatives were bore by his successors . The reign of Aha , which must have ended about 3100 BC , was thus reasonably well-documented . He had two tombs: one at
Saqqara
and the other at Abydos .
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