Legacy

Qa'a had a fairly large tomb in Abydos

Abydos, Egypt

Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...

 which measures 98.5 X 75.5 feet or 30 X 23 meters. Manetho

Manetho

Manetho was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos who lived during the Ptolemaic era, approximately during the 3rd century BC. Manetho wrote the Aegyptiaca...

 gives him a reign of 26 years in his Epitome if this ruler was a certain Biechenes. A long reign is supported by the large size of this ruler's burial site at Abydos. A seal impression bearing Hotepsekhemwy

Hotepsekhemwy

Hotepsekhemwy is the Horus name of a early Egyptian king who was the founder of the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is not known; the Turin canon suggests an improbable 95 years while the ancient Greek Historian Manetho reports that the reign of "Boëthôs" lasted for 38 years...

's name was found near the entrance of the tomb of Qa'a (Tomb Q) by the German Archaeological Institute in the mid-1990s. This pharaoh's large Abydos tomb was excavated by German archaeologists in 1993 and proved to contain 26 satellite (i.e. sacrificial) burials. The discovery of the seal impression has been interpreted as evidence that Qa'a was buried, and therefore succeeded, by Hotepsekhemwy

Hotepsekhemwy

Hotepsekhemwy is the Horus name of a early Egyptian king who was the founder of the 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is not known; the Turin canon suggests an improbable 95 years while the ancient Greek Historian Manetho reports that the reign of "Boëthôs" lasted for 38 years...

, the founder of the second dynasty of Egypt, as Manetho states.

The tomb of one of Qa'a's state officials at Saqqara—a certain noblemen named Merka—contained a stele

Stele

A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...

 with many titles. There is a second sed festival

Sed festival

The Sed festival was an ancient Egyptian ceremony that celebrated the continued rule of a pharaoh...

 attested. This fact plus the high quality of a number of royal steles depicting the king implies that Qa'a's reign was a fairly stable and prosperous period of time. Qa'a's name translates as "His Arm is Raised".

A number of year labels have also been discovered dating to his reign at the First Dynasty burial site of Umm el-Qa'ab

Umm el-Qa'ab

Umm el-Qa`āb is the necropolis of the Early Dynastic kings at Abydos, in Egypt. Its modern name means Mother of Pots, as the whole area is littered with the broken pot shards of offerings made in earlier times...

 in Abydos. Qa'a is believed to have ruled Egypt around 2916 BCE. A dish inscribed with the name and titles of Qa'a was discovered in the tomb of Peribsen (Tomb P of Petrie).

Under Qa'a the officials Merka and Sabef

Sabef

Sabef was an Ancient Egyptian official under king Qa'a in the First Dynasty, around 2900 BC.Sabef is known from a stela found next to the tomb of the king at Abydos. He is said to be the governor of the residence of "The Tomb of Qa'a"....

 had high positions in the palace administration.

See also

• Pharaoh
  Pharaoh
  Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
  
  
• List of Pharaohs
• First dynasty of Egypt
  First dynasty of Egypt
  The first dynasty of Ancient Egypt is often combined with the Dynasty II under the group title, Early Dynastic Period of Egypt...
  
  
• Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifices
  Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifices
  Ancient Egyptian retainer sacrifice is a type of human sacrifice in which pharaohs and occasionally other high court nobility would have servants killed after the pharaohs' deaths to continue to serve them in the afterlife...