Seth-Peribsen (also known as Ash-Peribsen, Peribsen and Perabsen) is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch (pharaoh), who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 – c. 2686 BC).

[3] The serekh for Peribsen was found pressed in earthen jar seals made of clay and mud and in inscriptions on alabaster, sandstone, porphyry and black schist vessels.

This arrangement leads Egyptologists and archaeologists to the conclusion that the seal must have been created later, in memoriam, because the use of royal cartouches began long after Peribsen's reign.

Earlier theories favoured the idea that Egypt was split into two realms during Peribsen's time or that he was a heretic who sought to start a new monotheistic religion with Seth as the only worshipped god.

Seal impressions from tombs of this era reveal great changes in the titles held by high officials, pointing to a reduction of their power.

Other contemporary inscriptions indicate that Egyptian grammar was perfected during his time: In particular, the earliest seal impressions with complete sentences date back to Peribsen's reign.

[17][18] Peribsen's choice of patron, and his rule during the shadowy period of the mid-Second Dynasty, have led Egyptologists and historians to search for possible explanations for both his name and the troubled times he lived in.

A theory that was popular until the mid-20th century, supported by Egyptologists Percy Newberry, Jaroslav Černý,[20] Walter Bryan Emery[21] and Bernhard Grdseloff [fr][12] held that Peribsen was a heretic who sought to introduce a new, monotheistic state religion to Egypt, with Seth as the only worshipped god.

These vessels were gathered in the royal treasury during Khasekhemwy's reign following his reunification of Egypt, and finally put beneath the Step Pyramid by Djoser, in an act of pious devotion.

Additionally, Egyptologists such as Herman te Velde [de] point out that Shery was not the only Fourth Dynasty priest participating in the funerary cult of Peribsen.

The erasure of the Seth chimera on Peribsen's tomb stelae had been attributed to activity shortly after his death under the "heretic" theory; new discoveries suggested the defamation occurred centuries later.

[31] The earlier theories of Newberry, Černý and Grdseloff[12] said that the Egyptian state under Peribsen suffered from several civil wars, either economic or political in origin.

Egyptologists such as Michael Rice,[32] Francesco Tiradritti[33] and Wolfgang Helck point to the once palatial and well preserved mastaba tombs at Saqqara and Abydos belonging to high officials such as Ruaben [de] and Nefer-Setekh.

Egyptologists consider the archaeological record of the mastabas' condition and the original architecture as proof that the statewide mortuary cults for kings and noblemen operated successfully during the entire dynasty.

Rice, Tiradritti and Helck think that Nynetjer decided to leave a divided realm because of private or political reasons and that the split was a formality sustained by Second Dynasty kings.

This theory is based on Seth being a deity of Thinite origin, which would explain Peribsen's choice: his name changing may have been nothing more than smart political (and religious) propaganda.

[27] Egyptologists Walter Bryan Emery, Kathryn A. Bard and Flinders Petrie believe that Peribsen was also known as Sekhemib-Perenmaat, another Second Dynasty ruler that had connected his name with the falcon god Horus.

Egyptologists Wolfgang Helck,[41] Nicolas Grimal, Hermann Alexander Schlögl[46] and Francesco Tiradritti believe that king Nynetjer, the third ruler of the Second dynasty and predecessor to Peribsen, ruled an Egypt that was suffering from an overly complex state administration.

Nynetjer decided to split Egypt to leave it to two chosen successors who would rule two separate kingdoms, in the hope that the state administration could improve.

Archaeological evidence, such as the imprinted clay seals and inscribed jars, appear to support the claim that Peribsen ruled only in Upper Egypt.

Bell points to the inscriptions of the Palermo stone, where, in her opinion, the records of the annual Nile floods show constantly low levels during this period.

[27][33][47][53][55] Scholars such as Herman TeVelde,[17] I. E. S. Edwards[56] and Toby Wilkinson[13] believe the inscription of the famous Annal stone of Fifth dynasty, a black olivin-basalt slabstone displaying a very detailed king list, argues against the division of the realm.

Since the only four-legged heraldic serekh animal in early Egypt was the chimera of the god Seth, despite passionate disagreement, the indicated ruler is likely to be Peribsen.

TeVelde, Barta and Edwards think that, in addition to Peribsen, the rulers Wadjenes, Nubnefer or Sened might have been Seth-kings as well; one of them surely was the true direct successor of Nynetjer.

The comparatively large amount of archaeological finds from Peribsen's reign contradict the brief estimated length of rulership, only 10 to 12 years, as presented on the Annal stone.

This bureaucratic reform may indicate an attempt by Peribsen to limit the power of these officials, further evidence for a bloated and unwieldy state administration under Nynetjer.

[60][61] Inscriptions on stone vessels also mention an "ini-setjet" ("tribute of the people of Sethroë"), which might indicate that Peribsen founded a cult centre for the deity Seth in the Nile Delta.

Numerous clay seal impressions and jar inscriptions mention the gods Ash, Horus, Nekhbet, Min, Bastet and Kherty.

Curiously, several seal impressions show a sun disc over the Seth chimera atop the royal serekh: the ancient symbol for the god Ra.

On the north, east and west sides the burial chamber is surrounded by nine small storage rooms leading into one another; on the south face is a long antechamber.