Raneb (or Nebra, "Ra is Lord") ruled egypt during the second
dynasty of the Early Dynastic Period. Manetho recorded that
Raneb reigned for 39 years, but most scholars belive his reign
was much shorter, possibly only ten years. Manetho also claims
that he introduced the worship of Mendes (the sacred goat) and
began the bull cults of the Mnevis in Heliopolis, and the Apis
in Memphis. However, references to the cult of the Apis in Den's
reign prove that the cult predates Raneb. He is thought to have
been Hotepsekhemwy's son or brother, but there is no firm
evidence of a family relationship. As far as we know, he was the
first pharaoh to include the sun god Ra in his name and his
reign marked a swing in power to the cult of Ra. As a result,
his name is sometimes given as "Nebra" (meaning "Lord of the
Sun"). A granite statuette of the mortuary priest named
Hetepdief, lists the names of Hotepsekhemwy, Raneb and Nynetjer,
suggesting that there were no successional problems at the
beginning of the second dynasty. Sea