Pharaoh

Pharaoh (Hebrew פרעה Par‘ōh, Par'o) is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. See History of Egypt. See also monarch. The term derives ultimately from the Egyptian words pr-o, meaning "Great House". It was not commonly used by the Egyptians themselves to refer to their monarchs, but is frequently used by modern historians due to its use in the Bible, especially the Book of Exodus.

NB: the dates given must be regarded in most instances as approximate. Dating systems for Egyptian studies are quite various, depending on how they are constructed and what assumptions are used. Presented below is one such interpretation, but it is assuredly not the only one.

See also: Egyptian chronology, Conventional Egyptian chronology.

Archaic period

Predynastic: Lower Egypt

Lower Egypt, known as the Black Land, consisted of the northern Nile and the Nile Delta.

Predynastic: Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt, known as the Red Land, consisted of the southern Nile and the deserts.

First Dynasty

Second Dynasty

Old Kingdom

Third Dynasty

Fourth Dynasty

Fifth Dynasty

Sixth Dynasty

First intermediate period

Seventh Dynasty

Eighth Dynasty

Ninth Dynasty

Tenth Dynasty

The X Dynasty was a local group that held sway over Upper Egypt.

Eleventh Dynasty

The XI Dynasty was a local group with roots in Lower Egypt.

Middle Kingdom

Twelfth Dynasty

Second intermediate period

Thirteenth Dynasty

Fourteenth Dynasty

The XIV Dynasty was a local group from the eastern Delta, based at Xois (Avaris).

The source provides an additional 25 names, some fragmented, and no dates. None are attested to elsewhere, and all are of very dubious provenance.

Fifteenth Dynasty

The XV Dynasty arose from among the Hyskos people: desert Bedouins who emerged out of the Fertile Crescent to establish a short-lived governance over much of the Nile region.

Sixteenth Dynasty

The XVI Dynasty was a local group based on the north coast of the Sinai (Pelusium).

Some sources include as many as six more names (Semqen, Khauserre, Seket, Ahetepre, Amu, and Nebkhepeshre (Apepi III)) - none are attested to elsewhere. This group seems to have disappeared entirely by 1555 BC.

Seventeenth Dynasty

The XVII Dynasty was based in Upper Egypt.

New Kingdom

Eighteenth Dynasty

Nineteenth Dynasty

Twentieth Dynasty

Late Period

High Priests of Amun at Thebes

While not regarded as a dynasty per se, these theocrats were nevertheless of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt.

Twenty-first Dynasty

Based at Tanis. A relatively weak group – theoretically rulers of all Egypt, but in practice their influence was limited to Lower Egypt.

Twenty-second Dynasty

The pharaohs of the XXII Dynasty were Libyans.

Twenty-third Dynasty

The XXIII Dynasty was a local group, of Libyan origin, based at Leontopolis.

The Libu

Not reckoned a dynasty as such, the Libu were yet another group of western nomads (Libyans) who occupied the western Delta for a time.

Twenty-fourth Dynasty

The XXIV was a short-lived rival dynasty located in the western Delta (Sais).

Twenty-fifth Dynasty

Nubians invaded and took the throne of Egypt, establishing the XXV Dynasty.

They were ultimately driven back into Nubia, where they established a kingdom at Napata (656-590), and, later, at Meroë (590 BC-4th cent. AD).

Twenty-sixth Dynasty

Twenty-seventh Dynasty

Egypt was annexed to the Persian Empire between from 525 BC and till 404 BC. The Achaemenid Shahs were acknowledged as pharaohs in this era, forming a "Twenty-Seventh" Dynasty.:

Twenty-eighth Dynasty

Twenty-ninth Dynasty

Thirtieth Dynasty

Persians and Greeks

• Egypt once more under Persian rule:
  • Artaxerxes III (343- 338 BC).

• A Nubian revolt in Upper Egypt under:
  • Khabbabash (338- 335 BC).

• A third Persian takeover:
  • Darius III, (335- 332 BC).

• Macedon conquers Persia, and Egypt:
  • Alexander III the Great – from 332 BC to 323 BC.
  • Philip III Arrhidaeus – from 323 BC to 317 BC.
  • Alexander IV of Macedon – alone from 317 BC to 309 BC.

Ptolemaic Dynasty

Rome

Egypt became a province of Rome under Augustus Caesar in 30 BC.

External links

• Tutankhamun: Pictures