Medinet Habu king list explained

The memorial temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu contains a minor list of pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt. The inscriptions closely resemble the Ramesseum king list, which is a similar scene of Ramesses II, which was used as a template for the scenes here.

The scene shows Ramesses III participating in the ceremonies of the Festival of Min where statues of ancestral kings are carried in an elaborate procession to make offerings to Min. It contains 16 cartouches with the names of nine pharaohs divided into two parts.

The sparse outline of the scene was published by Vivant Denon in 1802,^[1] who was part of Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1798 to 1801, which published a slightly more detailed scene in 1809.^[2] Thirty years later, the complete scene including the cartouches of the kings was published by John Gardner Wilkinson in 1837,^[3] followed by Champollion^[4] and Lepsius.^[5] All the 19th-century editions contain omissions and errors, but in 1940 the Epigraphic Survey published the definitive (and complete) rendering of the scenes.^[6]

The kings mentioned in the list

The scene is divided in two parts, on the left side, 7 statues of ancestors are being carried in a procession. The right side is led by nine kings.

Left procession			Right procession
	Pharaoh	Inscription (throne name)		Pharaoh	Inscription (throne name)
1	Ramesses III	Usermaatre-meryamun	8	Ramesses III	Usermaatre-meryamun
2	Setnakhte	Userkhaure-meryamun	9	Setnakhte	Userkhaure-meryamun
3	Ramesses II	Usermaatre-setepenre	10	Seti II	Userkheperure-setepenre
4	Merenptah	Baenre-meryamun	11	Merenptah	Baenre-meryamun
5	Ramesses III	Usermaatre-meryamun	12	Ramesses II	Usermaatre-setepenre
6	Setnakhte	Userkhaure-meryamun	13	Seti I	Menmaatre
7	Seti II	Userkheperure-setepenre	14	Ramesses I	Menpehtyre
			15	Horemheb	Djeserkheperure-setepenre
			16	Amenhotep III	Nebmaatre

It remains in situ on the eastern second pylon in the second court, in the upper register on the eastern wall.

References

1. Dominique Vivant Denon (1802). Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Égypte, plate 134, Paris
2. Description de l'Égypte, Vol. II, Antiquités, Plate 11, Paris
3. John Gardner Wilkinson (1837). Manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians, plate 76, London
4. Jean-François Champollion (1845). Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie, Vol II, plates 213-214, Paris
5. Carl Richard Lepsius (1849). Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, III, plates 212-213, Leipzig
6. The Epigraphic Survey (1940). Medinet Habu IV, plates 203-207, OIP 51, Chicago

Bibliography

• Dominique Vivant Denon: Voyage dans la Basse et la Haute Égypte, pendant les campagnes du général Bonaparte, plate 134 (Paris: 1802)
• Description de l'Égypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française, Vol. II, Planches: Antiquités. Plate 11. (Paris: Imprimerie impériale, 1809)
• John Gardner Wilkinson: Manners and customs of the ancient Egyptians, including their private life, government, laws, art, manufactures, religions, and early history, plate 76, (London: 1837)
• Jean François Champollion: Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie, Vol. III, plates 213-214 (Paris: 1845)
• Carl Richard Lepsius: Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, III, plates 212-213, (Berlin: 1849)
• The Epigraphic Survey: Medinet Habu: Volume IV, Festival Scenes of Ramses III, Oriental Institute Press 51, Plates 203-207 (Chicago: 1940)
• Kenneth A. Kitchen: Ramesside Inscriptions, Vol V, pp. 205:12-13; 209:11-12 (Oxford: 1983)