List of pharaohs explained
The title "pharaoh" is used for those rulers of Ancient Egypt who ruled after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Narmer during the Early Dynastic Period, approximately 3100 BC. However, the specific title was not used to address the kings of Egypt by their contemporaries until the New Kingdom's 18th Dynasty, c. 1400 BC. Along with the title pharaoh for later rulers, there was an Ancient Egyptian royal titulary used by Egyptian kings which remained relatively constant during the course of Ancient Egyptian history, initially featuring a Horus name, a Sedge and Bee (nswt-bjtj) name and a Two Ladies (nbtj) name, with the additional Golden Horus, nomen and prenomen titles being added successively during later dynasties.
Egypt was continually governed, at least in part, by native pharaohs for approximately 2500 years, until it was conquered by the Kingdom of Kush in the late 8th century BC, whose rulers adopted the traditional pharaonic titulature for themselves. Following the Kushite conquest, Egypt experienced another period of independent native rule before being conquered by the Achaemenid Empire, whose rulers also adopted the title of pharaoh. The last native pharaoh of Egypt was Nectanebo II, who was pharaoh before the Achaemenids conquered Egypt for a second time.
Achaemenid rule over Egypt came to an end through the conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, after which it was ruled by Hellenic Pharaohs of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Their rule, and the independence of Egypt, came to an end when Egypt became a province of Rome in 30 BC. Augustus and subsequent Roman emperors were styled as Pharaoh when in Egypt until the reign of Maximinus Daza in 314 AD.
The dates given in this list of pharaohs are approximate. They are based primarily on the conventional chronology of Ancient Egypt, mostly based on the Digital Egypt for Universities[3] database developed by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, but alternative dates taken from other authorities may be indicated separately.
Ancient Egyptian king lists
Modern lists of pharaohs are based on historical records and, including Ancient Egyptian king lists and later histories, such as Manetho's Aegyptiaca, as well as archaeological evidence. Concerning ancient sources, Egyptologists and historians alike call for caution in regard to the credibility, exactitude and completeness of these sources, many of which were written long after the reigns they report.[4] An additional problem is that ancient king lists are often damaged, inconsistent with one another and/or selective.
The following ancient king lists are known (along with the dynasty under which they were created):[5]
Predynastic Period
See main article: Prehistoric Egypt. The Predynastic Period ends around 3100 BC when Egypt was first unified as a single kingdom.
Lower Egypt
See main article: Lower Egypt. Lower Egypt geographically consists of the northern Nile and the Nile delta.
The following list may be incomplete:
Notes and References
- [#Cla95|Clayton 1995]
- Book: von Beckerath, Jürgen. Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. Verlag Philipp von Zabern. 1999. 978-3-422-00832-8. 266–267.
- Web site: Digital Egypt for Universities. www.ucl.ac.uk. 2019-02-12.
- Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 2012,, p. 50.
- Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt. Routledge, London 2012,, p. 61.
- Book: Cervello-Autuori, Josep . Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Proceedings of the Eighth International Congress of Egyptologists, 2000 . 168–75 . Zahi . Hawass . Zahi Hawass . Narmer, Menes and the Seals from Abydos . 2003 . 2 . Cairo . American University in Cairo Press. 978-977-424-714-9.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 298.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 259.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 139.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 199.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 138.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 181.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 311.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, p. 137.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 3.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 288.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 104.
- Felde, Rolf: Gottheiten, Pharaonen und Beamte im alten Ägypten, Norderstedt 2017, S. 125.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 5.
- Barry Kemp (a1), Andrew Boyce and James Harrell, The Colossi from the Early Shrine at Coptos in Egypt, in: Cambridge Archaeological Journal Volume 10, Issue 2 April 2000, 233
- Book: Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur Band 37. Hartwig. Altenmüller. Nicole. Kloth. January 1, 2008. Helmut Buske Verlag. 978-3-87548-937-8 . Google Books.
- Ludwig David Morenz: Bild-Buchstaben und symbolische Zeichen. Die Herausbildung der Schrift der hohen Kultur Altägyptens (= Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 205). Fribourg 2004,, p. 91.
- News: Aufstand gegen den Tod. Der Spiegel. 24 December 1995.
- Web site: Pharaonenliste 1. nefershapiland.de.
- Günter Dreyer: Horus Krokodil, ein Gegenkönig der Dynastie 0. In: Renee Friedman and Barbara Adams (Hrsg.): The Followers of Horus, Studies dedicated to Michael Allen Hoffman, 1949–1990 (= Egyptian Studies Association Publication, vol. 2). Oxbow Publications, Bloomington (IN) 1992,, p. 259–263.
- P. Tallet, D. Laisnay: Iry-Hor et Narmer au Sud-Sinaï (Ouadi 'Ameyra), un complément à la chronologie des expéditios minière égyptiene. In: Bulletin de L'Institute Français D'Archéologie Orientale (BIFAO) 112. Ausgabe 2012, S. 381–395.
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (= Münchner ägyptologische Studien, vol. 49. von Zabern, Mainz 1999,, p. 36–37.
- Toby Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt: Strategy, Society and Security. Routeledge, London 1999,, p. 38, 56 & 57.
- Book: Stewart, John. African States and Rulers. McFarland. 2006. Third. 0-7864-2562-8. London. 77.
- Book: Stewart, John. African States and Rulers. McFarland. 2006. Third. 0-7864-2562-8. London. 81.
- Elizabeth BLOXAM . Wouter CLAES . Tiphaine DACHY . Maude EHRENFELD . Ashraf EL-SENUSSI . Chloé GIRARDI . James HARRELL . Thomas C. HEAGY . Stan HENDRICKX . Christiane HOCHSTRASSER-PETIT . Dirk HUYGE . Clara JEUTHE . Adel KELANY . Christian KNOBLAUCH . Béatrix MIDANT-REYNES . Norah MOLONEY . Aurélie ROCHE . Adel TOHAMEY . January 2014 . Who Was Menes? . Archéo nil . 24. 59–92 . 10.3406/arnil.2014.1071. 248280047 . 24 September 2022.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 67. 0-415-26011-6.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 7.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 71. 0-415-26011-6.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 92.
- Wolfgang Helck: Untersuchungen zur Thinitenzeit (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen (ÄA), Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987,, p. 124.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 95.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 73. 0-415-26011-6.
- [Wolfgang Helck]
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 78.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 75. 0-415-26011-6.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 77. 0-415-26011-6.
- Quiles . Anita . Tristant . Yann . April 2023 . Radiocarbon-Based Modeling of the Reign of King Den (1st Dynasty, Egypt) and the Start of the Old Kingdom . Radiocarbon . 65 . 2 . 485–504 . 10.1017/RDC.2023.15 . 2023Radcb..65..485Q . 0033-8222.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 55.
- Nicolas-Christophe Grimal: A History of Ancient Egypt. Blackwell, Oxford UK / Cambridge USA 1992,, p. 53.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 376.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson . 1999 . Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge . 79 . 0-415-26011-6.
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 299.
- Wilkinson (1999) pp. 83–84
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 83. 0-415-26011-6.
- Dietrich Wildung: Die Rolle ägyptischer Könige im Bewußtsein ihrer Nachwelt. Teil I. Posthume Quellen über die Könige der ersten vier Dynastien. In: Münchener Ägyptologische Studien, vol. 17. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich/Berlin 1969, p. 31–33.
- Wilkinson (1999) p. 79
- Wilkinson (1999) pp. 87–88
- Pascal Vernus, Jean Yoyotte, The Book of the Pharaohs, Cornell University Press 2003, p. 27
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich/Berlin 1984,, p. 171.
- Toby A. H. Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge, London/New York 2002,, p. 75–76.
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen. 2. verbesserte und erweiterte Auflage. von Zabern, Mainz 1999, S. 44–45.
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, page 175.
- Book: Toby A.H. Wilkinson. 1999. Early Dynastic Egypt. Routledge. 93. 0-415-26011-6.
- Book: Wilkinson, Toby . Early Dynastic Egypt . Routledge . 1999 . 83 & 95 . 0-415-18633-1.
- Book: Wilkinson, Toby . Royal Annals of Ancient Egypt . 79 & 258.
- Web site: Pharaohs - Timeline Index. www.timelineindex.com. 2020-03-23.
- Clayton (1994) p.32
- Book: Lehner, Mark . Geheimnis der Pyramiden . Econ . Düsseldorf . 1997 . 3-572-01039-X . 94–96 . de.
- Clayton (1994) p.42
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,, pp. 278–279.
- [Miroslav Verner]
- Dodson & Hilton (2004) p.73
- Ryholt & Bardrum (2000) pp.87–100.
- [Jürgen von Beckerath]
- [Kim Ryholt]
- Kamal . Ahmed Bey . 1912 . Annales du Service des antiquités de l'Egypte. . Journal des savants . 12 . 132 . 10.3406/jds.1913.4146 . 0021-8103.
- Gustave Jéquier, Maṣlaḥat al-Āthār (1993): Les pyramides des reines Neit et Apouit (in French), Cairo: Institut français d'archéologie orientale, OCLC 195690029, see plate 5.
- [Percy Newberry]
- Gae Callender: "Queen Neit-ikrety/Nitokris", in: Miroslav Barta, Filip Coppens, Jaromic Krecji (editors): Abusir and Saqqara in the year 2010/1, Prague: Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2011,, see pp. 249–250
- http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html Turin Kinglist, Columns IV,18 to V,10
- Book: Lepsius, Karl . Denkmaler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien . 1859 . 115h.
- Book: Breasted, James . Ancient Records of Egypt. . The University of Chicago Press . 1906 . 1 . 175.
- Book: Gauthier, Henri . MIFAO 17 Le livre des rois d'Egypte Des origines à la fin de la XIIe dynastie . The French Institute of Oriental Archeology . 1907 . 143–144.
- Book: Couyat . Jean . MIFAO 34 Les inscriptions hieroglyphiques et hieratiques du Ouâdi Hammâmât . Montet . Pierre . The French Institute of Oriental Archeology . 1912 . 96, 103–104 Plate=XXXIX.
- Book: Baker, Darrell . The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs. Predynastic to the Twentieth Century: 3300-1069 BC . Stacey International . 2008 . 978-1-905299-37-9 . 1 . 133.
- Book: Schenkel, Wolfgang . Memphis Herakleopolis Theben Die Epigraphischen Zeugnisse Der 7.-11. Dynastie Ägyptens . Otto Harrassowitz . 1965 . Wiesbaden . 27–28.
- Margaret Bunson: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Infobase Publishing, 2009,, available online, see p. 181
- [Labib Habachi]
- [Wolfram Grajetzki]
- [Wolfram Grajetzki]
- [Wolfram Grajetzki]
- http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk//chronology/amenemhatI.html Amenemhat I
- [Wolfram Grajetzki]
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 20.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 98. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 99. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Murnane (1977) p.2
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 391.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 112–113. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Murnane (1977) p.7
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 24.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 109. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Murnane (1977) p.9
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 395.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 100. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Josef Wegner, The Nature and Chronology of the Senwosret III–Amenemhat III Regnal Succession: Some Considerations based on new evidence from the Mortuary Temple of Senwosret III at Abydos, JNES 55, Vol.4, (1996), pp.251
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 398.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 104. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- [Wolfram Grajetzki]
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 26.
- Web site: Amenemhat III . University College London.
- Web site: Amenemhat IV Maakherure (1807/06-1798/97 BC). Digital Egypt for Universities.
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- Grajetzki (2006) pp. 61–63
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- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen, Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002,
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen, Albatros, 2002
- K. S. B. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c.1800–1550 BC, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997
- Ilin-Tomich. Alexander. Second Intermediate Period. UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. 2016. 3.
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- Book: Ryholt, K. S. B. . The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800–1550 B.C.. Museum Tusculanum Press . 1997 . 164. 978-87-7289-421-8.
- Web site: Giant Sarcophagus Leads Penn Museum Team in Egypt To the Tomb of a Previously Unknown Pharaoh . Penn Museum. January 2014. 16 January 2014.
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Untersuchungen zur politischen Geschichte der Zweiten Zwischenzeit in Ägypten, Glückstadt, 1964
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen, Münchner ägyptologische Studien 49, Mainz 1999.
- Marcel Marée: A sculpture workshop at Abydos from the late Sixteenth or early Seventeenth Dynasty, in: Marcel Marée (editor): The Second Intermediate period (Thirteenth-Seventeenth Dynasties), Current Research, Future Prospects, Leuven, Paris, Walpole, Massachusetts. 2010 . p. 247, 268
- Book: Baker, Darrell D.. Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs Volume 1: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300-1069 BC. The American University in Cairo Press. 2008. 978-977-416-221-3. Egypt. 111.
- Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf, Stele – Zypresse: Volume 6 of Lexikon der Ägyptologie, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1986, Page 1383
- Jürgen von Beckerath: Chronologie des pharaonischen Ägyptens, Münchner Ägyptologische Studien 46. Mainz am Rhein, 1997
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 146. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 168. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Book: Marc Van De Mieroop. 2021 . A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley Blackwell . 169. 978-1-119-62087-7.
- Dodson & Hilton 2004: 126, 131
- Web site: Ramesses I Menpehtire. Digital Egypt. University College London. 2001. 2007-09-29.
- Web site: King Merenptah. Digital Egypt. University College London. 2001. 2007-09-29.
- Web site: Sety II. 2007-10-27. Digital Egypt. University College London. 2001.
- Web site: Siptah Sekhaenre/Akhenre. 2007-10-27. Digital Egypt. University College London. 2001.
- Grimal (1992) p.291
- Web site: Ramesses XI Menmaatre-setpenptah. 2007-10-28.
- Cerny p.645
- F. Payraudeau, Retour sur la succession Shabaqo-Shabataqo, Nehet 1, 2014, p. 115–127
- Book: Stewart, John. African States and Rulers. McFarland. 1989. 0-89950-390-X. London. 88.
- Web site: Late Period Kings. 2007-10-27.
- Book: Stewart, John. African States and Rulers. McFarland. 2006. Third. 0-7864-2562-8. London. 83.
- Placed in this dynasty only for chronological reasons, as he was not related to the Achaemenids.
- Web site: Nakhthorhebyt. Digital Egypt for Universities. March 1, 2011.
- .
- Book: Roller, Duane W.. Cleopatra: a Biography. Oxford University Press. 2010. 978-0-195-36553-5. 27.
- Book: The Book of the Pharaohs. registration. maximinus pharaoh.. Vernus. Pascal. Yoyotte. Jean. 2003. Cornell University Press. 978-0-8014-4050-2. 238–256.