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The Kings (Pharaohs) of Ancient Egypt
The title of "Pharaoh" actually comes to us from the Greek language and its use in the Old
Testament. It originates in the Egyptian Per-aa, meaning "Great House", a designation of
the palace, which first came to be used as a label for the king around 1450 BC, though it
only became common usage some centuries later. For most of the time, the usual word for
the king of ancient Egypt was nesu, but a whole range of titles were applicable to any full
statement of a king's names and titulary.
According to Egyptian legend, the first kings of Egypt were later some of Egypt's most
famous gods. We really do not know whether some of these individuals actually existed in
human form or what regions of Egypt they may have ruled over. Only at the end of the
Predynastic period, prior to the unification of Egypt, can we recognize specific kings who
most likely ruled over either northern or southern Egypt. According to many sources, the
first real king of Egypt, therefore ruling over the unified land, was Menes, who would have
ruled Egypt around 3100 BC, but we have little if any archaeological basis for this name.
Most scholars today believe that he may have been a king named Narmer, or more likely
still, Aha, two figures that are better attested in the
archaeological record. However, Menes might have
also been a legendary composition of several rulers.
After these first rulers of a unified Egypt, the Egyptian
monarchy lasted in a recognizable form for over three
thousand years, basically ending with Cleopatra,
though even Roman emperors attempted to style
themselves as Egyptian pharaohs. We know of 170 or
more specific pharaohs during this period of time.
Although many changes occurred during that time,
almost all of the fundamentals remained the same.
Kings were not only males, and unlike in modern
monarchies, the ruler of ancient Egypt, whether male
or female, was always called a king. In fact, Egypt
had some
very
noteworthy
female rulers
such as
Hatshepsut
and others.
In ancient (Pharaonic) Egypt, the pinnacle of
Egyptian society, and indeed of religion, was the
king. Below him were the layers of the educated
bureaucracy which consisted of nobles, priests and
civil servants, and under them were the great
mass of common people, usually living very poor,
agricultural based lives. Except during the earliest
of themes, when the highest official was
apparently a Chancellor, for most of Egyptian
history, the man or men just under the king were Viziers, (tjaty), a position that was
roughly similar to a modern Prime Minister.
In many if not most accounts, the king is viewed as an incarnation of Horus, a falcon god,
and the posthumous son of Osiris, who himself was a divine king slain by his brother, Seth.
Horus fought his uncle for the return of the throne, and part of the accession process of
the king was the proper burial of his predecessor, as Horus carrying out the last rites of
Osiris. In fact, there are a number of cases where such an act may have been the legal
basis for a non-royal figure's ascent of the throne. However, more usual was the
succession of the eldest son, whose status as heir was frequently, if not always,
proclaimed during his father's lifetime. Furthermore, there were a number of instances
where this was taken a step further by the heir's
coronation as a co-regent prior to the father's
death. This has actually led to much confusion
among scholars, because in some cases, the young
heir began to count his regnal years only after the
death of his father, while in other instances, he
started to do so from the moment of his
coronation. The ancient Egyptians did not use era
dating as we do today (BC or AD), but rather relied
on regnal dating of the king's rule, and therefore
potential difficulties for modern, if not ancient,
historians can easily be imagined.
The king himself (or herself) was the figure upon
whom the whole administrative structure of the
state rested. These god-kings usually commanded
tremendous resources. The Pharaoh was the head
of the civil administration, the supreme warlord
and the chief priest of every god in the kingdom.
All offerings were made in his name and the entire
priesthood
acted in his
stead. In fact,
he was himself a divine being, considered the physical
offspring of a god. The myth of the ruler's divine birth
centered on the god assuming the form of (or
becoming incarnate in) the king's father, who then
impregnated his wife, who accordingly bore the divine
ruler.
Of course, the king was also subject to some rather
grave responsibilities. Through his dealings with the
gods, he was tasked with keeping the order, or ma'at
of the land, and therefore keeping out chaos, often in
the form of the enemies of Egypt from foreign lands.
But he was also responsible for making sufficient
offerings and otherwise satisfying the gods so that
they would bless Egypt with a bountiful Nile flood, and
therefore a good enough harvest to feed his people. When he failed at these tasks, he
could bear not only blame, but a weakening of the state and thus his power. In drastic
cases, such as at the end of the Old Kingdom, this could actually lead to a complete
collapse of the Egyptian state.
Even today, many questions remain about the kings of ancient Egypt. We have a fairly
good idea of their order through time, though often scholars disagree about specific dates
related to our current form of the calendar. Our evidence of their order comes mostly from
various "kings' lists, that almost exclusively were made during the New Kingdom. Another
source is the Egyptian history written by Manetho, an Egyptian priest, but over the years,
there have been modifications to both the kings' lists and Manetho's history made through
archaeological discovery. Nevertheless, there are periods of Egyptian history, particularly
those known as intermediate periods, where very
little information exits on who ruled (usually only a
part of) Egypt.
Basically, Manetho divided up ancient Egyptian
history into thirty dynasties, though this division is
a bit difficult, and modern scholarship has proven
it to be not completely (and sometimes not at all)
accurate. Most of the time, a dynasty consisted of
a related family of rulers, though sometimes
dynasties seem to have been broken up due to the
establishment of a new capital. In a number of
instances, modern Egyptologists believe that he
may have been incorrect about the end of a family
line.
Even today, the power that an ancient Egyptian
pharaoh commanded in ancient Egypt and the
resources under his control can seem staggering.
One need only think in terms of the Great Pyramids, the wealth of gold and the grand
temples to gain some understanding of their power. They commanded resources that
many modern day states would be hard pressed to emulate, and they did so at a time
when much of the remainder of the ancient world were struggling for a foothold in history.
History Timeline
Egyptian history can be devided into 9 parts and 3 periods (+)
This site deals with the first five parts (blue below).
A list (bottom) gives all rulers from later times.
96 gods and goddesses are presented
in a special chapter (top left).
The general division is:
6000-3500
BC
3500-3100
Predynastic period
BC
Early Dynastic
3100-2575
period
BC
2575-2040
Old Kingdom +
BC
2040-1550
Middle Kingdom +
BC
1550-712
New Kingdom +
BC
712-332
Late period
BC
332-30
Greek period
BC
30 BC-395
Roman period
AD
Neolitic period