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List of pharaohs

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Pharaoh of Egypt
The Pschent combined the Red and White crowns of Lower and Upper Egypt
Last native king
Nectanebo II
c. 360–342 BC
Details
StyleFive-name titulary
First monarchNarmer/Menes
Last monarch
Formationc. 3100 BC (± 150 years)
Abolition
  • 342 BC
    (last native)
  • 30 BC
    (last Hellenistic)
  • 313 AD
    (last use of title)
ResidenceVaries by era
AppointerHereditary

The pharaohs were the monarchs of ancient Egypt from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3100 BC, with several times of fragmentation and foreign rule. The specific title of "pharaoh" (pr-ꜥꜣ) was not used until the New Kingdom, c. 1400 BC, but it is retroactively applied to all Egyptian kings; the generic term for monarchs was "nesut" (nswt). In addition to these titles, pharaohs had a complex royal titulary that remained relatively constant during its 3000-year history, having up to five royal names.

Egypt was continually governed, at least in part, by native pharaohs for approximately 2500 years, until it was conquered by the Libyan 22nd dynasty, and subsequently, the Kingdom of Kush in the late 8th century BC, whose rulers adopted the pharaonic titulature and became the 25th Dynasty. Following 100 years of Kushite rule, Egypt experienced another century of independent native rule before being conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The last native pharaoh was Nectanebo II of the short-lived 30th Dynasty, which ended when the Persians conquered Egypt for a second time in 342 BC. The Persians were in turn conquered by the Macedonian Greeks of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, after which Egypt was ruled by the Hellenic pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Their rule came to an end with the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC, and pharaonic Egypt ceased to be an independent monarchy. However, Roman emperors continued to be accorded pharaonic titles by the Egyptians until the reign of Maximinus Daza in 313 AD.[4]

The dates provided for most of Egypt's early history are only approximate and may vary depending on the author, sometimes by centuries. The names and order of kings is mostly based on the Digital Egypt for Universities database developed by the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.[5] For royal titles and hieroglyphs, see the handbook of Jürgen von Beckerath,[6] as well as the website Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, which itself contains extensive bibliography.[7]

Regnal numbers did not exist in ancient Egypt and is a modern way to distinguish pharaohs known by the same name.

Sources and chronology

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Modern lists of pharaohs are based on historical records, including ancient Egyptian king lists and later histories, as well as archaeological evidence. Concerning ancient sources, Egyptologists and historians alike call for caution regarding their credibility, exactitude, and completeness, many of which were written long after the reigns they report. An additional problem is that ancient king lists are often damaged, inconsistent with one another, and/or selective.

Given the lack of sources, it's impossible to fix exact dates for the early dynasties. However, most authors give dates around 3000 BC.[8][9][5][10][11][i] According to computations derived from the Turin King List (c. 1250 BC), the First Dynasty most likely began c. 3100 BC, ± 150 years.[13][14] This appears to be supported by radiocarbon dating studies, which often show earlier dates.[15][16][ii]

Astronomical events, mainly the Sothic cycle, have also been used to try to fix "absolute dates", but these have their own set of problems. Richard Parker dated the accession of the 12th-dynasty pharaoh Senusret III to 1878 BC (with his 7th year falling in 1872 BC).[13][17] However, other authors such as Rolf Krauss have refuted Parker's computations; Krauss instead dates Senusret's accession to 1837/36 BC (7th year in 1831/30 BC). Similarly, the accession Amenhotep I was dated c. 1550–1515 BC (9th year c. 1541–1506 BC).[18] Scholars often use the Egyptian "high" chronology, which assumes these astronomical observations were made in a single place (at Memphis). While there is debate on its accuracy,[iii] the high chronology used by scholars such as Ian Shaw appears to be closer to the dates implied by radiocarbon dating.[24][25][iv]

Most pharaohs' reigns are not fully documented, leading to many discrepancies in reign lengths. A formal regnal dating system was not adopted until the Middle Kingdom, and the day following a coronation was automatically recorded as "Year 1", meaning that regnal years alone can't be used to calculate exact Julian years.[v] Thus, it is impossible to determine exact dates even when some events can be securely dated. Dates with some certainty can only be given for the New Kingdom onwards, and only dates from the Late period can be securely dated and synchronized with other ancient chronologies.

Compare the chronological lists in Beckerath 1997, pp. 187–192, Beckerath 1999, pp. 283–289, University College London 2000, Bunson 2002, pp. 105–108, Shaw 2003, pp. 481–488, Hornung, Krauss & Warburton 2006, pp. 490–495, Mladjov 2021a and Mladjov 2021b.

Ancient Egyptian king lists

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Royal lists after the Fifth Dynasty give only the throne name of each pharaoh, which has often led to confusion in identifying particular kings. The most detailed king lists, the Abydos, Saqqara and Turin canons, date to the New Kingdom, also known as the Ramesside period. Unfortunately, most of these Ramesside lists are of little value for the early dynasties (from which they are separated by over 1000 years), as they feature corrupted names and often disagree with contemporary sources. Complete king lists were certainly made after the 20th dynasty, but they have been lost.

The following king lists are known:[29]

Manetho

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Before the decipherment of Egyptian scripts in the early 19th century, Manetho's Aegyptiaca, written in Greek in the early 3rd century BC,[vi] was the sole source for all ancient Egyptian history. Manetho, himself an Egyptian priest, recorded the entirety of his country's history from mythological times until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. He also created the dynastic framework still used by modern scholars, as well as coining the term "dynasty" itself.[36] The original work is now lost and survives only through later epitomes and quotations, chiefly in the writings of Josephus (Contra Apionem, c. 100 AD), Julius Africanus (c. 230 AD), and Eusebius (c. 330 AD). These summaries transmit primarily chronological data in the form of regnal lists, though Josephus' quotations show that Manetho originally included detailed narratives, regnal lengths in years and months (rounded as years alone by Africanus and Eusebius), and even alternate royal names.

Africanus' epitome, which is preserved by George Syncellus (c. 810 AD), is generally regarded as the most reliable, while that of Eusebius is considered more problematic, having been derived from an incomplete and already corrupted source.[vii] All surviving transmissions suffer from errors, inconsistencies in regnal totals, variant name spellings, and a failure to account for contemporaneous dynasties—whether due to Manetho himself or to later copyists. Josephus, Africanus, and Eusebius all used independent, and sometimes contradictory, versions of the same work, each copy adding a new layer of typos and corruptions.[38][37][39]

The content of the Aegyptiaca must be treated with caution. Manetho likely blended historical tradition with mythology, and later Christian authors are known to have altered Manetho's figures, especially for the Second Intermediate period, to accommodate events into the Biblical narrative.[40] Additional distortion arose from the transmission of Egyptian royal names into Greek and from repeated copying over centuries (Greek, like Latin, was written using scriptio continua, with no spaces or punctuation between words). Despite these limitations, Manetho remains a foundational source for Egyptian chronology, provided his data are critically evaluated and corroborated with archaeological and contemporary evidence.

Some fragments of Egyptian history are also covered by some Greek historians such a Herodotus (c. 450 BC) and Diodorus Siculus (c. 50 BC).[41][42][43]

Number of kings

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The Turin King List records 207 kings up to the end of Dynasty XVI. In addition, it preserves 16 damaged names that Kim Ryholt associates with the so-called Abydos Dynasty, totaling 223 kings in the preserved papyrus.[31] The original document, however, likely extended until the reign of Ramesses II, just as the Saqqara and Ramesseum king lists. On this basis, the Turin King List probably listed at least 27 additional rulers: nine of Dynasty XVII, fifteen of Dynasty XVIII, and the first three kings of Dynasty XIX, yielding a minimum total of 250 kings.

The papyrus also contains several lacunae, explicit gaps marked by the Ramesside scribes when names in their sources were illegible. Ryholt estimates that these lacunae represent at least 12 missing kings: six for Dynasty XIII, and at least six for Dynasty XIV.[44] In addition, there is a lacuna in Column 5.15 that very likely corresponds to Manetho's Dynasty VII, consisting of 10 additional kings recorded only in the Abydos King List.[45][46] There are also two instances of fictitious kings, both in Dynasty IV (likely Manetho's Bikheris and Thamphthis). Taking this into account, the total rises to at least 227 kings up to the end of Dynasty XVI, 243 up to the end of the Abydos Dynasty, and 270 until Ramesses II. Even these figures likely remain conservative, since a small number of ephemeral or disputed rulers —such as Sneferka or Ba at the end of Dynasty I— were probably omitted altogether.

Including the subsequent periods of native and foreign rule, the total of kings reaches more than 300 before the first Persian conquest, which closely aligns with Herodotus' statement that, following Menes, Egypt was ruled by "three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll".[41]:100[viii] Manetho's own total of kings is roughly 360 kings in 5470 years, but the sum of individual reigns amounts to more than 500 kings in 5370 years.[ix] Diodorus Siculus writes that mortal kings have ruled Egypt for "a little less than five thousand years".[43]

Royal names and titulature

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The first Egyptian kings were known by their Horus name (serekh), with additional Nebty and Golden Horus honorifics. From the late First Dynasty onwards, kings began to use a throne name known in English as the prenomen (nswt-bjtj or nisut-bity, "Sedge and Bee"), which was the main name used during the Fourth Dynasty as well as the royal name found in most king-lists. The next dynasty introduced the nomen (Sa-Ra, "son of Ra"), which is often understood as a personal name. This is the name used by scholars after the Fifth Dynasty, as well as the name used by Manetho for most pharaohs. Given the confusing nature of royal names, only kings who are recorded with their two cartouche names (prenomen and nomen) can be securely identified. Throne names assigned to pre-Fifth Dynasty pharaohs are sometimes referred to as "personal names" by scholars, as there was probably no distinction between throne and personal names at the time.[47] For a listing and description of all royal names, from Predynastic to Ptolemaic times, see Leprohon 2013.

Protodynastic period

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The Protodynastic period of Egypt spans from the formation of the first Egyptian states about 3300 BC to about 3000 BC, when Egypt was first unified as a single kingdom by the rulers of Upper Egypt. Before this, both Lower and Upper Egypt were divided into several small kingdoms. The terms "Lower Egypt" and "Upper Egypt" are based on the direction of the Nile's flow, which is north. Consequently, "Lower Egypt" is located north (downstream), while "Upper Egypt" is located south (upstream).

Lower Egypt

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Lower Egypt geographically consists of the northern Nile and the Nile delta.

The Palermo Stone mentions 14 predynastic pharaohs by their Horus name from Lower Egypt. These may be mythical kings or semi-gods preserved through oral tradition, or posthumous names of earlier pharaohs. The original document likely contained rulers for Upper Egypt as well.

  (#)  – Existence disputed

Other rulers include:

Other potential rulers, most of which have only placeholder names, have also been proposed by Günter Dreyer,[51][48] but this is disputed.[49]

Upper Egypt

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Upper Egypt refers to the region up-river to the south of Lower Egypt. There were at least three policies by the Naqada II period (c. 3500 BC): Thinis (with its cemetery at Abydos), Naqada and Hierakonpolis.[50]

  (#)  – Existence disputed

While the early dynasties were aware of their pre-dynastic history, this appears to have been all but forgotten by the Ramessid period. Later sources refer to the Menes/Narmer as the first "human king", succeeding the gods that ruled Egypt for times immemorial. Later tradition also identified him as the founder of Memphis, when in fact the city had existed since before the reign of Iry-Hor.[60]

Early Dynastic period (c. 3100–2700 BC)

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The sole "contemporary" source for early dynastic chronology is the Palermo Stone and its associated fragments. The Turin King List, is not considered reliable for this period, as it often contradicts contemporary sources. The annals are badly damaged, and only a few names are explicitly recorded, leading to several and divergent reconstructions over the decades. Unless otherwise noted, the reconstruction follows Hornung, Krauss & Warburton 2006.[xi] Lastly, it's worth noting that virtually all transliterations are just approximations (Egyptian is an extinct language); certain spellings may change depending on the author.

First Dynasty

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Ancient sources, including Manetho, assign eight rulers to the First Dynasty, a fact confirmed by the records in the necropolis of Qa'a, the last pharaoh.[66] The tombs of all pharaohs, including queen Merneith, are located in the necropolis of Umm El Qa'ab, Abydos. The first two dynasties originated from the lost city of Thinis, and ruled from Memphis according to later traditions.[67]

Manetho correctly assigns eight kings to this dynasty, but his order and naming are troublesome.[xii] Ramesside king lists, made 1000 years later, identify all eight kings with throne names, but none of them match contemporary records. Throne names were introduced by the fifth king, so the first names must be later additions, possibly posthumous epithets.[xiii] As noted before, the dynasty must have begun c. 3100 BC, ± 150 years.[13][15][xi]

Proposed dates: c. 3007–2828 (179 years),[8] c. 2920–2770 (150 years),[9] c. 3000–2750 (250 years),[5] c. 3000–2890 (110 years),[10] c. 2900–2730 (170 years)[11]

  (#)  – Status ambiguous

Comparison of royal lists:

Historical
pharaoh		 Ramesside king lists[85][86] Aegyptiaca[37][87] Royal Annals
Abydos Saqqara Turin Africanus Eusebius Hornung[63] Wilkinson[88] CAH[89] Helck[90]
Narmer Meni – Meni Μηνης Menes 62 Μηνης Menes 60 – – – 32 years
Aha Teti – Teti Aθωθις Athothis 57 Aθωθις Athothis 27 – – – 1 year
Djer Iti – Iti Κενκενης Kenkenes 31 Κενκενης Kenkenes 39 47 years 41 years 47 years 54 years
Djet Ita – [...]tui Ουενεφης Ouenephes 23 Ουενεφης Ouenephes 42 10 years – – 11 years
Den Khasty Septi – Qenti Ουσαφαιδoς Ousaphaidos 20 Ουσαφαης Ousaphais 20 42 years 32 years 44–60 years 43 years
Adjib Merybiap Meribiap Meribiapen Merigeregipen Μιεβιδoς Miebidos 26 Nιεβαης Niebais 26 8 years 10 years 7 years 11 years
Semerkhet Iry Semsu – Semsen Σεμεμψης Semempses 18 Σεμεμψης Semempses 18 9 years 9 years 8 years 9 years
Qa'a Qebeh Qebehu Qebeh Βιηνεχης Bienekhes 26 Ουβιενθης Oubienthes 26 33 years – 26 years 33 years
253 years (actually 263) 252 years (actually 258) 150+ years 100+ years 140+ years 185 years

Second Dynasty

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The following table follows the royal records of the Saqqara and Turin lists, which coincide with Manetho in recording nine kings. Following the reign of Nynetjer, the country was split and remained so until the reign of Khasekhemwy.[91] The five Ramesside names between Nynetjer and Khasekhemwy cannot be securely correlated with contemporary rulers, leading to much confusion in the correct identification of rulers. The tombs of the first three pharaohs were found in Saqqara, while those of Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy were found in Umm El Qa'ab.

Proposed dates: c. 2828–2682 (146 years),[8] c. 2770–2649 BC (121 years),[9] c. 2750–2650 BC (100 years),[5] c. 2890–2686 (204 years),[10] c. 2730–2590 BC (140 years)[11]

Comparison of royal lists

Ancient
Historical
pharaoh		 Giza
(5th dynasty)		 Abydos
(19th)		 Saqqara
(19th)		 Turin (19th)[96] Aegyptiaca[37][87] Royal Annals
Name Reign Lifespan Africanus Eusebius Hornung[113] Wilkinson[88] Helck[90]
Hotepsekhemwy Bedjau Bedjau Baunetjer [Bau]netjer [...] 95y Βoηθoς Boethos 38 Βωχος Bochos – – 39 years
Nebra – Kakau Kakau Kakau [...] [...] Καιεχως Kaiekhos 39 Χωος Choös – –
Nynetjer – Banetjer Banetjeru Bau[netjer] [...] 95y Βίνωθρις Binothris 47 Βίοφις Biophis – 40 years 45 years
unknown – Wadjnas Wadjlas [Wadjne]s [...] 70y Τλας Tlas 17 – – – – 33 years
unknown – Sendi Senedj Senedj [...] 54y Σεθενης Sethenes 41 – – – –
unknown – – Neferkara Aaka [...] 70y Χαιρης Khaires 17 – – – –
unknown – – Neferkasokar Neferkasokar 8y, 3m [...] Nεφερχερης Nephercheres 25 – – – – 8
unknown – – Hudjefa I Hudjefa 11y, 8m, 4d 34y Σεσωχρις Sesochris 48 Σεσωχρις Sesochris 48 – 12
Khasekhemwy – Djadjay Bebti Bebti 27y, 2m, 1d 40y Χενερης Kheneres 30 – – – 18 years –
302 years 297 years
Dynasties I–II, 555 years
(actual sum is 565 years)		 Dynasties I–II, 549 years
(actual sum is 555 years)
Modern
Beckerath 1999 UCL 2000 Clayton 2001 Bunson 2002 Shaw 2003 Hornung et al. 2006
  1. Hotepsekhemwy
  2. Nebra
  3. Ninetjer
  4. Weneg
  5. Sened
  6. Sekhemib
  7. Peribsen
  8. Neferkara
  9. Neferkasokar
  10. Hudjefa I
  11. Khasekhemwy
  1. Hotepsekhemwy
  2. Raneb
  3. Ninetjer
  4. Sekhemib
  5. Peribsen
  6. Sened
  7. Weneg
  8. Khasekhem(wy)
  1. Hotepsekhemwy
  2. Raneb
  3. Ninetjer
  4. Peribsen
  5. Khasekhemwy
  1. Hotepsekhemwy
  2. Re'neb
  3. Ninetjer
  4. Weneg
  5. Peribsen
  6. Sendji
  7. Neferka
  8. Neferkara
  9. Kha'sekhemwy
  1. Hetepsekhemwy
  2. Raneb
  3. Nynetjer
  4. Weneg
  5. Sened
  6. Peribsen
  7. Khasekhemwy
  1. Hetep-sekhemwy
  2. Ra'-neb
  3. Ny-netjer
  4. Per-ibsen
  5. Sekhem-ib
  6. Sened
  7. Kha-sekhemwy

Old Kingdom (c. 2700–2200 BC)

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The history of ancient Egypt is divided into three "golden ages" (Old, Middle, and New Kingdom), interspersed between three periods of fragmentation known as "intermediate periods". The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was also Memphis. According to radiocarbon dating, the Old Kingdom began sometime around the mid-27th century BC, possibly between 2676 and 2643 BC, but with more certainty between 2691 and 2625 BC.[25]

Third Dynasty

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Ancient sources assign five rulers to the Third Dynasty, but there is uncertainty regarding their exact order and chronology. Both the Turin and Abydos king lists claim that the Third Dynasty was founded by Nebka, hence his position in some modern lists. However, archeological evidence has shown that the founder was in fact Djoser, who is correctly identified as its first king in the Saqqara Tablet. The dynasty ruled 74 years according to the Turin King List, but its numbers do not match with the earlier Palermo Stone; the actual duration may be as low as 50 years.[114]

Proposed dates: c. 2682–2614 BC (68 years),[8] c. 2649–2575 BC (74 years),[9] c. 2686–2600 BC (86 years),[5] c. 2686–2613 BC (73 years),[10] c. 2592–2544 BC (48 years)[11]