The First Dynasty represents the initial period of unified Egyptian rule under the first local kings. This period immediately follows the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, which is thought to have been achieved by King Narmer, and marks the beginning of Egyptian historical times. The centre of power was located in the city of Thinis.
Only a limited number of details pertaining to this dynasty have survived. The majority of the kings' tombs were constructed using wood, with only a small proportion incorporating stone for the walls and floors. It is possible that human sacrifice formed part of the early funerary ceremonies, as numerous smaller tombs were discovered in close proximity to those of the kings.
This period laid the foundation for the powerful dynasties to follow. While characterized by significant advancements in administration and culture, the First Dynasty was also a time of establishing royal power and authority, setting the stage for the monumental achievements of the Old Kingdom. The lack of detailed records from this period presents a significant challenge to the accurate reconstruction of specific events and timelines. Furthermore, the dates of the dynasty are also a matter of a debate that is unlikely to ever be fully resolved. It can be placed relatively safely within the 3100–2900 BC time frame.
The chronological order
It is important to note that the chronological order of the pharaohs is an evolving subject and should therefore be treated with a certain degree of caution. As new research is conducted, the order may be subject to change, which is a fundamental principle that applies to all Egyptian dynasties.
| № | Pharaoh | Also known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narmer | Menes |
| 2 | Aha | Hor-Aha |
| 3 | Djer | Hor-Djer |
| 4 | Djet | Wadj, Zet, Uadji |
| 5 | Den | Dewen, Udimu |
| 6 | Adjib | Anedjib, Enezib |
| 7 | Semerkhet | – |
| 8 | Qaa | Kaa |
The First Dynasty according to Manetho
Manetho is traditionally regarded as the inventor of the system of dividing Egyptian kings into dynasties. These records have survived for more than two millennia, and they have been preserved through the inclusion of excerpts from other ancient authors. Nevertheless, the length of reigns presented lack any form of corroboration from other sources.
However, the records of Africanus and Eusebius differ in the length of reign of the first four kings, while they agree on the last four. Conversely, the names of the first four kings agree in both accounts, but the last four are slightly different. It is evident that there has been some form of corruption in the epitomes used by both authors, albeit at different points. It is impossible to say which account is more accurate.
Syncellus provides the First Dynasty from the epitomes of Manetho as preserved by Africanus and Eusebius. The Armenian translation of Eusebius comes from a different source.
ACCORDING TO AFRICANUS
Concerning the dynasties of Egypt after the Flood.
-
After the spirits of the dead, the demigods, the first royal line is numbered at eight kings. The
first of them, Menes of This,
reigned for62 yearsHe was seized by a hippopotamus and perished. - Athothis, his son57 yearsHe built the palace in Memphis. His books on anatomy are in circulation; for he was a physician.
- Kenkenes, his son31 years
- Ouenephes, his son23 yearsDuring his reign, a great famine gripped Egypt. He erected the pyramids around Kochome.
- Ousaphaidos, his son20 years
- Miebidos, his son26 years
- Semempses, his son18 years During his reign, a vast pestilence gripped Egypt.
- Bieneches, his son26 years
- Total253 years
Syncellus:
Eusebios also furnished the details of the First Dynasty in somewhat the same way as Africanus.
ACCORDING TO EUSEBIOS
Concerning the dynasties of the Egyptians after the Flood.
-
Menes of This and his 7 descendants. Herodotos called him Men.
He reigned for60 yearsHe launched a foreign campaign and was highly esteemed. He was seized by a hippopotamus. - Athothis, his son, ruled27 years He built the palace in Memphis; he practised medicine and composed books on anatomy.
- Kenkenes, his son39 years
- Ouenephes42 yearsDuring his reign, famine gripped the land. He also erected the pyramids around Kochome.
- Ousaphais20 years
- Niebais26 years
- Semempses18 years During his reign, there were many portents and a vast pestilence.
- Oubienthis26 years
- Total years of their reign252 years
ARMENIAN TRANSLATION
Mēmēs of Thinis and his seven descendants. First dynasty.
- [Mēmēs], whom Herodotus calls Mina, ruled for 30 years He took the army beyond the borders of his land seeking glory and renown. A hippopotamus made off with him.
- Atʻovtʻis, his son, ruled for 27 years He built a palace in the city of Memphis. He was skilled in medicine, and wrote about how to conduct autopsies.
- Kenkenis, his son39 years
- Vawēnepʻis42 years In his reign a famine gripped the land. He built the pyramids near Kʻovoan.
- Usapʻayis20 years
- Niēbayis26 years
- Mēmpʻsēs18 years During his reign numerous abominations and corruptions occurred.
- Vibētʻis26 years
- In total, reigned for
252 years
New Kingdom king lists
The eight kings of the First Dynasty agree in Manetho, the Abydos Canon (1-8), and the Turin King List (3.10-19). The Turin King List and the Abydos Canon both hold eight kings, while the Saqqara Canon omits six of them.
| № | Abydos Canon | Saqqara Canon | Turin King List |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | ||
| 2 | – | lacuna | |
| 3 | – | lacuna | |
| 4 | – | ||
| 5 | – | ||
| 6 | |||
| 7 | – | ||
| 8 |
Other sources
Herodotus, Histories
2.4 The first human king of Egypt was Min. In his time all Egypt save the Thebaic province was a marsh: all the country that we now see was then covered by water, north of the lake Moeris, a lake seven days' journey up the river from the sea.
2.99 The priests told me that Min was the first king of Egypt, and that first he separated Memphis from the Nile by a dam. All the river had flowed close under the sandy mountains on the Libyan side, but Min made the southern bend of it, which begins about twelve and one half miles above Memphis, by damming the stream, thereby drying up the ancient channel, and carried the river by a channel so that it flowed midway between the hills. Then, when this first king Min had made dry land of what he thus cut off, he first founded in it that city which is now called Memphis, and outside of it he dug a lake from the river to its north and west; and secondly, he built in it the great and most noteworthy temple of Hephaestus [Ptah].
After him came 330 kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll. In all these many generations there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to the country; the rest were all Egyptian men.
Diodorus, Bibliotheca Historica
1.45.1 After the gods the first king of Egypt, according to the priests, was Menas.
1.45.3 And it is said that the descendants of this king, 52 in number all told, ruled in unbroken succession more than a thousand and forty years, but that in their reigns nothing occurred that was worthy of record.
1.50 Of the descendants of this king [Osymandyas], the eighth, known as Uchoreus, founded Memphis, the most renowned city of Egypt. For he chose the most favourable spot in all the land, where the Nile divides into several branches to form the “Delta,” as it is called from its shape; and the result was that the city, excellently situated as it was at the gates of the Delta, continually controlled the commerce passing into Upper Egypt.
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
VIII 6.2 Now Solomon the King was at this time engaged in building these cities. But if any enquire why all the Kings of Egypt, from Menes who built Memphis, and was many years earlier than our fore-father Abraham, until Solomon, where the interval was more than 1,300 years, were called Pharaohs, and took it from one Pharaoh that lived after the Kings of that interval, I think it necessary to inform them of it: and this in order to cure their ignorance, and to make the occasion of that name manifest. Pharaoh in the Egyptian tongue signifies a King. But I suppose they made use of other names from their childhood: but when they were made Kings, they changed them into the name which in their own tongue denoted their authority ..... I suppose also that Herodotus of Halicarnassus, when he said there were 330 Kings of Egypt after Menes, who built Memphis, did therefore not tell us their names, because they were in common called Pharaohs ..... As for myself, I have discovered from our own Books, that after Pharaoh, the father-in-law of Solomon, no other King of Egypt did any longer use that name.....
References
1
Text:2
Thinis/This (Egyptian Tjeny), capital of the Nome of the same name, near Abydos, about 500km (300 miles) south of Cairo.3
The sum of the individual items is 263 years.4
The sum of the individual items is 258 years.5
Word for word a horse-shaped river reptile.6
If read as two words: near Kʻovawan(awn), or if read as a single word: Kʻovoan.
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