The Tenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

Following the Ninth Herakleopolitan dynasty, Manetho list another dynasty from the same city.

It seems likely that the copyist of the epitome of Manetho misunderstood the summation for the Herakleopolitan dynasty, and separated it into two dynasties. Africanus give 19 + 19 kings for the two dynasties, while Eusebius give 4 + 19 kings. The number of years also differ, and it stands to reason that the copyist misinterpreted a summation of the Herakleopolitan Dynasty and multiplied it as a new dynasty, substantiated by the same number of kings (19) for both dynasties, with no names mentioned.

The difference in the number of kings and years between Africanus and Eusebius for dynasties 9 and 10 is another clear indication that their epitomes differed substantially. The summation for the Ninth/Tenth Dynasties in the Turin King List lists 18 kings,1 however the names of most of them are also missing. These 18 kings are recorded as an unbroken sequence of kings without a dynastic break, as is often the case in this king list.

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.

The Tenth Dynasty according to Manetho

The contents of their epitomes of Aegyptiaka must have been quite different, as can be seen from the differences between the more complete text of Africanus and the missing information of Eusebius.

Ex nihilo nihil fit

Original text from:

https://pharaoh.se/ancient-egypt/dynasty/10/