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The Seventh Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

The existence of a seventh dynasty is attributable to an error in the epitome(s) employed by Africanus and Eusebius.

The original Aegyptiaca was epitomised, as was usual in antiquity. However, it is clear that the original text was either misunderstood, misinterpreted or altered by a copyist. Unfortunately, this copy was then used by later authors as if it were the original.

The text transmitted by Africanus and Eusebius

According to Africanus:
Ἑβδόμη δυναστεία Μεμφιτῶν βασιλέων Οʹ, οἳ ἐβασίλευσαν ἡμέρας Οʹ.
70 kings of the Seventh Dynasty of Memphis ruled for 70 days.

According to Eusebius:
Ἑβδόμη δυναστεία Μεμφιτῶν βασιλέων πέντε, οἳ ἐβασίλευσαν ἡμέρας ΟΕʹ.
Five kings of the Seventh Dynasty of Memphis ruled for 75 days.

It is evident that the figures presented are untenable. It is probable that this is the result of a misunderstanding or an error on the part of the copyist. The figure of 75 days as presented by Eusebius is likely to be a mere copying error, exchanging 'days' for 'years', as preserved in the Armenian translation. However, the assertion that there were 70 kings for 70 days (or years) is highly improbable. It has been suggested that this may have been a metaphor to highlight the disorganisation of the time, but the original source would probably have simply noted this instead of taking this roundabout route. It is more likely that the original source text was minunderstood or simply misinterpreted, which is at least partially corroborated by the different numbers from Africanus.

The entirety of the First Intermediate Period represents a particularly challenging historical epoch. The few historical records are incomplete and scarce, which makes it challenging to draw definitive conclusions.

The Abydos Canon contains 17 cartouches (nos. 40-44) between the last king of the Sixth Dynasty, Nemtiemsaf II, and Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty, while the Turin King List contains a total of 25 kings. The Manethonian king lists account for four dynasties (7-10), yet the total number of kings is not consistent with the data presented in the New Kingdom lists. This discrepancy is a clear indication that the sources for the information must have been significantly disparate.

Table 1: Number of kings
Dynasty Africanus Eusebius Turin King List Abydos Canon
7 70 5 25 17
8 27 5
9 19 4
10 19 19
135 33 25 17

The Abydos Canon is a broadly chronological compilation of kings, but it omits numerous kings. In contrast, the Turin King List, is the sole surviving example of a clearly chronological list of Egyptian kings. While the majority of the list aligns with other chronological evidence, there are some inconsistencies that render the veracity of its content challenging to ascertain, especially the numerous lacunae. However, it is likely to remain the most reliable source of information on this topic.