The Dynasties
The division of pharaohs into dynasties is generally considered to be an invention by the Egyptian priest Manetho.
Whenever some discontinuity whether geographical, or genealogical ocurred, a new dynasty was assumed. Manetho's history of Egypt is the most comprehensive, but is only known by references to it made by subsequent writers. All ancient Egyptian king lists have significant gaps in their text, or fail to provide a complete list of rulers. Add to this that some dynasties overlapped, with more than one pharaohs of vying for supremacy at the same time, which leads to widely differing chronological interpretations. Over the three thousand years the Kingdom lasted, determining the exact reign-by-reign is not an easy task. The archaeological record is helpful at times—but it only goes so far—as chronological interpr etations are not always straightforward. Omissions of pharaohs for political and religious reasons abound, and conflicting information makes it all but impossible to determine the actual reign duration and order.
The Archaic Period
3150—2686 BC
The Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to include the First and Second Dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period of Egypt until about 2686 BC, or the beginning of the Old Kingdom.
Old Kingdom
2686—2181 BC
The Old Kingdom marks a shift from small and simple monuments, to monumental large-scale building projects, like the pyramids. The period is often referred to as the Age of the Pyramids, during which Egypt attained its first continuous period of internal security and prosperity.Artists, architects and masons mastered techniques necessary to build monumental structures in stone, wood, and copper. They perfected the art of carving reliefs and painting the walls of temples and tombs.
First Intermediate Period
2181—2040 BC
When Pepi II died, the centralised kingdom collapsed into what is called the First Intermediate Period. Pepi's long reign had weakened the central authority and with his death, the kingdom began to to buckle.As different factions fought for supremacy, from powerful noble families, to local nomarchs, the kingdom of the Two Lands collapsed, and was replaced by rulers that only controlled parts of the land. The temples were vandalized and pillaged as the political chaos grew.
Middle Kingdom
2040—1802 BC
The Two Lands were once again united when Mentuhotep II defeated the tenth dynasty of Heracleopolis. The Middle Kingdom expanded trade outside the kingdom and consolidated pharaonic power by building defensive fortifications and kept a standing army ready for action.The long reign of Amenemhat III most likely weakened pharaonic power once again, as local rulers became powerful. This led to a series of weak and ephemeral rulers that ended the golden age of the Middle Kingdom.
Second Intermediate Period
1802—1550 BC
The Second Intermediate Period was a period of disarray. It is best known as when the Hyksos, whose reign comprised the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties, made their appearance in Egypt. Around the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes declared its independence and set itself up as the Seventeenth Dynasty. This dynasty eventually drove the Hyksos back into Asia.
New Kingdom
1550—1070 BC
Through military dominance abroad, The New Kingdom saw Egypt's greatest territorial extent. It expanded far into Nubia in the south, and held wide territories in the Near East. The Egyptians fought with Hittites. Two of the best known pharaohs of the New Kingdom are Akhenaten, whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as the first instance of monotheism, and Ramesses II, who attempted to recover the territories that had been held in the Eighteenth Dynasty.
Roman Period
30 BC— c. 313 AD
Finally, Egypt was made a Roman province, effectively ending the rule of the pharaohs. The use of hieroglyphs, for the emperor names, continued however, but finally stopped altogether.
Local or unplaced kings
Pharaohs that cannot easily be placed in a certain dynasty, or the evidence about their existence is questionable Their position is uncertain, or they might only have ruled locally in certain parts of kingdom, or even not ruled at all.
- Turin king list
223 kings – Dynasty 19 - Abydos Canon
76 kings – Dynasty 19 - Saqqara Canon
58 kings – Dynasty 19 - Karnak Canon
61 kings – Dynasty 18 - Comparing the canons
Abydos, Saqqara and Karnak - Ramesseum Canon
Ramesses II Mortuary Temple - Medinet Habu Canon
Ramesses III Mortuary Temple
Ancient historians
- Herodotus
450 BC – Histories - Manetho
250 BC – Aegyptiaca - Diodorus
50 BC – Bibliotheca Historica - Josephus
100 CE – Against Apion - Africanus
220 CE – Chronographai - Eusebius
325 CE – Chronicon - Jerome
380 CE – Chronicon - Syncellus
800 CE – Egloga Chronographai - Eratosthenes
Probably a forgery (date unknown) - Comparing the sources
Transmission of Manetho
by Africanus et. al.
OK – Old Kingdom
Dynasties 3-6
MK – Middle Kingdom
Dynasties 11-12
NK – New Kingdom
Dynasties 18-20
SIP – Second Intermediate Period
Dynasties 13-17
Thebes – The Southern capital
Memphis – The Northern capital
Epitome – Manetho’s original Aegyptiaca was lost in antiquity, and in the following centuries, it was replaced by Epitomes (summaries) by rivalling advocates of Jewish, Egyptian, and Greek history that saw each side trying to establish the truth according to their point of view.
Vorlage – From the German for prototype or template, a vorlage is a prior version of a manuscript, in this case an earlier version of the canon.
Recto and verso – Recto is the front side and verso is the back side of a written or printed text.
Cartouche – oval band enclosing a pharaohs name
Hieratic – cursive form of hieroglyphic script
Hyksos – Greek form of
Mortuary Temple – where the gods and the king who built the temple were worshipped.
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