Josephus

Titus Flavius Josephus (37 – c. 100) was a first century Jewish historian who wrote Against Apion (Contra Apionem), which is a polemical work written as a defense of Judaism, stressing its antiquity against what he perceived as more recent traditions of the Greeks.

As Josephus himself notes, it does not contain quotations from Manetho's original, but rather cites from one or perhaps even two epitomized and altered version of Manetho's Aegyptiaca. Written as a narrative, it covers only a portion of Manetho's history, roughly from the Fifteenth through the Nineteenth dynasties, but it does describe shifts in control from one faction to another, consistent with dynastic divisions. There is no mention of numbered dynasties, and only 24 rulers are named.

The original Greek manuscript is lost, and is only preserved in a single imperfect copy: Codex Laurentianus LXIX.22, a copy from the 11th century, from which all other existing manuscripts are descended.

The pharaohs are mentioned in book 1, at 1.14 to 1.16 (§§ 77 — 97) and the New Kingdom kings are listed without any sort of narrative and no mention of a dynastic break:

93 At the moment, I am presenting the Egyptians as witnesses to antiquity; so, I shall resume citing sections from Manetho as they relate to the sequence of time.
94 He says the following: After the shepherd people left Egypt for Jerusalem, Tethmosis, the king who expelled them from Egypt, subsequently reigned for 25 years and 4 months, and died; and his son, Chebron, inherited his rule, for 13 years.

95 After him, Amenophis for 20 years and 7 months, and his sister Amesses for 21 years and 9 months, and her son Mephres for 12 years and 9 months, and his son Mephramouthosis for 25 years and 10 months.

96 And his son, Thmosis for 9 years and 8 months, and his son Amenophis for 30 years and 10 months, and his son Oros for 36 years and 5 months, and his daughter Akencheres for 12 years and 1 month, and her brother Rathotis for 9 years.

97 And his son, Kencheres for 12 years and 5 months, and his son Akencheres for 12 years and 3 months, and his son Harmais for 4 years and 1 month, and his son Ramesses for 1 year and 4 months, and his son Harmesses Miamoun for 66 years and 2 months, and his son Amenophis for 19 years and 6 months

Here is this list (with additional kings) in table form:

§	Ancient Greek	Transliteration	Transcription	Reign	Pharaoh
77	Σαλιτις	Salitis	Salitis	13 years	Salitis
80	Βηων	Beon	Beon	44 years	Beon
80	Aπαχνας	Apakhnas	Apachnas	36 years, 7 months	Apachnas
80	Aπωφις	Apophis	Apophis	61 years	Apepi
81	Iαννας	Iannas	Jannas	50 years, 1 month	Khyan
81	Aσσις	Assis	Assis	49 years, 2 months	Khamudy
94	Τεθμωσις	Tethmosis	Tethmosis	25 years, 4 months	Ahmose I
95	Χεβρων	Khebron	Chebron	13 years	Thutmose II
95	Aμενωφις	Amenophis	Amenophis	20 years, 7 months	Amenhotep I
95	Aμεσσης	Amesses ♀	Amesses ♀	21 years, 9 months	Hatshepsut
95	Μηφρης	Mephres	Mephres	12 years, 9 months	Thutmose I
96	Μηφραμουθωσις	Mephramouthosis	Mephramuthosis	25 years, 10 months	Thutmose III
96	Θμωσις	Thmosis	Thmosis	9 years, 8 months	Thutmose IV
96	Aμένωφις	Amenophis	Amenophis	30 years, 10 months	Amenhotep II
96	Ωρος	Oros	Orus	36 years, 5 months	Amenhotep III
96	Aκεγχερης	Akenkheres ♀	Acencheres ♀	12 years, 1 month	Neferneferuaten
96	Pαθωτις	Rhathotis	Rathotis	9 years	Tutankhamun
97	Aκεγχηρης	Akenkheres	Acencheres	12 years, 5 months	?
97	Aκεγχηρης	Akenkheres	Acencheres	12 years, 3 months	?
97	Aρμαις	Armais	Armais	4 years, 1 month	Horemheb
97	Pαμεσσης	Rhamesses	Ramesses	1 year, 4 months	Ramesses I
97	Aρμεσσης Μιαμουν	Armesses Miamun	Armesses Miamun	66 years, 2 months	Ramesses II
97	Aμενωφις	Amenophis	Amenophis	19 years, 6 months	?
97	Σεθως	Sethos	Sethus	59 years	Seti I

Bibliography

MSS: L Codex Laurentianus LXIX.22, in Florence, Bibl. Mediceo-Laurentiana
Waddell, W. G. Manetho, Appendix II, pp. 76-89; 100-107, (Cambridge, Mass. 1940)
B. Niese: Flavii Josephi opera (Berlin: 1885-1895) ➔
Thackeray: Josephus with an english translation, Vol. 1, pp. 191-205 (London, New York: 1926) ➔
Barclay, John M. G. Against Apion (vol. 10 of Flavius Josephus: translantion and commentary; ed. Steven Mason; Leiden: Brill, 2007)

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.

Terms & information

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 – German for prototype or template, 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

Dynasty – a sequence of rulers from the same family, from Greek dynasteia (δυναστεια)

OK – Old Kingdom

MK – Middle Kingdom

NK – New Kingdom

SIP – Second Intermediate Period

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