The Karnak Canon is a king list that was located in the southwest corner of the Akh-Menu Hall of the Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak, Egypt.
Created during the reign of Thutmose III, it listed sixty-one kings, only the names of thirty-nine kings are still legible, and one is not written in a cartouche. Interestingly, the names include a large number of Second Intermediate Period kings not found in the other monumental king lists.
The original is in the Louvre museum in Paris (Chapelle des ancêtres, Cat. no. E 13481 bis,) and the original site in the Akh-menu (Heret-ib) festival hall, room SF-5 .
The purpose of the list was to showered or celebrated "ancestors," and was not meant to be a chronological list. The seemingly arbitrary positions the pharaohs are placed in does not reflect the order of succession, and is written in the tradition of Upper Egypt, concentrating on kings of the South.
The numbering system used in publications hail from Auswahl, numbering the kings from the center to the edges, top to bottom. However, the kings are facing the edges, indicating that the correct way to read the scenes is from the edges toward the center, which Lepsius corrected in 1853. However the numbering from Auswahl prevail, and is included in the ALT. column.
Due to the poor state of the list, many of the names has been lost since its discovery. The early travellers who copied the inscriptions did so with varying accuracy.
Cartouches 38 and 57 (33, 59) record
The recorded names were in all likelyhood mistakes by the scribes, as the
# | Alt. | Hieroglyphs | Name in list | Pharaoh |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | (8) | ![]() |
Destroyed | Prisse gives Neferkara, but no other source shows any name. |
2 | (7) | ![]() |
Snoferu s-nfr-w |
Sneferu |
3 | (6) | ![]() |
Sahura sꜢḥw-rꜤ |
Sahura |
4 | (5) | ![]() |
Ini ini |
Niuserra Ini |
5 | (4) | ![]() |
Isesi issi |
Djedkara Isesi |
6 | (3) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
7 | (2) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
8 | (1) | ![]() |
Sekhemra Sementawy sḫm-rꜤ smn-tꜢwi |
Djehuty |
9 | (16) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
10 | (15) | ![]() |
Intef ḥr-.. in-t.f |
Intef II |
11 | (14) | ![]() |
Intef ḥr-(s)h-.. in-t.f |
Intef I The Horus name of Intef I is s-hr-tAwy which is the only Intef with the h-sign (Gardiner sign O4). |
12 | (13) | ![]() |
Mentuhotep ḥr-tp-.. mn-.. |
Mentuhotep I The first signs of the Horus name (tpja) of Montuhotep I is tp (Gardiner signs D1*Q3). |
13 | (12) | ![]() |
Hereditary Prince Intef | Uncertain Not a pharaoh, but at least a key figure in the foundation of Dynasty XI |
14 | (11) | ![]() |
Teti titi |
Teti Uncertain reading, Prisse shows hieroglyphs possibly as titi. |
15 | (10) | ![]() |
Pepy ppy |
Pepi II Uncertain reading but Prisse show p-i, with traces of what could be another p-i. |
16 | (9) | ![]() |
Merenra mr-n-rꜤ |
Nemtiemsaf I |
17 | (23) | ![]() |
Sehotepibra s-ḥtp-ib-rꜤ |
Amenemhat I |
18 | (22) | ![]() |
Nebukaura nbw-kꜢw-rꜤ |
Amenemhat II |
19 | (21) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
20 | (20) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
21 | (19) | ![]() |
Maakherura mꜢꜤ-ḫrw-rꜤ |
Amenemhat IV |
22 | (18) | ![]() |
Sobekneferura sbk-nfrw-rꜤ |
Neferusobek |
23 | (17) | ![]() |
Intef in-t.f |
Intef IV |
24 | (31) | ![]() |
Kheperkara ḫpr-kꜢ-rꜤ |
Senusret I |
25 | (30) | ![]() |
Seqenenra sḳni.n-rꜤ |
Seqenenra |
26 | (29) | ![]() |
Senakhtenra snḳt.n-rꜤ |
Senakhtenra |
27 | (28) | ![]() |
Seuserenra swsr.n-rꜤ |
Bebiankh |
28 | (27) | ![]() |
Nubkheperra nbw-ḫpr-rꜤ |
Intef VI |
29 | (26) | ![]() |
Nebhapetra nb-ḥꜢpt-rꜤ |
Mentuhotep II |
30 | (25) | ![]() |
Sneferkara s-nfr-kꜢ-rꜤ |
Mentuhotep III |
31 | (24) | ![]() |
Destroyed | Uncertain Impossible to tell which pharaoh's name the cartouche contained |
32 | (39) | ![]() |
Khakara ḫꜤ-kꜢ-rꜤ |
Senusret III Destroyed, reading according to Prisse |
33 | (38) | ![]() |
Khaneferra ḫꜤ-nfr-rꜤ |
Sobekhotep IV |
34 | (37) | ![]() |
Khasekhemra ḫꜤ-sḫm-rꜤ |
Neferhotep I |
35 | (36) | ![]() |
Sekhemra Snefertawy | Unreadable Destroyed, reading according to Prisse. |
36 | (35) | ![]() |
Sekhemra Khutawy sḫm-rꜤ ḫwi-tꜢwi |
Sobekhotep I |
37 | (34) | ![]() |
Sankhibra s-Ꜥnḫ-ib-rꜤ |
Sankhibra Amenemhat |
38 | (33) | ![]() |
Sewadjenra swꜢḏ.n-rꜤ |
Nebirau I |
39 | (32) | ![]() |
..kaura | Uncertain Cannot attribute the damaged name to a certain pharaoh. |
40 | (47) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
41 | (46) | ![]() |
Mersekhemra mr-sḫm-rꜤ |
Ined |
42 | (45) | ![]() |
Merkaura mr-kꜢw-rꜤ |
Sobekhotep VII |
43 | (44) | ![]() |
Sekhemra Seusertawy sḫm-rꜤ swsr-tꜢwi |
Sobekhotep VIII |
44 | (43) | ![]() |
Damaged | Uncertain Impossible to tell which pharaoh's name the cartouche contained. |
45 | (42) | ![]() |
Seneferibra s-nfr-ib-rꜤ |
Senusret IV |
46 | (41) | ![]() |
Khahotepra ḫꜤ-ḥtp-rꜤ |
Sobekhotep VI |
47 | (40) | ![]() |
Khaankhra ḫꜤ-Ꜥnḫ-rꜤ |
Sobekhotep II |
48 | (54) | ![]() |
[Sekhem]ra Wahkhau [sḫm]-rꜤ wꜢḥ-ḫꜤw |
Rahotep The Sekhem sign is missing or damaged |
49 | (53) | ![]() |
Sewahenra swꜢḥ.n-rꜤ |
Senebmiu |
50 | (52) | ![]() |
Merhotepra mr-ḥtp-rꜤ |
Sobekhotep V |
51 | (51) | ![]() |
Khutawyra ḫw-tꜢwi-rꜤ |
Wegaf |
52 | (50) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
53 | (49) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
54 | (48) | ![]() |
Sekhemra Wadjkhau sḫm-rꜤ wꜢḏ-ḫꜤw |
Sobekemsaf I |
55 | (61) | ![]() |
Damaged | Uncertain Impossible to tell which pharaoh's name the cartouche contained. |
56 | (60) | ![]() |
Senefer..ra | Uncertain Cannot attribute the damaged name to a certain pharaoh. |
57 | (59) | ![]() |
Sewadj..ra | Uncertain Cannot attribute the damaged name to a certain pharaoh. |
58 | (58) | ![]() |
Sekhemra .. | Uncertain Cannot attribute the damaged name to a certain pharaoh. |
59 | (57) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
60 | (56) | ![]() |
Destroyed | |
61 | (55) | ![]() |
Destroyed |
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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