PHARAOH.SEThe division of pharaohs into dynasties is generally considered to be an invention by the Egyptian priest Manetho. Whenever some discontinuity occurred, a new dynasty was assumed.
In modern times, periods of political unrest or instability in ancient Egyptian history are referred to as ‘intermediate periods’, whereas stable times are regarded as ‘kingdoms’. 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 the text or are incomplete. Some dynasties were in power at the same time, with multiple kings ruling concurrently, which makes chronological analysis difficult as the records are incredibly rare. Determining the exact reign of each pharaoh over the three thousand years that the Kingdom lasted is not an easy task. While the archaeological record is helpful, chronological gaps, deliberate omissions and conflicting information make it almost impossible to determine the actual duration and order of reigns.
Most of what we know about ancient history has been pieced together from snippets of information. Imagine finding a single, unnumbered page torn from a book. It doesn't tell you which book it's from, where in the book it belongs, or how many pages the book had. Historians must deduce where it fits in the sequence from other corroborating evidence, where available. Determining the chronological order of the dynasties is no simple task. There are three general approaches to date the history of ancient Egypt.
- High Chronology
- The traditional dates are the initial chronological framework historians developed in trying to date the dynasties and pharaohs.
- Low Chronology
- A shorter timeline where events are placed closer to the present day, mainly due to new discoveries and evidence.
- Middle Chronology
- This is a middle ground between the high and low chronologies, offering a compromise for dating events.
Already in the ancient world, Egypt was seen as a mysterious land, renowned for its massive monuments, stylized art, and the distinct Gods with animal heads. The mystical Egyptian religion taught that life on Earth was only one aspect of an eternal journey; the immortal soul was only temporarily inhabiting a body on this physical plane. After death, one would face judgment by Osiris in the Hall of Judgement, where the whole life of a person is judged by the scales of justice. The earthly remains of the deceased were deliberately mummified according to a strict regiment to prepare the deceased body for afterlife. Royalty and nobility also had large tombs created for remains, with elaborate spells written on the walls, to help with the journey.
The art style of Ancient Egypt is very distinctive, always depicting humans in profile, except for the torso, which is seen from the front. This art was almost always accompanied by small symbols of animals, plants, and so on, which are actually a highly formalized script and language known as hieroglyphs. The details of the text on the monuments were finally revealed when the hieroglyphs were deciphered in the early 17th century. Documents written on papyrus reveal information of daily life as well as mysteries about the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion, such as the Book of the Dead.
Since ancient times, Egypt has been divided into the fertile Nile Delta in the north and the Nile Valley in the south. The northern delta, or Lower Egypt, is flat and fertile, with black soil deposited by the Nile's annual flooding. The delta's numerous waterways made it ideal for agriculture and trade, helping to create a unified economy. In contrast, Upper Egypt is more mountainous and much drier.
For a long time, scattered villages ruled their immediate surroundings and provided protection against intruders, but they were constantly at odds with each other. This changed around 3000 BC, when the southern king Narmer established himself as the undisputed ruler of the south by conquering the smaller territories. Having amassed a large army, he then conquered the north, uniting the two regions to form one kingdom and establishing a centralised administration. This did not happen overnight, but over the next century, peace and stability brought prosperity on an unprecedented scale and turned villages into cities. People all over the land began to identify as one people, united under one king and enjoying the stability. The unification of the Two Lands was celebrated as a single event, and it is reasonable to question whether one king actually united the kingdom, how this was achieved, and how long the process took. Although the mythical Menes is said to have unified Egypt, attempts to equate him with a specific king are problematic due to a lack of contemporary evidence.
Predynastic Period
Rulers before the unification of Egypt, from Upper and Lower Egypt.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predynastic Kings | ? | ? | ? |
Early Dynastic Period
The 1st Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, marking the unification under Menes/Narmer.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Dynasty | 8 kings (250 years) | 3000–2800 | 3150–2920 | 3100–2890 |
| Second Dynasty | 11 kings (204 years) | 2730–2590 | 2920–2700 | 2890–2686 |
Old Kingdom
The 3rd Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, known for Djoser’s Step Pyramid.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Third Dynasty | 8 kings (73 years) | 2590–2540 | 2700–2630 | 2686–2613 |
| Fourth Dynasty | 9 kings (112 years) | 2540–2450 | 2630–2510 | 2613–2494 |
| Fifth Dynasty | 9 kings (149 years) | 2450–2300 | 2510–2370 | 2494–2345 |
| Sixth Dynasty | 6 kings (164 years) | 2300–2160 | 2370–2190 | 2345–2181 |
First Intermediate Period
The 7th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, possibly fictional or short-lived.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seventh Dynasty | Existence is doubtful | ? | ? | ? |
| Eighth Dynasty | 17 kings (21 years) | 2160–2140 | 2190–2165 | 2181–2160 |
| Ninth Dynasty | 5 kings (30 years) | 2140–2000 | 2165–2040 | 2160–2025 |
| Tenth Dynasty | 10 kings (91 years) | 2140–2000 | 2165–2040 | 2160–2025 |
| Eleventh Dynasty | 4 kings (70 years) | 2060–2000 | 2130–2060 | 2125–2060 |
Middle Kingdom
The 11th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, reunifying Egypt under Mentuhotep II.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eleventh Dynasty | 3 kings (69 years) | 2000–1950 | 2060–2000 | 2060–1985 |
| Twelfth Dynasty | 8 kings (189 years) | 1950–1750 | 2000–1780 | 1985–1773 |
Second Intermediate Period
The 13th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, with many short-reigning kings.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thirteenth Dynasty | 50+ kings (154 years) | 1750–1630 | 1780–1655 | 1773–1650 |
| Fourteenth Dynasty | 50+ kings (75 years) | 1700–1630 | 1730–1655 | 1725–1650 |
| Fifteenth Dynasty | 10 Hyksos kings (50 years) | 1630–1530 | 1655–1555 | 1650–1550 |
| Sixteenth Dynasty | 20 kings (67 years) | 1630–1550 | 1655–1585 | 1650–1580 |
| Abydos Dynasty | 16 kings (50 years) | 1630–1550 | 1655–1585 | 1650–1580 |
| Seventeenth Dynasty | 9 kings (30 years) | 1630–1550 | 1655–1585 | 1650–1580 |
New Kingdom
The 18th Dynasty, including Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eighteenth Dynasty | 15 kings (258 years) | 1530–1270 | 1555–1300 | 1550–1292 |
| Nineteenth Dynasty | 8 kings (103 years) | 1270–1170 | 1300–1195 | 1292–1189 |
| Twentieth Dynasty | 10 kings (112 years) | 1170–1060 | 1195–1080 | 1189–1077 |
Third Intermediate Period
The 21st Dynasty, based in Tanis, marked a period of divided rule.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty-first Dynasty | 7 kings (126 years) | 1060–930 | 1080–950 | 1077–943 |
| Twenty-second Dynasty | 12 kings (223 years) | 930–710 | 950–730 | 943–720 |
| Twenty-third Dynasty | 7 kings (109 years) | 820–710 | 840–725 | 837–720 |
| Twenty-fourth Dynasty | 2 kings (12 years) | 720–710 | 735–720 | 732–720 |
| Twenty-fifth Dynasty | 5 Nubian kings (88 years) | 730–650 | 750–660 | 744–656 |
Late Period
The 26th Dynasty, a native revival before Persian conquest.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twenty-sixth Dynasty | 7 kings (139 years) | 660–520 | 670–530 | 664–525 |
| Twenty-seventh Dynasty | 6 Persian kings (121 years) | 520–400 | 530–405 | 525–404 |
| Twenty-eighth Dynasty | 1 king (6 years) | 404–399 | 404–399 | 404–399 |
| Twenty-ninth Dynasty | 5 kings (18 years) | 398–380 | 399–380 | 398–380 |
| Thirtieth Dynasty | 3 kings (37 years) | 380–343 | 380–343 | 380–343 |
| Thirty-first Dynasty | 3 Persian kings (11 years) | 340–332 | 345–332 | 343–332 |
Hellenistic Period
The Argead Dynasty, following Alexander the Great’s conquest.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argead Dynasty | 3 kings (23 years) | 332–305 | 332–305 | 332–305 |
| Ptolemaic Dynasty | 16 kings (275 years) | 305–30 | 305–30 | 305–30 |
Roman Period
The Roman Emperors, ruling Egypt as a province.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roman Pharaohs | 30 emperors (343 years) | 30 BC–313 AD | 30 BC–313 AD | 30 BC–313 AD |
Unplaced
Pharaohs whose reigns cannot be precisely placed in the chronology.
| Dynasty | Reign | High (BC) | Low (BC) | Middle (BC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unplaced Pharaohs |