List of ancient Egyptian dynasties

The 31 pre-Ptolemaic dynasties by the length of their rule (in 25-year bins),[example 1] each dynasty being a coloured box. The early dynasties and the three Kingdoms are blue, with darker colours meaning older. Intermediate periods are red, orange, and yellow. Note that multiple dynasties could reign from different cities simultaneously in intermediate periods and at the end of the Middle Kingdom. Dynastic reigning times are often very approximate; the above uses the dates of the Egyptian dynasty list template.

In Ancient Egyptian history, dynasties are series of rulers sharing a common origin. They are usually, but not always, of the same family.[note 1]

Ancient Egypt's historical period is traditionally divided into thirty-two pharaonic dynasties. The first thirty divisions are due to the 3rd century BC Egyptian priest Manetho, and appeared in his now-lost work Aegyptiaca, which was perhaps written for the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. The names of the last two, the short-lived Thirty-First Dynasty and the longer-lasting Ptolemaic Dynasty, are later coinings.

While widely used and useful, the system does have its shortcomings. Some dynasties only ruled part of Egypt and existed concurrently with other dynasties based in other cities. The Seventh might not have existed at all, the Tenth seems to be a continuation of the Ninth, and there might have been one or several Upper Egyptian Dynasties before the First Dynasty.

This page lists articles on dynasties of Ancient Egypt. The cities in which power seems to have been held in each dynasty follow their names, in brackets.

Early Dynastic Period

Old Kingdom

First Intermediate Period

Middle Kingdom

Second Intermediate Period

New Kingdom

Third Intermediate Period

Late Period

Graeco-Roman Period

See also

Footnotes

  1. For example, neither of the last two pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, Ay and Horemheb, were related to the other pharaohs of the dynasty. The latter is thought to have been of common birth.
  1. Starting on the far right of this chart, only one dynasty lasted over 250 years (18th dynasty). Two dynasties lasted between 200 and 225 years (two boxes). One dynasty lasted between 175 and 200 years (one box), etc.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Hratch Papazian (2015). "The State of Egypt in the Eighth Dynasty". In Peter Der Manuelian; Thomas Schneider. Towards a New History for the Egyptian Old Kingdom: Perspectives on the Pyramid Age. Harvard Egyptological Studies. BRILL.
  2. Wilkinson, Toby (2010). "Timeline". The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt. New York: Random House. p. xiii. ISBN 9781408810026. The system of dynasties devised in the third century B.C. is not without its problems—for example, the Seventh Dynasty is now recognized as being wholly spurious, while several dynasties are known to have ruled concurrently in different parts of Egypt...
  3. Seidlmayer, Stephan (2000). Shaw, Ian, ed. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. p. 118. ISBN 0-19-815034-2. After the 8th Dynasty power was held by a succession of rulers originating from Herakleopolis Magna, which was located in northern Middle Egypt. These kings appear as both the 9th and 10th Dynasties in Manetho's history, having been mistakenly subdivided in the course of the transmission of the original king-list.
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