The history of the Egyptian pharaohs and Ancient Egypt in general is fascinating and mysterious. And the deeds of the great Egyptian rulers are truly grandiose. This time is the time of great campaigns and large-scale constructions that glorified the ancient Egyptian culture for millennia and became an example and basis for the innovative ideas of our time.
A bit about dynasties
The term "dynasty" itself was used by the Greeks in relation to the rulers of United Egypt. In total, there are 31 dynasties of Egyptian pharaohs for all periods of the existence of the state to the Greco-Roman. They do not have names, but are numbered.
- In the Early Dynastic period, there are 7 rulers of the 1st dynasty, 5 - of the 2nd.
- In the Ancient Egyptian kingdom - 5 pharaohs of the 3rd dynasty, 6 - 4th, 8 - 5th, 4 - 6th.
- In the First Intermediate Period, there were 23 representatives in the 7th-8th dynasties, and 3 in the 9th-10th. In the 11th - 3, in the 12th - 8.
- In the Second Transitional in the dynastic list of Egyptian pharaohs, 39 are listed, which are part of the 13th, 11 - 14th, 4 - 15th, 20 - 16th, 14 - 17th.
- The period of the New Kingdom was opened by one of the most famous dynasties - the 18th, in the list of which there are 14 pharaohs, of which one is a woman. In the 19th - 8. In the 20th - 10.
- In the Third Intermediate Period, the 21st dynasty included 8 pharaohs, the 22nd - 10, the 23rd - 3, the 24th - 2, the 25th - 5, the 26th - 6, the 27th th - 5, in the 28th - 1, in the 29th - 4, in the 30th - 3.
- The second Persian period has only 4 pharaohs of the 31st dynasty.
In the Greco-Roman period, proteges of Alexander the Great, and then the Roman emperor, settled at the head of the state. In the Hellenistic period after Macedon, Philip Archeraus and Alexander IV, these were Ptolemy and his descendants, and among the ruling persons there were also women (for example, Berenice and Cleopatra). In the Roman period, these are all Roman emperors from Augustus to Licinius.
Woman Pharaoh: Queen Hatshepsut
The full name of this female pharaoh is Maatkara Hatshepsut Henmetamon, which means "The Best of the Noble". Her father was the famous pharaoh of the XVIII dynasty Thutmose I, and her mother was Queen Ahmes. She was the high priestess of the sun god Amon-Ra himself. Of all the Egyptian queens, only she managed to become the ruler of United Egypt.
Hatshepsut claimed that she was the daughter of the god Ra himself, which is a bit like the story of the birth of Jesus: Amon told the assembly of the gods, though not through his messenger, but personally, that he would soon have a daughter who would become the new ruler of the whole land of Ta Kemet. And in her reign, the state will flourish and rise even more. As a sign of recognition of this, during the reign of Hatshepsut, she was often depicted in the guise of a descendant of Amon-Ra Osiris - the god of fertility and the ruler of the Underworld Duat - with a false beard and the key to the Nile - the key of life ankh, with royal regalia.
The reign of Queen Hatshepsut was glorified by her beloved architect Senmut, who built the famous temple in Deir el-Bahri, which is known in world history as Jeser-Jeseru ("Holy of Holies"). The temple is different from the famous temples in Luxor and Karnak during the reigns of Amenhotep III and Ramses II. It belongs to the type of semi-rock temples. It is in its reliefs that such important cultural undertakings of the queen are immortalized, as a sea expedition to the distant country of Punt, under which, many believe, India is hiding.
Also, Queen Hatshepsut paid special attention to the construction of grandiose architectural monuments in the state: she restored many buildings and monuments destroyed by the conquerors - the Hyksos tribes, erected the Red Sanctuary in the temple of Karnak and two pink marble obelisks in its complex.
The fate of the stepson of Queen Hatshepsut, the son of Pharaoh Thutmose II, and the concubine of Isis Thutmose III is interesting. Having been in the shadow of his stepmother for almost twenty years, who created humiliating living conditions for him, after her death, Thutmose dramatically changed the policy of the state, and tried to completely destroy everything that was connected with Hatshepsut. In this case, a parallel arises with the accession to the Russian throne of Emperor Paul I and the memory of his mother, Empress Catherine II.
Thutmose's hatred extended to the buildings that now form the world's cultural fund. First of all, we are talking about the temple in Deir el-Bahri, in which, by the decree of Thutmose III, all sculptural images bearing a portrait resemblance to Hatshepsut were barbarously destroyed, and hieroglyphs were chipped off that perpetuated her name. It is important! After all, according to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, the name of a person (“ren”) is a pass for him to the fields of Eternity Ialu.
In relation to the life of the state, first of all, the interests of Thutmose were directed not to peace and tranquility in their native Egypt, but, on the contrary, to war for increase and multiplication. During his reign, as a result of a large number of wars of conquest, the young pharaoh achieved an unprecedented: he not only expanded the borders of Ancient Egypt at the expense of the states of Mesopotamia and his neighbors, but also forced them to pay huge tribute, making his state the most powerful and richest among others in the East.
One of the amazing corners of St. Petersburg is associated with the name of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III - the pier at the Academy of Arts on the University embankment of Vasilyevsky Island. In 1834, sculptures of sphinxes brought from Ancient Egypt were installed on it, whose faces, according to legend, have a portrait resemblance to this pharaoh. They were found by the Greek archaeologist Attanazi with funds provided to him by the English consul in Egypt, Salt. After the excavations, Salt became the owner of the giants, who put them up for auction in Alexandria. Writer Andrei Nikolaevich Muravyov wrote a letter about valuable sculptures, but while the issue of acquiring sphinxes in Russia was being decided, they were bought by France, and only by chance did they end up in St. Petersburg. This happened because of the revolution that began in France. The French government began to sell the sculptures that had not been exported at a large markdown, and it was then that Russia was able to purchase them on much more favorable terms than before.
Who is Pharaoh Amenhotep III, whom these sculptures serve as a reminder to this day? It is known that he was a special zealot of art and culture, and raised the status of the state in the international arena to an unprecedented height, incomparable even with the era of the reign of Thutmose III. Pharaoh Amenhotep III had a special influence on the activities of his energetic and intelligent wife, Tiya. She was from Nubia. Perhaps thanks to her, the reign of Amenhotep III brought peace and tranquility to Egypt. But one cannot remain silent about several military campaigns that nevertheless took place during the years of his rule: against the country of Kush, against the state of Uneshei, as well as the suppression of rebels in the region of the second Nile threshold. All descriptions of his military prowess indicate a high level of military science.
Ramses II: political decisions
The reign of this couple is highly controversial. On the one hand, wars with the Hittites for power over Palestine, Phoenicia and Syria, skirmishes with sea pirates - Sherden, military campaigns in Nubia and Libya, on the other hand - large-scale stone construction of temples and tombs. But one thing is common - ruin due to exorbitant taxes in favor of the royal treasury of the working population of the state. At the same time, the nobility and the priests, on the contrary, had the opportunity to increase their material wealth. Increased spending from the treasury and the fact that the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II attracted mercenaries to his army.
From the point of view of the internal policy of Ramses II, it should be noted that the time of his reign was the time of the next rise of Ancient Egypt. Realizing the need to be constantly in the north of the state, the pharaoh moves the capital from Memphis to a new city - Per-Ramesses in the Nile Delta. As a result, the power of the aristocracy was weakened, which, however, did not affect the strengthening of the power of the priests.
Ramses II and his "stone" activities
The unusually fruitful temple architecture of the reign of Ramses II is associated primarily with the construction of such famous temples as the Big and Small Abu Simbel in Abydos and Thebes, extensions to the temples in Luxor and Karnak, the temple in Edfu.
The temple in Abu Simbel, consisting of two rock-type temples, was built in the place of the Nile, where the famous Aswan Dam will be built in the 20th century together with the USSR. Nearby, the quarries of Aswan made it possible to decorate the portals of the temples with giant statues of the pharaoh and his wife, as well as images of the gods. The large temple was dedicated to Ramses himself and to three other gods - Amun, Ra-Horakhta and Ptah. It was these three gods that were carved in sculptures and placed in the sanctuary of the rock temple. The entrance to the temple was decorated with seated stone giants - statues of Ramses II - three on each side.
The small temple was dedicated to Nefertari-Merenmut and the goddess Hathor. Decorated at the entrance with full-length figures of Ramses II and his wife, alternating four on each side of the entrance. In addition, the Small Temple at Abu Simbel was also considered as the tomb of Nefertari.
Amenemhat III and the Hermitage Collection
There is a black basalt sculpture in the Hermitage exhibition in St. Petersburg, depicting this pharaoh sitting in a canonical pose. Thanks to well-preserved writings, we learn that Amenemhat III is the ruler of the Middle Kingdom, who devoted a lot of time and effort to the construction of the most beautiful temples. First of all, they should include the labyrinth temple in the area of the Fayum oasis.
Thanks to a wise domestic policy, Amenemhat III managed to greatly reduce the influence of the rulers of individual nomes - nomarchs and unite them, founding the Middle Kingdom. This pharaoh almost did not undertake military campaigns in order to expand the borders. An exception may be the war in Nubia and military campaigns in the countries of Asia, as a result of which they were discovered. Among them was Syria.
The main activity of Amenemhat III is the construction and improvement of the life of the colonies. Thanks to this, colonies were created on the Sinai Peninsula, rich in copper mines, which were developed for the Middle Kingdom of Amenemhat III. Turquoise deposits were also developed here. Large-scale work was also carried out on the irrigation of lands in the area of the Fayum oasis. An embankment was erected, thanks to which the drained soils in a large area of the oasis became available for agriculture. In the same territories, Amenemhet III founded the city of the god Sebek - Krokodilopol.
Akhenaten the Reformer and Queen Nefertiti
Among the names of the great Egyptian pharaohs, the name of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten, stands out. The son of Amenhotep III was considered a heretic - he, having betrayed his father's faith, believed in the god Aton, embodied in the solar disk and depicted on reliefs in the form of a solar multi-armed disk. The name given by the father and meaning "Devoted to Amon", he changed to one that meant "Pleasant to the Aton."
And he transferred the capital to a new city, called Aton-per-Ahetaton, in the region of Egypt, El-Amarna. This decision was made in connection with the strongly strengthened power of the priests, who actually replaced the power of the pharaoh. The reformist ideas of Akhenaten also touched art: for the first time, in reliefs and frescoes of tombs and temples, they began to depict the romantic relationship of the pharaoh and his wife, Queen Nefertiti. Moreover, according to the features of the image, they no longer resembled the canonical ones, rather, they could be called the forerunners of naturalistic painting.
Cleopatra - Queen of Egypt
Among all the Egyptian pharaohs and queens, Cleopatra is perhaps the most famous. In world history, she is often called both the fatal and the Egyptian Aphrodite. She was the heiress of the great dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs from the Macedonian family of Ptolemies, appointed to this position by Alexander the Great. Cleopatra - the wife of Mark Antony and mistress of Julius Caesar - was the last queen of Egypt during the Hellenistic period. She was highly educated, musically gifted, knew eight foreign languages and visited the Library of Alexandria with pleasure, participating in the philosophical conversations of pundits. The personality of Cleopatra causes many fantasies and legends, but there is very little actual information about her contribution to the development of Egypt. Until now, she remains the most mysterious and enigmatic of all the rulers of the Egyptian land.
The list of Egyptian pharaohs could be continued, because among them there were still persons worthy of a separate discussion. The history of Egypt attracts the constant attention of people of different generations, and interest in it does not dry out.
The pharaohs are the almighty rulers of Ancient Egypt, whom the Egyptians considered the vicegerents of God in this world and made them responsible for everything that happened in the country. Including for natural disasters.
The rulers of Ancient Egypt, for its long history, there were many, but today the names of only a few of them, who left any noticeable mark on history, are “on the lips”.
What are the most famous pharaohs of Ancient Egypt and how did they differ from other rulers of this ancient country? Here is a small list of their names and the events that made it possible to remember them. So,
The most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt
Pharaoh Djoser ruled Ancient Egypt from 2775-2756 BC. He built himself the first pyramid-tomb - a step pyramid in Saqqara.
Pharaoh Khufu (in other words, Cheops). Ruled from 2695-2672 BC. Built the famous Great Pyramid at Giza.
Pharaoh Pepi (Piopi) II. Ruled, presumably, in 2399-2379 BC. Became pharaoh at age 6.
Pharaoh Hatshepsut. 20 years (1489-1468 BC) ruled as pharaoh, wore a ritual false beard and was therefore often portrayed as a man.
Pharaoh Thutmose III. Ruled Egypt from 1490-1436 BC. The great conqueror, who significantly expanded the territory of the country.
Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton). Ruled from 1365-1348 BC. Together with his wife, Queen Nefertiti, he introduced the cult of the single god Aten (Sun).
Pharaoh Tutankhamun. This is perhaps the most famous pharaoh of ancient Egypt from the most famous. He ruled in 1347-1338 BC and died as a young man. He is famous mainly for the treasures found in his tomb.
Pharaoh Ramesses II. Ruled over ancient Egypt from 1290-1224 BC. He built a rock temple in Abu Simbel and, in general, built more in 66 years of his reign than any other pharaoh.
Cleopatra. Ruled Egypt in 51-31 BC. The last queen of Egypt, after whose suicide it was annexed by the Romans.
Pharaoh is the highest position in the hierarchy of ancient Egyptian society. The very concept of "pharaoh" was not an official title and was used in order not to name the name and title of the king. This euphemism first appeared in the New Kingdom. Translated from the ancient Egyptian language, this concept means "great house", which meant the palace of the king. Officially, the title of the pharaohs reflected their possession of "both lands", that is, both Upper and Lower Egypt. In different eras, the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt had a different status, degree of concentration of power and influence in the state.
History of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt
Highest Influence pharaohs of egypt had during the Old Kingdom after Upper and Lower Egypt were united into a single state. This period is characterized by a decrease in the despotism and aggressiveness of the Egyptian monarchy, along with the development of bureaucracy and the transition of most branches of the state economy under the direct control of the king. The power of the pharaohs during this period was rapidly sacralized. The pharaoh was considered one in the earthly and divine incarnations, and was, thus, an intermediary between the world of people and the gods. Until the 4th dynasty, the pharaohs were considered the earthly incarnation of the god Horus, while after death they were considered to be transformed into Osiris. In the future, the pharaohs began to be considered the sons of the sun god Ra.
The semi-divine essence of the pharaohs in the view of the Egyptians imposed on them the obligation to maintain world order (Maat) and to fight chaos and injustice in every possible way (Isfet). Therefore, the pharaoh was endowed with the ability to communicate directly with the gods through the construction of temples and sanctuaries and plentiful sacrifices. In the Old Kingdom, the authority of the pharaohs was so great that mourning after their death lasted ninety days in the country, and the death of the king was perceived as the greatest grief, a violation of the order and foundations of the universe. The accession of a new legitimate heir was understood as the greatest boon for the country and the restoration of a shaken position.
The maximum power of the pharaohs and their authority in Egyptian society was maintained during the Old Kingdom. After its fall and during the I transitional period, power in the country largely passed into the hands of the priests and the nobility, because of which the role of the pharaohs began to decline and no longer reached the same significance as under the Old Kingdom. Later, in the society of Ancient Egypt, traditions of individualism began to develop, which affected many areas of life, including the perception of the figure of the pharaoh. The moral and ideological dependence of the inhabitants of the country on the ruler was no longer so great, and the pharaohs began to maintain their authority mainly through conquests in other countries.
However, the New Kingdom, characterized by a large number of conquests and a serious expansion of the state's possessions, fell apart as a result of the ever-increasing influence of temples, priests and rulers of individual provinces, as a result of which the power of the pharaohs completely ceased to enjoy the same authority as before. They ceased to seriously influence the lives of their subjects and neighboring states, and their role as intermediaries between the world of people and the world of gods was completely leveled. After Egypt was conquered by the Persians, the Persian kings were officially considered pharaohs, after them Alexander the Great took this title, and after his death, the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Titles of the pharaohs of Egypt
As already noted, "Pharaoh" was not the official name of the rulers of ancient Egypt. In fact, they were called "belonging to the Reed and the Bee" or "lords of both lands", reflecting in these titles their power over both parts of Egypt - Upper and Lower.
official pharaoh's naming, starting from the time of the Middle Kingdom and up to the beginning of Roman rule, necessarily consisted of five names. The first of them, the earliest in time of occurrence, was associated with the god Horus and reflected the belief of the people that the pharaoh was his earthly incarnation. The second name was associated with two goddesses - Nekhbet and Wadzhet - who were considered the patrons of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. This name symbolized the power of the pharaoh over them, embodied the power of the monarchy. The third name is golden. Its meaning has not been clarified, and two main versions associate it either with the sun (that is, the pharaoh was compared to the sun), or with gold, which symbolized eternity. The fourth name of the pharaoh is the throne name. It was given to him during the coronation. Finally, the fifth name of the Egyptian ruler is personal. His future king received at birth.
The pharaohs of the early dynasties are often known by the name Horov, since this part of the title appeared before the others. The rulers of the later dynasties, belonging to the Middle and New Kingdoms, are most often known by personal names and are also mentioned in scientific works.
Attributes of the pharaohs
The pharaohs were forbidden to appear in front of their subjects without a headdress, so among their attributes was a crown. Most often, it was a combination of the red crown of the ruler of Upper Egypt and the white crown of the ruler of Lower Egypt and was called "pshent"(Fig. 1). Both of these crowns also symbolized the patron goddesses of both parts of the country, who were often depicted on the single crown of the king. In addition to the single crown, the pharaohs sometimes wore a blue crown for military campaigns and a gold crown for various religious rites.
Rice. 1 - Pshent
Pharaohs also wore a scarf on their heads. This headdress was worn by all the inhabitants of the country, however, depending on the estate, it had different colors. Pharaohs wore golden scarves with blue stripes.
Another attribute of the pharaoh was a short rod with a hook on the top. This is one of the most ancient attributes of royal power, known since the time of Predynastic Egypt and, according to most researchers, descended from the shepherd's crook. Also, the pharaohs wore a whip, the Wass scepter, which had a forked lower end and a pommel in the form of a dog or jackal head, and a cross with a loop - ankh(Fig. 2), symbolizing eternal life.
Rice. 2 - Ankh
Also one of the attributes of the pharaohs was a false beard. She was always made artificially and worn to emphasize the power and masculine strength of the ruler. Female pharaohs, such as Hatshepsut, also wore beards. Often they had to wear them in order to pretend to be a man in front of their subjects.
The most famous pharaohs of Egypt
The ancestor of a unified Egypt is considered Pharaoh Menes, who, being the king of Upper Egypt, subjugated Lower Egypt and was the first to put on a double red and white crown. Despite the many references to Menes in the texts of Egyptian priests and Greek and Roman historians, he may also be a mythological figure.
The golden age of ancient Egypt is considered the reign of Pharaoh Djoser, the second representative of the III dynasty. It was under him that the construction of pyramids began - the tombs of the pharaohs. Djoser also conducted many military campaigns, subjugated the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and drew the southern border of the state along the first Nile threshold.
Egypt reached a significant prosperity and Queen Hatshepsut. She equipped a trading expedition to Punt, was engaged in architecture, and also led conquest activities.
Pharaoh Akhenaten became famous as a religious reformer. He tried to abolish the cult of the old gods, replacing it with the cult of the pharaoh himself, moved the capital of the country to a new city and stopped the construction of temples. Akhenaten's reforms were not popular, so after his death they were largely canceled, and the name of the reforming pharaoh was forgotten.
The last great pharaoh of Egypt was Ramses II, who was able to restore his former power for a while as a result of many military campaigns. However, after his death, Egypt finally plunged into the abyss of civil strife, uprisings and wars, which led to its disintegration and conquest.
