Dynasties of ancient Egypt

In ancient Egyptian history, dynasties are series of rulers sharing a common origin. They are usually, but not always, traditionally divided into thirty-two pharaonic dynasties; these dynasties are commonly grouped into "kingdoms" and "intermediate periods".

Periods and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt
All years are BC
Early
Pre-dynastic period
First Dynasty I c. 3150–2890
Second Dynasty II 2890–2686
Old Kingdom
Third Dynasty III 2686–2613
Fourth Dynasty IV 2613–2498
Fifth Dynasty V 2498–2345
Sixth Dynasty VI 2345–2181
First Intermediate
Seventh Dynasty VII spurious
Eighth Dynasty VIII 2181–2160
Ninth Dynasty IX 2160–2130
Tenth Dynasty X 2130–2040
Early Eleventh Dynasty XI 2134–2061
Middle Kingdom
Late Eleventh Dynasty XI 2061–1991
Twelfth Dynasty XII 1991–1803
Thirteenth Dynasty XIII 1803–1649
Fourteenth Dynasty XIV 1705–1690
Second Intermediate
Fifteenth Dynasty XV 1674–1535
Sixteenth Dynasty XVI 1660–1600
Abydos Dynasty 1650–1600
Seventeenth Dynasty XVII 1580–1549
New Kingdom
Eighteenth Dynasty XVIII 1549–1292
Nineteenth Dynasty XIX 1292–1189
Twentieth Dynasty XX 1189–1077
Third Intermediate
Twenty-first Dynasty XXI 1069–945
Twenty-second Dynasty XXII 945–720
Twenty-third Dynasty XXIII 837–728
Twenty-fourth Dynasty XXIV 732–720
Twenty-fifth Dynasty XXV 732–653
Late Period
Twenty-sixth Dynasty XXVI 672–525
XXVII 525–404
Twenty-eighth Dynasty XXVIII 404–398
Twenty-ninth Dynasty XXIX 398–380
Thirtieth Dynasty XXX 380–343
XXXI 343–332
Ptolemaic (Hellenistic)
Argead Dynasty 332–305
Ptolemaic Kingdom 305–30
See also: List of Pharaohs by Period and Dynasty
Periodization of Ancient Egypt

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.

List of dynasties in ancient Egyptian history
Late Period of ancient EgyptThird Intermediate Period of EgyptNew Kingdom of EgyptSecond Intermediate Period of EgyptMiddle Kingdom of EgyptFirst Intermediate Period of EgyptOld Kingdom of EgyptEarly Dynastic Period (Egypt)
Dynasty Seat Period of rule Rulers
Start End Term First to rule Last to rule List / Family tree
Early Dynastic Period
Dynasty I Thinis 3100 BCE 2900 BCE 200 years Narmer Qa'a (list)
(tree)
Dynasty II Thinis 2890 BCE 2686 BCE 204 years Hotepsekhemwy Khasekhemwy (list)
Old Kingdom
Dynasty III Memphis 2686 BCE 2613 BCE 73 years Djoser Huni (list)
Dynasty IV Memphis 2613 BCE 2494 BCE 119 years Sneferu Shepseskaf
or
Thamphthis[lower-alpha 1]		 (list)
(tree)
Dynasty V Memphis 2494 BCE 2345 BCE 149 years Userkaf Unas (list)
Dynasty VI Memphis 2345 BCE 2181 BCE 164 years Teti Merenre Nemtyemsaf II
or
Netjerkare Siptah[lower-alpha 2]
or
Nitocris[lower-alpha 3]		 (list)
First Intermediate Period
Dynasty VII[lower-alpha 4] Memphis[1]:396 Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown Unknown (list)
Dynasty VIII Memphis[1]:396 2181 BCE 2160 BCE 21 years Netjerkare Siptah[lower-alpha 2]
or
Menkare		 Neferirkare II (list)
Dynasty IX Heracleopolis Magna 2160 BCE 2130 BCE 30 years Meryibre Khety[lower-alpha 5] Unknown (list)
Dynasty X Heracleopolis Magna 2130 BCE 2040 BCE 90 years Meryhathor Unknown (list)
Middle Kingdom
Dynasty XI[lower-alpha 6] Thebes 2130 BCE 1991 BCE 139 years Intef Mentuhotep IV (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XII Itjtawy 1991 BCE 1802 BCE 189 years Amenemhat I Sobekneferu (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XIII[lower-alpha 7] Itjtawy 1803 BCE 1649 BCE 154 years Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep Unknown (list)
Second Intermediate Period
Dynasty XIV
(Canaanite)		 Avaris 1725 BCE 1650 BCE 75 years Yakbim Sekhaenre[lower-alpha 8] Unknown (list)
Dynasty XV
(Hyksos)		 Avaris 1650 BCE 1550 BCE 100 years Salitis Khamudi (list)
Abydos dynasty[lower-alpha 9] Abydos 1650 BCE 1600 BCE 50 years Unknown Unknown (list)
Dynasty XVI Thebes
or
Avaris		 1649 BCE 1582 BCE 67 years Anat-her Unknown (list)
Dynasty XVII Thebes 1580 BCE 1550 BCE 30 years Rahotep Kamose (list)
New Kingdom
Dynasty XVIII Thebes
and
Amarna		 1550 BCE 1292 BCE 258 years Ahmose I Horemheb (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XIX Thebes
and
Memphis
and
Pi-Ramesses		 1292 BCE 1189 BCE 103 years Ramesses I Twosret (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XX Pi-Ramesses 1189 BCE 1077 BCE 112 years Setnakhte Ramesses XI (list)
(tree)
Third Intermediate Period
Dynasty XXI Tanis 1069 BCE 943 BCE 126 years Smendes Psusennes II (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXII
(Meshwesh)		 Tanis
and
Bubastis		 943 BCE 720 BCE 223 years Shoshenq I Osorkon IV (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXIII
(Meshwesh)		 Heracleopolis Magna
or
Hermopolis
or
Thebes		 837 BCE 728 BCE 109 years Harsiese A Rudamun (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXIV Sais 732 BCE 720 BCE 12 years Tefnakht Bakenranef (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXV
(Nubian)		 Memphis
and
Napata		 744 BCE 656 BCE 88 years Piye Tantamani (list)
(tree)
Late Period
Dynasty XXVI Sais 664 BCE 525 BCE 139 years Psamtik I Psamtik III (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXVII[lower-alpha 10]
(Persian)		 Babylon 525 BCE 404 BCE 121 years Cambyses II[lower-alpha 11] Darius II[lower-alpha 12] (list)
(tree)
Dynasty XXVIII Sais 404 BCE 398 BCE 6 years Amyrtaeus Amyrtaeus (list)
Dynasty XXIX Mendes 398 BCE 380 BCE 18 years Nepherites I Nepherites II (list)
Dynasty XXX Sebennytos 380 BCE 343 BCE 37 years Nectanebo I Nectanebo II (list)
Dynasty XXXI[lower-alpha 13]
(Persian)		 Babylon 343 BCE 332 BCE 11 years Artaxerxes III[lower-alpha 14] Darius III[lower-alpha 15] (list)
(tree)
Greco–Roman Period
Argead dynasty
(Greek)		 Pella[lower-alpha 16] 332 BCE 309 BCE 23 years Alexander III of Macedon Alexander IV of Macedon (list)
(tree)
Ptolemaic dynasty
(Greek)		 Alexandria 305 BCE 30 BCE 275 years Ptolemy I Soter Caesarion (list)
(tree)
Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Republic in 30 BCE.
(see Roman Egypt, Roman pharaoh and List of Roman dynasties)


The 31 pre-Ptolemaic dynasties by the length of their rule (in 25-year bins),[lower-alpha 17] 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.

See also

Notes
  1. The existence of Thamphthis is not archaeologically attested.
  2. Netjerkare Siptah could either be the last monarch of Dynasty VI or the founder of Dynasty VIII depending on the historian's characterization.
  3. The existence of Nitocris is not archaeologically attested.
  4. The only historical account of Dynasty VII was found in Aegyptiaca by Manetho. Some historians consider Dynasty VII to be fictitious.[1]:393[2]:xiii
  5. Some historians consider Meryibre Khety to be the founder of Dynasty IX,[3][4][5][6] while others believe that Meryibre Khety reigned during Dynasty X.[7]
  6. Dynasty XI before the reign of Mentuhotep II is typically classified as part of the First Intermediate Period of Egypt.
  7. Some historians classify Dynasty XIII as part of the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt.
  8. Some historians consider Yakbim Sekhaenre to be the founder of Dynasty XIV,[8] while others believe Yakbim Sekhaenre reigned during Dynasty XVI.[9]
  9. The existence of the Abydos dynasty is debated.
  10. Dynasty XXVII is a historiographical nomenclature that denotes the first line of Achaemenid monarchs that ruled over Egypt.
  11. Cambyses II was the second monarch of the Achaemenid Empire and the first Achaemenid ruler to establish control over Egypt.
  12. Darius II was the ninth monarch of the Achaemenid Empire and the eighth Achaemenid ruler to rule over Egypt.
  13. Dynasty XXXI is a historiographical nomenclature that denotes the second line of Achaemenid monarchs that ruled over Egypt.
  14. Artaxerxes III was the eleventh monarch of the Achaemenid Empire and the first Achaemenid ruler to restore control over Egypt following a 61-year hiatus.
  15. Darius III was the thirteenth monarch of the Achaemenid Empire and the last Achaemenid ruler to rule over Egypt.
  16. The capital of Macedonia during its rule over Egypt was Pella. The Egyptian administrative center during this period was Alexandria.
  17. 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. Hratch Papazian (2015). "The State of Egypt in the Eighth Dynasty". In Peter Der Manuelian; Thomas Schneider (eds.). 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. Flinders Petrie, A History of Egypt from the Earliest Times to the XVIth Dynasty (1897), pp. 114–15.
  4. Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs. An introduction, Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 112.
  5. William C. Hayes, in The Cambridge Ancient History, vol 1, part 2, 1971 (2008), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-07791-5, p. 464.
  6. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, p. 140.
  7. Jürgen von Beckerath, Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen, 2nd edition, Mainz, 1999, p. 74.
  8. Ryholt (1997), p. 409
  9. Sekhaenre Yakbim on Egyphica.net
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