Regencies in Egypt

Regencies in Egypt date back to Pharaonic times. Throughout Egypt's long history, there have been several instances of regents assuming power due to the reigning monarch's minority, physical illness or poor mental health. There have also been several cases of coregencies where two monarchs ruled simultaneously.

Ancient Egypt

Regencies were very frequent during the Pharaonic era, particularly in cases where the new king was too young to rule. In such instances, it was usually the young king's mother (or sometimes step-mother) who would act as regent until the king was old enough to rule by himself. The most famous Ancient Egyptian regent is probably Hatshepsut, who initially served as regent for her young nephew Thutmose III before taking the throne herself and reigning for more than twenty years.

  1. Neithotep ruled as regent on behalf of either her son Hor-Aha or grandson Djer (c. 3050 BC)
  2. Merneith ruled on behalf of her son Den (c. 2970 BC)
  3. Nimaathap possibly ruled on behalf of her son Djoser (c. 2670 BC)
  4. Khentkaus I likely ruled as a regent, but her son or sons are unknown.
  5. Khentkaus II possibly ruled as a regent for one of her sons (Neferefre or Nyuserre Ini).
  6. Iput I possibly ruled as a regent for her son Pepi I (c. 2332 BC)
  7. Ankhesenpepi II ruled as a regent for her son Pepi II (c. 2278 BC)
  8. Ahhotep I ruled as a regent for her son Ahmose I (c. 1550 BC)
  9. Ahmose-Nefertari ruled as a regent for her son Amenhotep I (c. 1541 BC)
  10. Hatshepsut initially ruled as a regent for her step-son Thutmose III (c. 1479 BC) before becoming Pharaoh in her own right and co-ruling Egypt alongside Thutmose III.
  11. Twosret ruled as a regent for her step-son Siptah (c. 1197 BC) and later became Pharaoh in her own right after his death.

Coregencies were also very common, and aging monarchs often appointed their sons and heirs as coregents towards the end of their reigns. Most Pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty until Amenemhat III had a period of co-rule with their eventual successors.

Ptolemaic Egypt

The Ptolemaic Dynasty implemented a policy of co-rule starting with Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II. It was common during this dynasty to have husband-wife and sibling pairings ruling over Egypt. Co-rule could also happen between unmarried siblings or parents and children. In at least one case, Egypt had three reigning Pharaohs at the same time with Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII.

Timeline of Rulers of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (All dates BC)

Dates Rulers
305-284 Ptolemy I (Sole Rule)
284-282 Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II
282-277 Ptolemy II (Sole Rule)
277-270 Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II
270-246 Ptolemy II (Sole Rule)
246-222 Ptolemy III and Berenice II
222-220 Ptolemy IV (Sole Rule)
220-204 Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III
204-202 Ptolemy V – under regency of Agathocles
202-201 Ptolemy V – under regency of Tlepolemus
201-196 Ptolemy V – under regency of Aristomenes
196-193 Ptolemy V (Sole Rule)
193-180 Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I
180-176 Cleopatra I and Ptolemy VI
176-175 Ptolemy VI – under regency of Eulaeus and Lenaeus
175-170 Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II
170-164 Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII
164-163 Ptolemy VIII (Sole Rule)
163-145 Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II
145 Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VII
145-144 Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VII
144-140 Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VIII
140-131 Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III
131-127 Cleopatra II (Sole Rule)
127-124 Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III
124-116 Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III
116 Cleopatra II, Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX
116-115 Cleopatra III, Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra IV
115-107 Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX
107-101 Cleopatra III and Ptolemy X
101-88 Ptolemy X and Berenice III
88-81 Ptolemy IX (Sole Reign)
81 Ptolemy IX and Berenice III
81-80 Berenice III (Sole Reign)
80 Berenice III and Ptolemy XI
80 Ptolemy XI (Sole Reign)
80-79 Ptolemy XII (Sole Reign)
79-69 Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra V
69-58 Ptolemy XII (Sole Reign)
58-57 Berenice IV and Cleopatra VI
57-55 Berenice IV (Sole Reign)
55-52 Ptolemy XII (Sole Reign)
52-51 Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra VII
51-48 Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII – under regency of Pothinus
48-47 Cleopatra VII
Ptolemy XIII and Arsinoe IV (In Opposition to Cleopatra VII)
47-44 Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIV
44-30 Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XV

Medieval Egypt

During the Middle Ages, Egypt was ruled by a succession of Islamic dynasties, and regencies were not uncommon. A famous example of a female regent is that of the Fatimid Sitt al-Mulk.

Regents of the Fatimid Caliphate

  1. Barjawan (997-1000) – de facto regent during the reign of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
  2. Sitt al-Mulk (1021-1023) – Regent during the reign of her nephew Ali az-Zahir.
  3. Rasad (1044-1062) – While never formally regent, she wielded a great deal of power during the reign of her son Al-Mustansir Billah and was the effective head of state.

Regents of the Mamluk Sultanate

  1. Izz al-Din Aybak (1250-1254) – Regent for the entirety of Al-Ashraf Musa's reign. Briefly ruled as sultan before him and later deposed and replaced him as sultan in 1254.
  2. Yalbugha al-Umari (1361-1366) – Regent for the entirety of the Al-Mansur Muhammad's reign and the early part of Al-Ashraf Sha'ban's reign.
  3. Barquq (1377-1382) – Regent during the reigns of Al-Mansur Ali II and As-Salih Hajji before becoming Sultan himself.

Modern Egypt

The Muhammad Ali Dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 1805 until 1953, witnessed three different regencies.

Regency during Muhammad Ali's illness

Ibrahim Pasha presided the Regency Council that was formed on 15 April 1848 to run Egypt due to Muhammad Ali Pasha's declining physical and mental health. Legal documents were still written in the latter's name; however, Ibrahim Pasha became the de facto ruler of the country from this moment on. On 20 July of the same year, an extraordinary envoy of Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I arrived in Alexandria with the firman by which the Porte recognized Ibrahim Pasha as Egypt's new wāli. The latter then travelled to Istanbul, where his investiture took place on 25 August in the presence of the Ottoman Sultan. However, his reign was very brief, and his death occurred shortly after his return to Cairo. He died on 10 November 1848 due to ill health, thus predeceasing his father.[1]

Regency during Farouk I's minority

A Regency Council was established following the death of King Fuad I, since his son Farouk was still a minor. Prior to his death, Fuad I had named in a formal document the three members who were to serve on the Regency Council: Adli Yakan Pasha (a former Prime Minister who had already died by the time Farouk I became King), Tawfiq Nasim Pasha (another former Prime Minister) and Mahmoud Fakhri Pasha (a former Foreign Minister married to Fuad I's eldest daughter Princess Fawkia). However, Parliament rejected King Fuad I's choices, and appointed three totally different regents: Prince Muhammad Ali (son of the late Khedive Tawfiq Pasha and thus first cousin of King Farouk I), Aziz Ezzat Pasha (a former Foreign Minister married to Behiye Yakan Hanem, another cousin of Farouk I) and Sherif Sabri Pasha (Farouk I's maternal uncle). The Regency Council was formally sworn in on 8 May 1936 in front of a joint session of Parliament. King Farouk I assumed his full constitutional powers upon reaching his age of majority (fixed at 18 years and calculated according to the Islamic calendar) on 29 July 1937.[2]

Regency during Fuad II's minority
From left to right: Prince Abdel Moneim, Barakat Pasha and Rashad Mehanna.

The Revolution of July 1952 did not immediately lead to the abolition of the monarchy. King Farouk I abdicated in favour of his six-month-old son Ahmad Fuad, who ascended the throne as King Fuad II. However, the latter only reigned as a nominal king-in-exile. Initially, his powers were assumed during a week by the Cabinet, headed at the time by Ali Maher Pasha. On 2 August 1952, a temporary regency "body" (not a formal Regency Council) was created. Headed by Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim (son of the late Khedive Abbas Helmi II and Fuad II's second cousin), the three-member Regency Body also included Bahey El Din Barakat Pasha (a former Minister of Education and Speaker of Parliament) and Rashad Mehanna (a colonel appointed as representative of the Army). The Regency Body was dissolved on 7 September 1952, and Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim was appointed as sole Prince regent. However, throughout this period, real powers lay in the hands of the Revolutionary Command Council. The monarchy was formally abolished on 18 June 1953: Egypt was declared a republic for the first time in its history, and Muhammad Naguib became its first ever President.[2]

References
  1. Sinoué, Gilbert (1997). Le dernier pharaon. Paris: Pygmalion/Gérard Watelet. pp. 417–420. ISBN 978-2-85704-517-5. OCLC 231771745.
  2. Rizk, Yunan Labib (27 January – 2 February 2005). "Royal help". Al-Ahram Weekly (727). ISSN 1110-2977. OCLC 163624446. Retrieved 27 July 2008.

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