Presenters: Chra &

Dominique

Pharaoh is the ancient Egyptian name for king. The word literally means the king’s palace, but over time, it became interchangeable with the Egyptian word for any ruler of Egypt, male or female.

To Egyptians, a pharaoh represented more than just a king and were often considered to be a god that possessed the secrets of heavens and earth. The pharaoh was responsible for all aspects of Egyptian life such as keeping the irrigation works in order, directing the army, and issuing laws. He or she controlled trade with other countries, owned the ships that sailed to foreign lands, as well as all of Egypt’s mines and quarries.

There were more than 170 Pharaohs and some of them had names that were very similar to each other.

We were really surprised to learn that there were seven Cleopatras and the most famous one was Cleopatra VII.

By the time of the Middle Kingdom, each Pharaoh was given a combination of five names.

The first name of the Pharaoh was his “Horus” name which identified himself with the falcon god Hor.

For example, King Tut’s Horus name was Ka-nakht tut-mesut, which means “Strong Bull, Fitting from Created Forms.”

The Pharaoh’s second name was the “Nebti” or “Two Ladies” name which referred to the two goddesses named Wadjet and Nekhbet. Wadjet was represented as a cobra and Nekhbet as a vulture. The “two ladies” represented Upeere KMT (Nekjbet) and Lower KMT (Wadjet).

King Tut’s second name or Nebti name was Nefer-hepu Segereh-tawy Schetep-netjeru Nebu, which means “Dynamic of Laws, Who Calms the Two Lands, Who Propitiates all the Gods.”

The third name was called the “Golden Horus” name and was represented by the falcon symbolizing the god Hor, sitting on top of the symbol for gold.

King Tut’s Golden Horus name or third name was Wetjes-khau Sehetep-netjeru, which means “Who Displays the regalia, Who Propitiates the Gods.”

The fourth name was the Pharaoh’s throne name or prenomen. This name was usually enclosed in a cartouche (which looks like a loop of rope tied at one end) and followed the words “Nesut Bit” which is Egyptian for “He of the Sedge and the Bee.” Like the “two ladies,” the sedge and the bee were symbols for Upper and Lower KMT.

King Tut’s throne name or fourth name was Nesut Bit Nebkheperure, which means “King of Upper and Lower KMT, Lord of Manifestations is Re.”

The Pharaoh’s fifth name was his or her birth name or nomen. This name was usually preceded with the ancient Egyptian words “sa re” meaning “Son of Re”, and also enclosed in a cartouche.

King Tut’s full birth name or fifth name was Sa re Tutankjaten Heqaiunushema, meaning “Living Image of the Aten, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Iunu.” After becoming Pharaoh, King Tut changed his birth name to Tutankjamun meaning “Living Image of Amun.”

Here is King Tut’s full name:

Hor Ka-nakht tut-mesut, Nebti Nefer-hepu Segereh-tawy, Schetep-netjeru Nebu, Neb Hor Wetjes-khau Schetep-netjeru, Nesut Bit Nebkheperure, Sa re Tutankhamun

Heqaiunushema which in English means, The Horus Strong Bull, Fitting from Created Forms, He of the

Two Ladies, Dynamic of Laws, Who Calms the Two Lands, Who Propitiates the Gods, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of Manifestations is Re, Son of Re, Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Iunu!

There were five different crowns that a pharaoh would wear that included the White Crown, the Red Crown, the Double Crown, the Nemes Crown, and the Blue Crown.

The White Crown or Hedjet was considered the crown of Upper Egypt. As early as 3000 BC, this crown was depicted as a tall, white cone-shaped crown and usually worn during ceremonies.

The Red Crown or Deshret was the crown of Lower Egypt. This crown is shaped like a throne with a low front and a tall back, from which protrudes a coil. A statue of the founder of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep I, was found in his tomb with this crown.

The Double Crown or Pschent was also known as “The Mighty Ones”. With the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, this crown combined the red crown and the white crown. The god, Horus, often was depicted from the wall paintings of tombs wearing this crown.

The Nemes Crown was more of a headdress than a crown. The Nemes was a piece of striped cloth pulled tightly against the forehead with two strands that hung to the sides of the face. The brow was decorated with the uraeus Wadjet and the vulture Nekhbet and probably made most famous by King Tut.

The Blue Crown or the Khepresh was also known as the “war crown”. The crown was a tall, brilliant blue crown with golden discs which also had the uraeus and vulture on the brow. Ramessess the Great was often depicted wearing this crown.

The crook (heka) and the flail (nekhakha) are two of the most prominent items in the royal regalia of Ancient Egypt. The crook was a golden hooked handle wrapped with blue copper bands and its hieroglyphic value meant to “rule”. The flail was a golden rod with three long strands of beads dangling from the top. These symbols of royalty were most often represented as emblems of the national god, Osiris.

Because Egyptians thought that the pharaohs were gods in

human form, they were usually mummified and buried in a

pyramid full of treasures and wealth. Most of these pyramids

have been found.

The Valley of the Kings is a valley that is located on the west bank of the Nile River. For a period of nearly 500 years, from the 16th century to the 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the kings and the most powerful nobles of Egypt. It is famous for the discovery of King Tut’s tomb and is considered as one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world.

Each time a new Pharaoh came to power, the calendar was reset to year one.

For example, the ancient Egyptians would write that something happened on the 12th day of the 3rd month of the 2nd season in the 8th year of King Ramesses.

Since the ancient Egyptians did not account for leap year, their calendar gradually grew out of step and it is difficult to know the exact time that a Pharaoh ruled and dates may be off 20 years or more.

Ancient Egyptian history is confusing because it is divided into “kingdoms” and “periods” and “dynasties” but most historians agree on at least nine distinct periods. They include:

Neolithic/Pre-Dynastic Early Dynastic Old Kingdom First Intermediate Middle Kingdom Second Intermediate New Kingdom Third Intermediate Late Period Ptolemaic & Roman

The Amratian society of Upper Egypt shows signs of the hierarchical structure of pharaoh-like civilization

First indication of wrapping of bodies in strips of cloth or mummification

Hieroglyphic script first developed Upper and Lower Egypt are unified and

the royal residence was Memphis

1st Dynasty kings are buried in the first royal tombs at Abydos

Architecture indicates a new political order, headed by a god-king

Hetepsekhemwy was the first king of the 2nd Dynasty

The first pyramid was built during the reign of King Djoser – The Step Pyramid at Saqqara

King Khufu’s Great Pyramid at Giza and the Great Sphinx becomes part of the pyramid complex of King Khafra

Three pyramids were built, known as the Giza Pyramids. The first was constructed for the Pharaoh Khufu, the second for his son Khafre, and the smallest one for his son, Menkare.

With the social and political climate changing, the royal residence changes from Memphis to Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt and Upper Egypt was controlled by Theban rulers.

Mentuhotep II, king of Thebes in southern Upper Egypt, defeats Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt which reunited the country.

Amenemhat I expands the Egyptian territory south into the country Nubia and begins to trade with Asia and the Aegean

Senusret I founds the temple of Karnak at Thebes.

Senusret II constructs the Faiyum irrigation system which helps to provide water

The royal court that was established at Lisht in the 12th Dynasty is abandoned and moved to Thebes which begins the Second Intermediate Period

On top of Queen Mentuhotep’s coffin, the Book of the Dead is found

The war between the Thebes and the Asiatic rulers of the Nile Delta begins

Theban King Ahmose conquers the capital of the Hyksos (Asiatic) kings at Avaris, in the eastern delta.

Reunification of Egypt marks the start of the New Kingdom.

Thutmose I begins violent military missions that annexes Nubia into Egypt.

King Akhenaten orders that the cult of Aten becomes Egypt’s state religion and the religious center is moved from Thebes to Amarna.

Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s son, restores Thebes as the religious center of Egypt and Amun-Ra, the sun-god, to the chief god of Egypt.

Ramses II oversees great building projects, including the Piramesse – the House of Ramses of the Bible

The Royal Tombs in the Valley of the Kings are pillaged

Civil war and economic troubles weaken centralized rule of government.

Osorkon, the first of the Libyan pharaohs, takes power.

A royal princess marries Solomon of Israel diminishing the prestige of Egyptian royalty.

Psamtek I drives off Assyrian invaders and defeats Kushite kings.

Nekau II begins construction of a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea in order to increase trade.

Egypt is invaded and captured by the Persian ruler Cambyses.

King Darius completes the construction of Nekau II’s canal.

Amytraios retakes Egypt from Persia. Artaxerxes I of Persia re-invades Egypt ending the

last native Egyptian rule. Alexander the Great invades Egypt and becomes

pharaoh. Ptolemy I founds the Mouseion at Alexandria which

houses Alexandria’s library of over 700,000 volumes.

Queen Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony are defeated at the Battle of Actinum by Octavian.

Octavian enters Egypt in 30 BC and begins the Roman rule of Egypt.

Christianity appears first in Alexandria. By the 3rd century AD, Christianity has

gained widespread acceptance and thus, the gods in human form were no more.

Cleopatra VII is the most famous female pharaoh and she was also the very last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra had four children, one with Julius Caesar, and three with Mark Anthony. Cleopatra was pagan and worshiped the goddess, Isis. After learning of Mark Antony’s death by a snakebite, she allowed two asps to be hidden in a fig basket which bit her and eventually led to her death.

Also known as Amenhotep IV, he was most famous for trying to encourage Egyptians to worship only one god, Aten. He oversaw the construction of some of the most massive temples in ancient Egypt in honor of Aten. Because Aten was considered the “mother and father of all human kind, many statues of Akhenaton depicted him as androgynous – looking neither male nor female. With Akhenaton’s death, the Aten cult he had founded virtually disappeared and all of the statues and temples were destroyed. However, his belief in only one god is thought to have spawned Judaism.

Tutankhamun or King Tut is the most well-known pharaoh mainly because when explorers found his tomb, most of the artifacts were relatively untouched. He was only nine years old when he became pharaoh and had a short reign of nine years. The “boy king” died at age 19 by reasons still disputed to this day. Some current theories are that he was murdered by his advisors, suffered injuries from an accident, or died during war. King Tut’s tomb was found in the Valley of the Kings in a section not usually reserved for kings.

Hatshepsut was one of the most successful female pharaohs and

ruled longer than any other woman in the Egyptian dynasty. She was very successful in warfare in her

early reign and helped to re-establish trade relationships which

brought great wealth to Egypt. Researchers suggest that she died of a ruptured abscess after the removal of a tooth when she was fifty years

old.

Also known as Ramesses the Great, this king was often regarded as Egypt’s most powerful ruler. He had eight wives which held the title Great Royal Wife often simultaneously. Monumental evidence “seems to indicate that he had about 110 children with about 40-53 daughters and 48-50 sons. Ramesses II built what is known as the Ramesseum which was a beautiful temple , but now just a few ruins. The last decades of his life he was crippled and walked with a hunched back. An abcess by his teeth could have been serious enough to cause his death but it still is unknown.

She was the Great Royal Wife of the pharaoh Akhenaton and the mother-in-law and possibly the stepmother of King Tut. She was famous for her bust that the sculptor Thutmose made that many people now copy. She and her husband Akhenaten made their own religion where they only worship the god, Aten. The death of Nefertiti is unknown because researchers cannot find the mummy.

After Thutmose III’s death he created the largest empire Egypt had ever seen. He’s also known as a great builder and has built over fifty temples and great additions to the Egypt’s chief temple in Karnak. When Thutmose II died he was too young to rule Egypt so the title was passed to his fathers queen Hatshepsut. After Hatshepsut died he became pharaoh for 54 years. Thutmose III died of old age, yet it was very hard to tell this because tomb robbers damaged the body while stealing the jewels that covered him. The other pharaohs in the tomb was also similarly damaged by the tomb robbers.