The pharaoh is usually depicted wearing the Nemes headdress and an ornate kilt

Pharaoh is the name for the official of kingship, and religious/political leader in the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt. The New Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in Ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now Meaning "Great House", it originally referred to the king's palace, but the meaning loosened over the course of Egyptian history until it became interchangeable with the Egyptian word for king. Although the rulers of Egypt were generally male, the pharaoh was used on the rare occasions when a female ruled. Such rulers were believed to be the incarnation of Horus. Incarnation which literally means embodied in flesh, refers to the conception and birth of a sentient creature (generally a human who is the ^[1]

Etymology

The term pharaoh ultimately derives from a compound word represented as pr-`3, used only in larger phrases like smr pr-`3 'Courtier of the High House', with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace itself. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek ^[2] From the Twelfth Dynasty onward the word appears in a wish formula 'Great House, may it live, prosper, and be in health', but again only with reference to the buildings and not the person. The Eleventh (all of Egypt Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Middle Kingdom. The Ancient Egyptian phrase ankh wedja seneb "life prosperity health" is a formula often suffixed to the names of ancient Egyptian kings &ndash(the

The earliest instance where pr-`3 is used specifically to address the king is in a letter to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) in the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC) which is addressed to 'Pharaoh, all life, prosperity, and health!'. Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep "Amarna period" redirects here For information on Amarna see Amarna The Eighteenth Dynasty (1550-1292 BC is perhaps the best known of The Ancient Egyptian phrase ankh wedja seneb "life prosperity health" is a formula often suffixed to the names of ancient Egyptian kings &ndash(the ^[3]

From the Nineteenth Dynasty onwards pr-`3 on its own was used as regularly as hm. The Eighteenth Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title New Kingdom. f 'His Majesty'. The term therefore evolved from one specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the king or prince, particularly by the Twenty-Second Dynasty and Twenty-Third Dynasty. The Twenty-First Twenty-Second, Twenty-Third Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Dynasties of ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate The Twenty-third Dynasty of ancient Egypt was a separate regime of Meshwesh Libyan kings, who ruled Ancient Egypt. By this time, the Late Egyptian word is reconstructed to have been pronounced *par-ʕoʔ whence comes Ancient Greek φαραώ pharaō and then Late Latin pharaō. Egyptian is an Afro-Asiatic language most closely related to the Berber, Semitic, Somali and Beja languages The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin From the latter, English obtained the word "Pharaoh". Over time, *par-ʕoʔ evolved into Sahidic Coptic prro ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ and then rro (by mistaking p- as the definite article prefix "the" from Ancient Egyptian p3). Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt

A similar development, with a word originally denoting an attribute of the king eventually coming to refer to the person, can be discerned in a later period with the Arabic term Sultan. Sultan (سلطان is an Islamic title with several historical meanings

Regalia

Ramesses II in hieroglyphs
praenomen or throne name
nomen or birth name

The king of Egypt wore a double crown, created from the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Upper Egypt. Egyptian hieroglyphs (ˈhaɪərəʊɡlɪf from Greek grc-Grek ἱερογλύφος " sacred carving " also hieroglyphic = grc-Grek The Pschent (sh-yen was the name of the Double Crown of Ancient Egypt. A crown is the traditional Symbolic form of Headgear worn by a Monarch or by a Deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power Deshret, from ancient Egyptian was the formal name for the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and for the desert Red Land on either side of Kemet, the fertile Nile river basin Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Hedjet is the formal name for the White Crown of pharaonic Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt (صعيد مصر Sa'id Misr) is a narrow strip of land that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan to the area between In battle, the pharaoh wore a blue crown of a different shape. The Khepresh was an ancient Egyptian royal headdress It is also known as the Blue Crown All of these crowns typically were adorned by a uraeus, which was doubled under the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty. The Uraeus (plural Uraei or Uraeuses, from the Greek grc οὐραῖος from Egyptian egy jʿr The twenty-first twenty-second twenty-third twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth dynasties of Ancient Egypt are often combined under the group title Third Intermediate

The pharaoh also wore a striped headcloth called the nemes, which may be the most familiar pharaonic headgear. The nemes was the Striped Headcloth worn by Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. The nemes was sometimes combined with the double crown, as it is on the statues of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel. Abu Simbel ( أبو سنبل or ar '''أبو سمبل''' is an Archaeological site comprising two massive rock Temples in southern Egypt

The pharaoh would also wear a false beard made of goat hair during rituals and ceremonies. The domestic goat ( Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of goat Domesticated from the Wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe ^[4]

Egyptologist Bob Brier has noted that despite its widespread depiction in royal portraits, no ancient Egyptian crown ever has been discovered. Robert Brier PhD (born December 13, 1943) also affectionately known as Mr Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered largely intact, did contain such regal items as his crook and flail, but not a crown. Crowns were assumed to have magical properties, and Brier's speculation is that there were items a dead pharaoh could not take with him which therefore had to be passed along to his living successor.

Titles

The official titulary of the king by the Middle Kingdom consisted of five names; for some rulers, only one or two of them may be known. The royal titulary or royal protocol of an Egyptian Pharaoh is the standard naming convention taken by the kings of Ancient Egypt The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of Ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty

Of the three great non-consort Queens of Egypt (Hatshepsut, Sobeknefru, and Twosret), at least Hatshepsut took the title pharaoh in the absence of an existing word for "Queen regnant". Hatshepsut (or Hatchepsut, hætˈʃɛpsʊt meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies, was the fifth Pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Sobeknefru (sometimes written " Neferusobek " was an Egyptian female pharaoh of the Twelfth dynasty. Queen Twosret was the last known female king of Egypt of a local indigenous dynasty and the final Pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty. List of current queens regnant A queen regnant (plural "queens regnant" is qualifying reference to a female Monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal Also notable is Nefertiti who was made co-regent (the pharaoh's equal) during the reign of Akhenaten. Nefertiti (pronounced at the time something like *nafratiːta (c Akhenaten (often alt: Akhnaten, or rarely Ikhnaton) (In English ˌɑkəˡnɑtən or approximately "AHK-en-AHT-en" his royal name Amenhotep Some scholars further suspect that her disappearance coincides with the rise of Smenkhkare to the throne after Akhenaten's death, making Nefertiti yet another woman who became pharaoh in Egyptian history. Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare (sometimes spelled Smenkhare and Smenkare; meaning "Vigorous is the Soul of Ra " was a Pharaoh of the Although not typical, there are instances of women who were pharaoh early in Egyptian history also and its last pharaoh was Cleopatra VII. Cleopatra VII Philopator (in Greek, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ; January 69 BC &ndash 30 BC was a Hellenistic ruler of Egypt The royal lineage was traced through its women and a pharaoh had to be from that lineage or married to one of them if coming from without the lineage. This was the reason for all of the intermarriages in the royal families of Egypt.

During the eighteenth dynasty (sixteenth to fourteenth centuries B. C. ) the title Pharaoh was employed as a reverential designation of the king. About the late twenty-first dynasty (tenth century B. C. ), however, instead of being used alone as before, it began to be added to the other titles before the king's name, and from the twenty-fifth dynasty (eighth to seventh centuries B. C. ) it was, at least in ordinary usage, the only title prefixed to the royal appellative. For instance, the first dated instance of the title Pharaoh being attached to a king's name occurs in Year 17 of Siamun on a fragment from the Karnak Priestly Annals. Neterkheperre or Netjerkheperre-setepenamun Siamun was the sixth Pharaoh of Egypt during the Twenty-first dynasty. The Karnak temple complex, universally known only as Karnak, describes a vast conglomeration of ruined temples chapels pylons and other buildings Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of Pharaoh Siamun. This new practise was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-first Dynasty kings. Meanwhile the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as Per'o continued in traditional Egyptian narratives.

The Biblical use of the term reflects Egyptian usage with fair accuracy. The early kings always are mentioned under the general title Pharaoh, or Pharaoh the King of Egypt; but personal names begin to appear with the twenty-second dynasty, although the older designation is still used, especially when contemporary rulers are spoken of. The absence of proper names in the first books of the Bible is no indication of the late date of their composition and of writer's vague knowledge of Egyptian history, rather to the contrary. The same is true of the use of the title Pharaoh for kings earlier than the eighteenth dynasty, which is quite in keeping with Egyptian usage at the time of the nineteenth dynasty.

Pharaohs in the Bible

The first king of Egypt mentioned by name in the Bible is Shishaq (probably Sheshonk I), the founder of the twenty-second dynasty and contemporary of Rehoboam and Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:40; 2 Chronicles 12:2 sqq. Shishak ( Hebrew: שישק Tiberian:) or Shishaq is the biblical Hebrew form of the first ancient Egyptian name of a Pharaoh mentioned Rehoboam ( Hebrew:רחבעם Rehav'am was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Judah, succeeding his father Solomon. Jeroboam (yarobh`am Hieroboam in the Septuagint; commonly held to have been derived from riyb and `am and signifying "the people contend" or "he pleads the The Books of Kings ( Sefer Melachim, ספר מלכים are a part of Judaism 's Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. The Books of Chronicles ( Hebrew Divrei Hayyamim, דברי הימים Greek Paraleipomêna) are part of the Hebrew Bible (Jewish ). The title pharaoh is prefixed to his name in the Great Dakhla stela—as in Pharaoh Shoshenq—which dates to Year 5 of his reign.

2 Kings 17:4 says that Hoshea sent letters to Pharaoh So perhaps identified with Osorkon IV, who was a minor pharaoh at Tanis who ruled over a divided Egypt. Osorkon IV was a ruler of Lower Egypt who was not a member of the Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt. He was contemporary with Tefnakht of Sais and Nimlot of Hermopolis among many other Egyptian rulers.

Taharqa, who was the opponent of Sennacherib, is called King of Ethiopia (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9), and hence is not given the title Pharaoh which he bears in Egyptian documents. Taharqa was pharaoh of Egypt, and a member of the Nubian or Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt. Sennacherib ( Akkadian Sîn-ahhe-eriba "(moon god Sîn has replaced (lost brothers for me" was the son of Sargon II, whom he

Last are two kings of the twenty-sixth dynasty: Necho II, who the Bible says defeated Josiah (2 Kings 23:29 sqq. Necho II (sometimes Nekau) was a king of the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt (610 BC - 595 BC and the son of Psammetichus I by his Great Royal Josiah or Yoshiyahu ( was king of Judah, and son of Amon and Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. ; 2 Chronicles 35:20 sqq. ), and Apries or Hophra, the contemporary of Sedecius (Jeremiah 44:30). Apries (Απριης is the name by which Herodotus (ii 161 and Diodorus (i Both are styled pharaoh in Egyptian records.

See also

• List of Pharaohs
• Egyptian chronology - Conventional Egyptian chronology
• History of Egypt
• Monarch
• Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
• Pharaoh of the Exodus

References

Bibliography

• Sir Alan Gardiner Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, Third Edition, Revised. Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner ( March 29 1879 Eltham - December 19 1963 Oxford) was one of the premier British London: Oxford University Press, 1964. Excursus A, pp. 71-76.
• Brier, Bob. PhD. History of ancient Egypt (Audio). The First Nation in History. The Learning Company. 2001.

Sources and external links

• "Pharao". Catholic Encyclopedia. The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company.  
• Rulers of Egypt - Archaeowiki.org
• Egyptian Royal Genealogy
• Digital Egypt for Universities
• Mummies of the Pharaohs at James M. Deem's Mummy Tombs site.

This article incorporates text from the entry Pharao in the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia