9 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. B.C. ANCIENT EMPIRE. Dynasty I, from This, or Thinis. 4400. Menȧ, the first human. king of Egypt, founded Memphis, having turned aside the course of the Nile, and established a temple service there. 4366. Tetȧ, wrote a book on anatomy, and continued buildings at Memphis. 4266. Ḥesep-ti. Some papyri state that the 64th Chapter of the Book of the Dead was written in his time. Dynasty II, from Memphis.. 4133. Neter-baiu,* in whose reign an earthquake swallowed up many people at Bubastis. 4100. Kakau, in whose days the worship of Apis at Memphis, and that of Mnevis at Heliopolis, was continued. 4066. Ba-en-neter, in whose reign, according to John of Antioch, the Nile flowed with honey for eleven days. During the reign of this king the succession of females to the throne of Egypt was declared valid. 4000. Sent. Sepulchral stelæ of this king's priests are preserved at Oxford and at Gîzeh; see page 143. Dynasty III, from Memphis. Nefer-ka-Seker, in whose reign an eclipse appears to be mentioned. * Or B.C. Dynasty IV, from Memphis. 3766. Seneferu. Important contemporaneous monuments of this king exist. During his reign the copper mines of Wâdi Ma'arah were worked. 3733. Chufu (Cheops), who fought with the people of Sinai; he built the first pyramid of Gizeh. 3666. Cha-f-Ra (Chephren), the builder of the second pyramid at Gizeh. 3633. Men-kau-Ra (Mycerinus), the builder of the third pyramid at Gizeh. The fragments of his coffin are in the British Museum. Some copies of the Book of the Dead say that the 64th chapter of that work was compiled during the reign of this king. 'Dynasty V, from Elephantine. 3366. Teṭ-ka-Rā. The Precepts of Ptaḥ-hetep were written during the reign of this king. 3333. Unȧs, whose pyramid at Sakkârah was explored in 1881. Dynasty VI, from Memphis. 3266. Tetȧ, the builder of a pyramid at Sakkârah. 3233. Pepi-meri-Rã, the builder of a pyramid at Sakkârah. 3200. Mer-en-Rā. 3166. Nefer-ka-Rā. 3133 (?). Nit-ȧqert (Nitocris), "the beautiful woman with rosy cheeks.' Dynasties VII and VIII, from Memphis. Nefer-ka. Nefer-Seḥ.... Nefer-kau-Rā. Charthi. B. C. 3033. Nefer-ka-Rā. 3000. Nefer-ka-Rā-Nebi. 2966. Tet-ka-Rā-. . . . . 2933. Nefer-ka-Ra-Chenţu 2900. Mer-en-Heru. 2866. Se-nefer-ka-Rā. 2833. Ka-en-Rā. 2800. Nefer-ka-Ra-Tererl. 2766. Nefer-ka-Ra-Ḥeru. 2733. Nefer-ka-Rā Pepi Seneb. 2700. Nefer-ka-Rā-Ānnu. 2633. Nefer-kau-Rā. 2600. Nefer-kau-Ḥeru. 2533. Nefer-ȧri-ka-Rā.* Dynasty XI, from Diospolis, or Thebes. From the time of Nitocris to Amenemḥāt I. Egyptian history is nearly a blank. The names of a large number of kings who ruled during this period are known, but they cannot, at present, be arranged in exact chronological order. 2500. Se-anch-ka-Ra. This king is known to us through an inscription at Ḥamâmât, which states that he sent an expedition to the land of Punt; this shows that at that early date an active trade must have been carried on across the Arabian desert between Egypt and Arabia. The other kings of the XIth dynasty bore the names of Åntef-aa, Ån-åntef, Amentuf, An-āa, and Mentu-hetep. Se-anch-ka-Rā appears to have been the immediate predecessor of the XIIth dynasty. *These names are obtained from the TABLET OF ABYDOS; see pages 3, 272. B. C. MIDDLE EMPIRE. Dynasty XII, from Diospolis, or Thebes. 2466. Âmenemḥāt I. ascended the throne of Egypt after hard fighting; he conquered the Uaua, a Libyan tribe that lived near Korosko in Nubia, and wrote a series of instructions for his son Usertsen I. The story of Senehet was written during this reign. 2433. Usertsen I. made war against the tribes of Ethiopia; he erected granite obelisks and built largely at Heliopolis. 2400. Amenemḥāt II. Chnemu-hetep, son of Nehera, whose tomb is at Beni-hasân, lived during the reign of this king. 2366. Usertsen II. 2333. Usertsen III. 2300. Amenemḥāt III. During this king's reign special attention was paid to the rise of the Nile, and canals were dug and sluices made for irrigating the country; in this reign the famous Lake Moeris, in the district called by the Arabs El-Fayyûm,* was built. The rise of the Nile was marked on the rocks at Semneh, about thirty-five miles above the second cataract, and the inscriptions are visible to this day. 2266. Amenemḥāt IV. 2233 Dynasties XIII-XVII. The so-called Hyksos Period. According to Manetho these dynasties were as follows:Dynasty XIII, from Thebes, 60 kings in 453 years. Unfortunately there are no monuments whereby we can correct or modify these figures. The Hyksos appear to have made their way from the countries in and to the west of Mesopotamia into Egypt. They joined with their countrymen, who had already settled in the Delta, and were able to defeat the native kings; it is thought that their rule lasted 500 years, and that Joseph arrived in Egypt towards the end of this period. The principal Hyksos kings of the XVIth dynasty are Apepȧ I. and Apepå II.; Nubti and the native Egyptian princes ruled under them. Under Se-qenen-Rā, a Theban ruler of the XVIIth dynasty, a war broke out between the Egyptians and the Hyksos, which continued for many years, and resulted in the expulsion of the foreign rulers. B.C. Dynasty XVIII, from Thebes. 1700. Аāḥmes, who re-established the independence of Egypt. 1666. Amen-hetep (Amenophis) I. 1633. Teḥuti-mes (Thothmes) I. 1600. Hat-shepset, sister of Thothmes II. She sent an expedition to Punt. Teḥuti-mes (Thothmes) III. made victorious expeditions into Mesopotamia. He was one of the greatest kings that ever ruled over Egypt. 1566. Amen-hetep II. 1533. Teḥuti-mes IV. 1500. Åmen-hetep III. warred successfully in the lands to the south of Egypt and in Asia. He made it a custom to go into Mesopotamia to shoot lions, and, while there he married a sister and daughter of Tushratta, the king of Mitani, and a sister and a daughter of Kallimma-Sin, king of Karaduniyash; he afterwards made proposals of marriage for another daughter of this latter king called Sukharti. |