Hakoris (Khnemma’atré) 393–380
Nephrites II 380Thirtieth Dynasty 380–343 B.C.E.
Nectanebo I (Kheperkaré) 380–362
Teos (Irma’atenré) 365–360
Nectanebo II (Senedjemibre’setepenahur) 360–343
Nakhthoreb c. 343
Thirty-first Dynasty (Second Persian Period)
343–332 B.C.E.
Artaxerxes III Ochus 343–338
Arses 338–336
Darius III Codoman 335–332
Period interrupted by a native ruler Khababash
(Senentanen-setepenptah)
GRECO-ROMAN PERIOD 332 B.C.E.–395 C.E.
Macedonian (Thirty-second) Dynasty 332–304 B.C.E.
Alexander III the Great 332–323
Philip III Arrhidaeus 323–316
Alexander IV 316–304
Ptolemaic Period 304–30 B.C.E.
Ptolemy I Soter 304–284
Ptolemy II Philadelphus 285–246
Ptolemy III Euergetes I 246–221
Ptolemy IV Philopator 221–205
Ptolemy V Epiphanes 205–180
Ptolemy VI Philometor 180–164, 163–145
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator 145
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon) 170–163,
145–116
Cleopatra (3) (Q.) and Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathy-
ros) 116–107, 88–81
Cleopatra (3) (Q.) and Ptolemy X Alexander I
107–88
Cleopatra Berenice (Q.) 81–80
Ptolemy XI Alexander II 80
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysius (Auletes) 80–58, 55–51
Berenice (4) (Q.) 58–55
Cleopatra VII (Q.) 51–30
Ptolemy XIII 51–47
Ptolemy XIV 47–44
Ptolemy XV Caesarion 44–30
dynasty histories These recounted the achievements
of the various royal lines throughout Egypt’s history. Each
dynasty faced difficulties and challenges, and some
remained strong and vibrant while others were consumed
by events of the eras or were faced with overwhelming
enemies. The destiny of Egypt rested in the hands of
these royal families, and most had a unique vision of the
nation as a “gift of the gods.” The following summarizes
the accomplishments of these royals of the Nile.
EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD (2920–2575 B.C.E.)
First Dynasty (2920–2770 B.C.E.)
The Predynastic warriors from Upper Egypt, SCORPION,
NARMER, and others, began the great campaigns to subdue
the areas of the Delta in lower Egypt as early as 3150
B.C.E. The process was slow and costly, as the people of
Lower Egypt had developed their own culture and had
fortified cities throughout the Delta. When AHA, the leg-
endary Menes, took the throne as the probable heir to
Narmer, the unification of the Two Kingdoms was well
advanced. Aha could rely on the support of many nomes,
or provinces, when he founded the capital city of MEM-
PHISand continued pacifying the clans that had stood
apart from the merging efforts.
His successors continued the campaigns aimed at
unification and began expeditions into the SINAIand the
surrounding deserts to claim the natural resources of the
area. These forays into the deserts led to confrontations
with the native BEDOUINtribes, and the Egyptians began
to amass military units to defend the mines and QUARRIES
that they acquired. The nome aristocrats responded to
the pharaoh’s call and marched at the head of troops from
their provinces. DEN, a ruler of the earliest historical peri-
ods, was depicted on an ivory label as smiting the Asiat-
ics, the dwellers in the easterndesert, also called the
Troglodytes.
In Egypt, the pharaohs of the first royal line erected
monuments and mortuary structures, demonstrating a
maturity in vision and form. The massive tombs at ABY-
DOS, startling architectural structures, decorated with
paneling that also distinguished the palace facades in
MEMPHIS, stand as silent portraits of a nation on the path
of a unique destiny on the Nile.
Second Dynasty (2770–2649 B.C.E.)
The rulers of this royal line had to continue to subdue
areas in the Nile Valley that resisted unification and the
authority of the pharaoh in Memphis, the White Walled
capital. Religious debates raged across Egypt as well, as
the various cults vied for the dominance and the status of
a particular deity. It is probable that actual confrontations
took place as the cults of SETand HORUScompeted for
dominance. The southerncity of HIERAKONPOLIS wit-
nessed royal mortuary complexes and perhaps even bat-
tles within its domain. Victory was hard won, but
KHA’SEKHEMWYappears to have defeated the last of the
rebel clans and returned to Memphis. He built his mortu-
ary complex not in SAQQARA, where earlier Second
Dynasty rulers had been laid to rest, but at ABYDOS.
As part of the religious expansion and cultic evolu-
tion, a number of theophanies, animal representations of
the gods, were introduced in shrines and temples. The
city of MENDESdisplayed its sacred ram. The APISbull was
at Memphis, and the MNEVIS bull achieved popularity.
Within the court and the nomes, a generation of trained
officials had Egypt’s administrative structures in place108 dynasty histories