Egypt

This will be an unusual list, but then, Egypt is an unusual land. What follows is as accurate a rendering of every ruler I have a record of since the unification of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms. It is a very long list, for Egypt has been a civilized country almost longer than any other. The sheer weight of names is somewhat numbing, but contained within this huge roll-call of more than 575 individuals are some of the most famous, and infamous, rulers ever to have trod the stage of history. Browse through this list, therefore, and consider the 51 centuries that it speaks of...

Currently, this page is a as complete a record as I have of all 51 centuries of Egyptian history. Also included are Athribis-Heliopolis, Busiris, the Coptic Patriarchs of Alexandria, Selected Governors of later Egypt, the Hyksos, Leontopolis, Libu, Lower Egypt, Mendes, Naukratis, Pelusium, Pharbaithos, Sais, Sebennytos, Sinai, Thebes, Upper Egypt, and Xois.
EGYPT (General Survey) For notes on ancient Egyptian religion, click here.

For a listing of the Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria, click here.

THE CALIPHATE Here commences the long association of Egypt with the world of Islam. For a general survey of all the Caliphs, click here. To put this in a certain perspective, Pharaonic Egypt encompasses some 2575 years, or about 50% of Egyptian history. The Classical era, a time when Egypt was usually under foreign domination, lasted 1166 years, or close to 23%. Islamic Egypt has covered 1364 years as of this writing, somewhat over 26% of the total.

EGYPTIAN LOCAL STATES and RULERS...

ATHRIBIS AND HELIOPOLIS During the 22nd through 26th dynasties, the cities of Athribis and Heliopolis were under the control of a hereditary princedom, nominally subservient to the Pharaohs. They were located in the Upper Delta - Heliopolis was just north of modern Cairo, and Athribis was about 40 miles (65 km.) northwest of Heliopolis.



BUSIRIS (Pa-Ausari) A major cultic center for Osiris (the Egyptian name means "House of Osiris"); briefly an autonomous principality. It was located in the central Delta region, about 40 miles (65 km.) from the sea, and about 20 miles (33 km,) northwest of Leontopolis.


COPTIC PATRIARCHS OF ALEXANDRIA The Copts - the word is a Westernization of the Arabic al-Qibt, itself derived from the Greek Ægyptioi, = "an Egyptian" - as an identifiable ethnic group came into being when Arab Muslim residents began calling themselves al-Misri [Arabic for "Egyptian"], reserving "al-Qibti" for the indigenes (purely as an aside, the native Egyptian term for themselves is "Khem", from which the word "Chemistry" is derived). They are the largest Christian sect in Egypt, and have long been in conflict with the Orthodox community of that country. The Coptic Church split with Orthodoxy in the late 440's after the Fourth Ecumenical council declared Monophysitism, the doctrine that Jesus had  a single nature (as opposed to a human and a divine nature) was heresy. The Copts appointed their own patriarchs in Jerusalem, Antioch and elsewhere, but the most important patriarchate was that of Alexandria, which existed alongside the Orthodox patriarchate (rarely peacefully). Today the Coptic Patriarchs of Alexandria have the title of Pope and the Coptic church shares communion with other Monophysite churches, including the Jacobites of Syria, the Armenian church, and the Abyssinian Church of Ethiopia. It should be noted that in recent decades the Coptic and Orthodox communities have achieved a more careful understanding of the nature of the conflict between the two, with the result that the original Monophysite controversy has been nearly abandoned as a significant issue.
    There is a very real sense in which these people are the lineal heirs to the entire weight of ancient Egyptian heritage and culture; for although they are drastically outnumbered by their Muslim neighbours, the Coptic liturgical language (spoken in everyday life as late as the 17th century) is the directly evolved descendent of the ancient Egyptian language. Persecuted or heavily restricted for better than 1550 years, the Coptic community very gradually grew smaller, more insular, and less vital. Just in the last 45 years or so, they have undergone something of a renaissance, though. Pope Kyrillos VI decided that they needed to reach out or die, and so he encouraged the establishment of Coptic parishes around the world. The effort seems to have been successful, and now Coptic churches can be seen in many locales undreamt of in earlier ages. In each, part of the liturgy is devoted to prayers for the continued well-being of Egypt and of the Nile.

The list is the same as that of the Orthodox patriarchs of Alexandria until the schism of the late 440's.



GOVERNORS of EGYPT From late Classical times to nearly today, Egypt has often been within the sphere-of-influence of one great power or another. Here are lists associated with the provincial leaders in such eras...