Kings and
Menes:
He was
the first king of Egypt. He founded the 1st dynasty. He had a son
called Djer. King Menes was the first to combine Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt
into one kingdom. He wore a combined crown consisted of a red and a white
crown; the red crown was the symbol of Lower Egypt, the white crown was the
symbol of Upper Egypt. In that time the Egyptian army attacked the Nubians in
the south. He was the one who founded the city of Memphis which was an island
in the Nile. No one knows how he died but the legend says that he was killed by
some crocodiles which attacked him. He died at age sixty three, and he was
buried in saqqara.
Snefru:
He was the first king of the 4th
dynasty. He attacked the Nubians and the Libyans. The Nubian campaign was more
effective as it brought many people and cattle. He built the Red pyramid, Bent
pyramid and the Maidum pyramid. He began trade between Egypt and the
Mediterranean nations. He sent forty ships to Lebanon to provide Egypt with
timber. In return an expedition to Lebanon came to Egypt with great amount of
cedar wood which was used in building ships and other constructions.
Khufu:
He was
also known as Cheops, he was the second king in the 4th dynasty, and
he was Snefru's son. He built the great pyramid in Giza which was 481 feet
tall. A small statue for that king was found at the temple of Osiris in Abydos.
He led campaigns into Sinai, Libya and Nubia. He had many sons; Djedefre who
was the oldest son, khafre who built his pyramid beside his father's pyramid.
Khafre's son who was Menkaure built the smallest pyramid at Giza.
Khafre:
He was also known as Chephren, he was the fourth king of the 4th
dynasty, and as we mentioned before he was Khufu's son, he was the one who
built the Chephren pyramid and the sphinx at Giza. He became the ruler after
the death of his half brother Djedefre. There is a statue of Khafre under the
protective shadow of a falcon in the Cairo museum.
Pepi I:
He was also known as Meryre, he was the first king of the 6th
dynasty. He became a king at a very young age and ruled for about 50 years.
There was a conspiracy against him by one of his wives but it failed. He sent
different expeditions which came back to Egypt with fine stones used in
construction projects. He built a pyramid but it didn't last for a long time.
Pepi II:
He was also known as Neferkare, he was the fifth king and the last one
of 6th dynasty. He was Pepi I's son. He became the ruler of Egypt at
six years old, and he ruled Egypt for 94 years. He sent expeditions to Punt and
Nubia. He built a pyramid in Saqqara but it didn't last. After he died the
central government collapsed and the old kingdom ended.
Mentuhotep I:
He was
also known as Nebhetepre. He was a king of the 11th dynasty, and he
ruled Egypt for 39 years. He had three titles; The first title was "He who
gives heart to the two lands", it was followed by "Lord of the white
crown" which meant that after being the ruler of all Egypt he became the
king of Upper Egypt only, the third title was "Uniter of the two
lands" which marked to the unification of Egypt as Mentuhotep defeated the
Herakleopolitans and that was the beginning of the middle kingdom. He fought
the Libyans in delta and the Asiatics in Sinai. He built a mortuary complex at
Deir El-Bahari, in which he and his wives were buried.
Amenemhet I:
He was also known as Sehetepibre. He was a king of 11th
dynasty, and he became the ruler after the death of Mentuhotep IV. He attacked
the Libyans and the Asiatics in Sinai. He built the wall of the prince to protect
the eastern borders, and he built a trading post in Nubia at Kerma. He named
the capital city which was between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt,
"Itj-Tawy" it meant the seizer of the two lands. He had a son called
Senusret.
Senusret I:
He was
also known as Sesostris I. He was the second king of 12th dynasty.
He worked as a co-regent with his father and he became the ruler after his
father's death, and he ruled Egypt for 34 years. He led different expeditions
to the south and to the oases. He built his pyramid at Lisht which was 1mile
south his father's pyramid. He built at Heliopolis two red granite obelisks.
When he died he was buried in his pyrmid at Lisht.
Senusret III:
He was also
known as Sesostris III. He is a king of the 12th dynasty. He was
described as a "Great Warrior". He built his pyramid at Dahshour, his
Statues were placed at the temple of Mentuhotep II at Deir El-Bahri. He also
built a temple to Mont, the god of war, at Medamud near Karnak. He attacked the
Nubians several times. He widened and repaired the canal which bypassed the
first cataract of the Nile. He built eight mud brick fortresses between Semna
and Buhen. He had to deal with his southern neighbours when he became the king.
And the old threat in the middle kingdom appeared once again which were the
Nomarchs, but Senusret was able to defeat them. He divided Egypt into three
administrative parts: North, south and north head.
Ahmose:
He was also known as Amosis I. He was considered the one who founded the
18th dynasty. He fought in the final battle between the Egyptians
and the Hyksos who stayed at the country for more than 100 years and chased
them outside the country in Palastine, and he defeated them. He started
campaigns to solidify the border in Syria to prevent any possible invasion from
Nubia. When he died he was buried near Dar Abu El-Naga in the Theben
necropolis.
Amenhotep I:
He was
also known as Amenophis I. He was the second king of 18th dynasty.
He was Ahmose's son. He went southward into Nubia, and he invaded Syria as far
as the Euphrates. He built extensively at Thebes, Luxor and Karnak; he built
complexes at the Karnak Temple in Thebes. He repaired many ancient temples
along the Nile. He was the first to build his tomb separate than his temple and
it was in Thebes. And after his death his military commander Thutmose took the
throne because Amenhotep's son died.
Hatshepsut:
She was
also known as Maatkare. She was the fifth ruler of 18th dynasty. She
was Thutmose I's daughter, and she married her half brother Thutmose II who had
a son called Thutmose III from another wife. When Thutmose II died his son
became the ruler but due to his young age Hatshepsut was appointed as a regent,
and they ruled together until she announced herself the Pharaoh. She built a
temple in Deir El-Bahari at Thebes, and she built two obelisks of red granite.
She made relief about her birth as the daughter of Amon. There was a threat of
revolt as Thutmose III grew old. There were no wars when she was a ruler but
she sent an expedition to the land of punt in search of the ivory, animals,
spices, gold and aromatic trees that Egyptians coveted. Hatshepsut disappeared
when Thutmose III led revolt. And after her death, Thutmose III destroyed her
shrines and statues and her mummy wasn't found.
Akhenaten:
He was called Amenhotep IV but he changed it to honor the god Aton. He
was a king of the 18th dynasty. He shared the throne with his father
Amenhotep III, but after his father's death he took the throne. He abandoned
polytheism to embrace monotheism; he believed that Aton was the only god and
that he was Aton's son. He named his new capital Akhetaton in honor of the god
Aton. The Aton cult ended with the death of Akhenaton.
Tutankhamen:
He was a king of 18th dynasty. He was the son in law of
Akhenaton. When he was the king, Aton was replaced by Amon, and he changed his
name Tutankhaton to Tutankhamen. His tomb was found in the Valley of the Tombs
near Luxor. He abandoned the capital Akhetaton and returned it to Thebes.
Ramses II:
He was
the third king of 19th dynasty. He was Seti I's son. When his father
died he became the king, and he began a series of campaigns against the
Syrians. He fought to regain the territory in western Asia and Africa that
Egypt had taken in 16th and 15th centuries. He fought
against the Hittites in a long war, and the main battle of this war was in
Kadesh in northern Syria and it ended by the victory of Ramses. However a
treaty was signed between them and Ramses married the daughter of the Hittites
king. He built the rock hewn temple of Abu Simbel, the great hypostyle hall in
the temple of Amon at El-Karnak, and the mortuary temple Ramasseum at Thebes.
Shabaka:
He began
the 25th dynasty. He was from Nubia. He had a sister called
Amunirdis, and she was called "God's wife of Amun" at Thebes. And he
had a brother called Piye who was the Kushite king, and he conquered Upper and
Lower Egypt. He started working in the second pylon in front of the Thutmose
III's temple at Medinet Habu. Kabasha ruled from Waset although his brother
chose to rule from Kush.
Nectanebo I:
He was
also known as Nakhtnebef. He was a king of the 30th dynasty. When
Achoris died he ousted Achoris's son and became the king. He restored temples
across Egypt, and he built a kiosk in Philae. When he was ruling Egypt was
attacked by a combined force of Persians and Greeks, the Egyptian army was able
to counterattack and drive the attack out. After his death his son Teos became
the king.