''For other uses, see Pharaoh (disambiguation)

Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ; Hebrew ; Ge'ez ፈርዖን Färʻon) is a title used to refer to the rulers of Egypt in the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic period.

Etymology

The term 'Pharaoh' is a Greek interpretation of the Egyptian word Per-aa literally meaning 'Great House', used in the Old Kingdom as part of phrases like 'smr per-Aa' literally meaning 'Courtier of the Great House', with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace itselfAncient Egyptian Grammar (3rd ed.), A. Gardiner (1957-) 71-76.From the Twelfth Dynasty onwards the word appears in a wish formula 'Great House, may it live, prosper and be in health', but only with reference to the buildings of the court rather than the king himself. The earliest certain instance where 'Per Aa' is used specifically to address the king is in a letter to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) in the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty (1539-1292 BC) which is addressed to 'Pharaoh, given life, prosperity and health, the Master'Hieratic Papyrus from Kahun and Gurob, F. LL. Griffith, 38, 17. Although see also Temples of Armant, R. Mond and O. Myers (1940), pl.93, 5 for an instance possibly dating from the reign of Tuthmoses III.. From the Nineteenth Dynasty onwards it is used as regularly as hm.f 'His Majesty'.

Therefore the term evolved from one specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the king, both specifically of the Twenty-Second Dynasty and Twenty-Third Dynasty.

Regalia and titles

The king of Egypt wore a double crown, created from the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Upper Egypt. It was adourned by a uraeus, which was doubled under the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

Egyptologist Bob Brier has noted that despite its widespread depiction in royal portraits, no actual ancient Egyptian crown has been discovered. Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered largely intact, did contain such regal items as his crook and flail, but did not contain 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 and, therefore, had to be passed along to his living successor.

The official titulary of the king by the New Kingdom consisted of five names; for some rulers, we know only one or two of them.

See also

• List of Pharaohs
• Egyptian chronology - Conventional Egyptian chronology
• History of Egypt
• Monarch
• Fivefold Titulary

References