Tag: kings list

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

British Museum King’s List

Something I was so excited to see in the British Museum was the Abydos King List.

There are two surviving King Lists from temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“ͺ at Abydos, the cult center of Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. One temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ is from Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠, and the other from his son Rameses II π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“, who were both pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ during the 19th Dynasty. Seti I’s 𓇳𓁦𓏠 list is still in the temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ at Abydos, while Rameses II’s π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ was excavated and brought to the British Museum.

While neither list is a 100% complete list, there are some glaring holes in the list – Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ, Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…žπ“π“ˆ–, Smenkhare π“‡³π“Šƒπ“‰»π“‚“π“‚¦π“†£, Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“, and Ay’s 𓇳𓆣𓆣π“ͺ𓁹𓐙𓏏 cartouches are missing. Obviously, these names were left off because these pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ are considered non-legitimate. Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was the female pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, and Akhenaten-Ay is considered the Amarna Period, which was not well liked due to the drama of Akhenaten changing the religion and moving the capital of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–.

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ, and as we know, pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ were considered gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 and Rameses II π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ of Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–.

In this picture, I’m pointing to where Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ name should be, but is missing due to the fact that she was purposefully left off the list!

You can see Thutmosis III’s the one name 𓇳𓏠𓆣, and then I’m pointing to the space next to his name. Why next to Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣? Even though Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 was technically named as pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 first, and since he was too young to rule (he came to the throne at as young as two years old according to some historians), Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ was his co-regent until she named herself the sole pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.

Here is a closer look at the King’s List – how stunning are these hieroglyphs?! I’m always so amazed that even after thousands of years, the colors on the monuments are still there!

On the left hand side, you can see the inscription π“†₯(π“‡³π“„Šπ“§π“‡³π“‰π“ˆ–). This is his prenomen, or Throne Name:

π“†₯ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt
π“‡³π“„Šπ“§π“‡³π“‰π“ˆ– – Usermaatre Setepenre, which means Keeper of Harmony and Balance, Chosen by Ra.

Next to that inscription, you can see the following: 𓅭𓇳 (π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“œπ“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“Šƒ).

𓅭𓇳 – Son of Ra
π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜π“œπ“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“Šƒ – Rameses, Beloved of Amun.

Here’s an even further breakdown of Rameses II’s Nomen:
π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ˜ – Beloved of Amun
π“œπ“Ίπ“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“Šƒ – can be translated multiple ways β€œBorn of Ra,” β€œRa bore him,” etc.