Pharaoh
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2008-07-16T08:03:17Z
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[[Image:Pharaoh.svg|thumb|The pharaoh is usually depicted wearing the Nemes headdress and an ornate kilt]]
'''Pharaoh''' is the title given in modern parlance to the ancient Egyptian kings of all periods. In antiquity it began to be used for the king, who was the religious and political leader of [[ancient Egypt]], during the [[New Kingdom]]. Meaning "Great House", it originally referred to the king's palace, but the meaning loosened over the course of Egyptian history until it became interchangeable with the traditional Egyptian word for king, ''nswt''. Although the rulers of Egypt were generally male, ''pharaoh'' was also used on the rare occasions when a female ruled. The pharaohs were believed to be the [[incarnation]]s of the god [[Horus]], the mythological ruler of all Egypt.<ref>''The Way to Eternity: Egyptian Myth'', F. Fleming & A. Lothian, 12, 59</ref>
==Etymology==
{{Hiero|pharaoh "''pr-`3''"<br>|<hiero>O1:O29</hiero>|align=left|era=egypt}}
The term ''pharaoh'' ultimately derives from a compound word represented as '''''pr-`3''''', used only in larger phrases like ''smr pr-`3'' 'Courtier of the High House', with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace itself.<ref>''Ancient Egyptian Grammar'' (3rd ed.), A. Gardiner (1957-) 71-76</ref> From the [[Twelfth dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]] onward the word appears in a wish formula 'Great House, may it [[Ankh wedja seneb|live, prosper, and be in health]]', but again only with reference to the royal palace and not the person.
The earliest instance where ''pr-`3'' is used specifically to address the king is in a letter to [[Amenhotep IV]] (Akhenaten) in the mid-[[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] (1550-1292 BC) which is addressed to 'Pharaoh, ''all [[Ankh wedja seneb|life, prosperity, and health!]]'.<ref>''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 [[Thutmose III]].</ref>
From the [[Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt|Nineteenth Dynasty]] onwards ''pr-`3'' on its own was used as regularly as ''hm.f'', 'His Majesty'. The term therefore evolved from a word specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the king or prince, particularly by the [[Twenty-second dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-Second Dynasty]] and [[Twenty-third dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-Third Dynasty]]. By this time, the [[Egyptian Language|Late Egyptian]] word is reconstructed to have been pronounced '''*{{IPA|par-ʕoʔ}}''' whence comes [[Ancient Greek]] {{unicode|φαραώ}} ''{{unicode|pharaō}}'' and then [[Late Latin]] ''{{unicode|pharaō}}''. From the latter, English obtained the word "Pharaoh". Over time, *{{IPA|par-ʕoʔ}} evolved into [[Coptic language|Sahidic Coptic]] ''prro'' {{coptic|ⲡⲣ̅ⲣⲟ}} and then ''rro'' (by mistaking ''p-'' as the definite article prefix "the" from Ancient Egyptian ''p3'').
A similar development, with a word originally denoting an attribute of the king eventually coming to refer to the person, can be discerned in a later period with the Arabic term [[Sultan]].
==Regalia==
{{Hiero/2cartouche|align=right|era=nk|name=Ramesses II|praenomen=<hiero>ra-wsr-mAat-ra*stp:n</hiero>|nomen=<hiero>i-mn:n:N36-ra:Z1-ms-s-sw</hiero>}}
The king of Egypt wore a [[pschent|double crown]], created from the [[Deshret|Red Crown]] of [[Lower Egypt]] and the [[Hedjet|White Crown]] of [[Upper Egypt]]. In certain situations, the pharaoh wore a [[Khepresh|blue crown]] of a different shape. All of these crowns typically were adorned by a [[uraeus]], which was doubled under the [[Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt|Twenty-Fifth Dynasty]].
The pharaoh also wore a striped headcloth called the ''[[nemes]]'', which may be the most familiar pharaonic headgear. The ''nemes'' was sometimes combined with the double crown, as it is on the statues of [[Ramesses II]] at [[Abu Simbel]].
The pharaoh would also wear a false beard made of [[goat]] hair during rituals and ceremonies.<ref>[http://www.egyptologyonline.com/pharaoh's_divine_power.htm The early dynastic and old kingdom periods - Pharaoh's divine power<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Egyptologist [[Bob Brier]] has noted that despite its widespread depiction in royal portraits, no ancient Egyptian crown ever has been discovered. [[Tutankhamun]]'s tomb, discovered largely intact, did contain such regal items as his [[crook]] and [[flail]], but not 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 which therefore had to be passed along to his living successor.
==Titles==
{{Unreferenced|date=June 2008}}
The official [[Ancient Egyptian royal titulary|titulary]] of the king by the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] consisted of five names;<ref>Ian Shaw, ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford University Press 2000, p. 477</ref> for some rulers, only one or two of them may be known.
Of the three great non-consort Queens of Egypt ([[Hatshepsut]], [[Sobeknefru]], and [[Twosret]]), at least Hatshepsut took the title pharaoh in the absence of an existing word for "[[Queen regnant]]". Also notable is [[Nefertiti]] who was made co-regent (the pharaoh's equal) during the reign of [[Akhenaten]].<ref>Ian Shaw, ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford University Press 2000, p. 271. Other scholars have their doubts concerning this co-regency. cf. Sally-Ann Ashton, ''The Last Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House'', Pearson/Longman 2003, p.9</ref> Some scholars further suspect that her disappearance coincides with the rise of [[Smenkhkare]] to the throne after Akhenaten's death, making Nefertiti yet another woman who became pharaoh in Egyptian history. Although not typical, there are instances of women who were pharaoh early in Egyptian history also and its last pharaoh was [[Cleopatra VII]]. The royal lineage was traced through its women and a pharaoh had to be from that lineage or married to one of them if coming from without the lineage. This was the reason for all of the intermarriages in the royal families of Egypt.
During the eighteenth dynasty (sixteenth to fourteenth centuries B.C.) the title Pharaoh was employed as a reverential designation of the king. About the late twenty-first dynasty (tenth century B.C.), however, instead of being used alone as before, it began to be added to the other titles before the king's name, and from the twenty-fifth dynasty (eighth to seventh centuries B.C.) it was, at least in ordinary usage, the only epithet prefixed to the royal appellative.<ref>"pharaoh." in ''Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite.'' Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref> For instance, the first dated instance of the title Pharaoh being attached to a king's name occurs in Year 17 of [[Siamun]] on a fragment from the [[Karnak]] Priestly Annals. Here, an induction of an individual to the Amun priesthood is dated specifically to the reign of '''Pharaoh Siamun'''. This new practice was continued under his successor Psusennes II and the twenty-first Dynasty kings. Meanwhile the old custom of referring to the sovereign simply as Per'o continued in traditional Egyptian narratives.
The Biblical use of the term reflects Egyptian usage with fair accuracy. The early kings always are mentioned under the general title ''Pharaoh'', or ''Pharaoh the King of Egypt''; but personal names begin to appear with the twenty-second dynasty, although the older designation is still used, especially when contemporary rulers are spoken of. The absence of proper names in the first books of the Bible is no indication of the late date of their composition and of writer's vague knowledge of Egyptian history, rather to the contrary. The same is true of the use of the title Pharaoh for kings earlier than the eighteenth dynasty, which is quite in keeping with Egyptian usage at the time of the nineteenth dynasty.
==Pharaohs in the Bible==
The first king of Egypt mentioned by name in the Bible is [[Shishaq]] (probably Sheshonk I), the founder of the twenty-second dynasty and contemporary of [[Rehoboam]] and [[Jeroboam]] (1 [[Books of Kings|Kings]] 11:40; 2 [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]] 12:2 sqq.). The title ''pharaoh'' is prefixed to his name in the Great Dakhla stela—as in Pharaoh Shoshenq—which dates to Year 5 of his reign.
2 Kings 17:4 says that Hoshea sent letters to 'So, King of Egypt', whose identification is still not certain. He has been identified with [[Osorkon IV]], who was a minor king at [[Tanis, Egypt|Tanis]] who ruled over a divided Egypt, with [[Tefnakht]] of [[Sais, Egypt|Sais]] and Pi'ankhy.<ref>Patterson, Richard D., "The Divided Monarchy: Sources, Approaches, and Historicity", pp 196-197, in David M. Howard & Michael A. Grisanti (eds), ''Giving the Sense: Understanding and Using Old Testament Historical Texts'', Kregel Academic & Professional, January 1 2004, ISBN 978-0825428920</ref>
[[Taharqa]], who was the opponent of [[Sennacherib]], is called King of Ethiopia (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9), and hence is not given the title Pharaoh which he bears in Egyptian documents.
Last are two kings of the twenty-sixth dynasty: [[Necho II]], who the Bible says defeated [[Josiah]] (2 Kings 23:29 sqq.; 2 Chronicles 35:20 sqq.), and [[Apries]] or Hophra, the contemporary of [[Sedecius]] (Jeremiah 44:30). Both are styled ''pharaoh'' in Egyptian records.
==See also==
*[[List of Pharaohs]]
*[[Egyptian chronology]] - [[Conventional Egyptian chronology]]
*[[History of Egypt]]
*[[Monarch]]
*[[Ancient Egyptian royal titulary]]
*[[Pharaoh of the Exodus]]
==References==
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==Bibliography==
*Sir [[Alan Gardiner]] ''Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs'', Third Edition, Revised. London: Oxford University Press, 1964. Excursus A, pp. 71-76.
*Brier, Bob. PhD. History of ancient Egypt (Audio). ''The First Nation in History''. The Learning Company. 2001.
==Sources and external links==
*{{CathEncy|title=Pharao|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11788c.htm}}
*[http://www.archaeowiki.org/Rulers_of_Egypt Rulers of Egypt] - Archaeowiki.org
*[http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Egypt/index.htm Egyptian Royal Genealogy]
*[http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/Welcome.html Digital Egypt for Universities]
*[http://www.mummytombs.com/egypt/pharaohmummies.htm Mummies of the Pharaohs] at James M. Deem's ''Mummy Tombs'' site.
*[http://www.philae.nu/akhet/Coron1.html The Coronation of Pharaoh]
{{Catholic|Pharao}}
{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Ancient Egyptians}}
[[Category:Ancient Egyptian titles]]
[[Category:Heads of state]]
[[Category:Royal titles]]
[[Category:Noble titles]]
[[Category:Pharaohs|*]]
[[Category:Positions of authority]]
[[Category:Torah monarchs]]
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