3rd Dynasty
Djoser
Known in his own time by his Horus name Netjerikhet, Djoser ruled from Memphis at the dawn of the Old Kingdom. His reign is remembered for one revolutionary idea: building for…
The kings
Pharaohs
Rulers who shaped three thousand years of history, in chronological order. Filter by era to follow the story.
4th Dynasty
Khufu
Son of Sneferu, the most prolific pyramid builder in Egyptian history, Khufu inherited both the know-how and the organisation to attempt something without precedent. The result…
4th Dynasty
Khafre
A son of Khufu, Khafre built the second pyramid on the Giza Plateau. It is slightly smaller than his father's; part of its original limestone casing survives near the summit.
4th Dynasty
Menkaure
Menkaure, a son of Khafre, built the third pyramid on the Giza Plateau. It is far smaller than the Great Pyramid, but its lowest sixteen courses were cased in granite, part of…
6th Dynasty
Pepi II
Pepi II became king as a young boy and ruled for more than six decades — Manetho credits him with 94 years. His letter to the explorer Harkhuf, preserved on the walls of Harkhuf's…
11th Dynasty
Mentuhotep II
A Theban ruler of the 11th Dynasty, Mentuhotep II completed the long war against the kings of Herakleopolis and reunited Egypt around 2055 BCE. Changes to his titles over his…
12th Dynasty
Senusret III
Senusret III campaigned repeatedly in Nubia and fixed Egypt's southern frontier at Semna with a boundary stela warning his successors not to give up an inch of it. A system of…
18th Dynasty
Thutmose III
Crowned as a child and overshadowed for two decades by his stepmother Hatshepsut, Thutmose III went on to become Egypt's greatest military king. His victory at Megiddo opened…
18th Dynasty
Hatshepsut
Daughter of Thutmose I and widow of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut acted as regent for her young stepson Thutmose III before taking the full titles of king. Her reign was prosperous and…
18th Dynasty
Akhenaten
Born Amenhotep IV, he changed his name to Akhenaten — "effective for the Aten" — and made the sun disc the centre of state religion. The temples of Amun were closed and the god's…
18th Dynasty
Tutankhamun
Born Tutankhaten, probably a son of Akhenaten, the young king changed his name to Tutankhamun as the court returned to Thebes and Memphis and the old gods were restored.
19th Dynasty
Ramesses II
The third king of the 19th Dynasty, Ramesses II outlived many of his children and became, in later memory, the model of what a pharaoh should be. Nine later kings took his name.
20th Dynasty
Ramesses III
Ramesses III fought off the migrating Sea Peoples in the eighth year of his reign, and his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu preserves the only large-scale depiction of a naval…
25th Dynasty
Taharqa
Taharqa was the most powerful of the Kushite pharaohs, whose kingdom stretched from the Mediterranean deep into modern Sudan. His reign began with prosperity and a celebrated high…
30th Dynasty
Nectanebo II
Nectanebo II came to power by deposing his uncle Teos and spent much of his reign preparing for a Persian invasion. At the same time he sponsored a remarkable wave of temple…