Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country, tracing its heritage back to the 6th–4th millennia BCE. Considered a cradle of civilization.
Most Famous Rulers Of Ancient Egypt:
Highly regarded as divine deities in the ancient world, the Kings Of Egypt enjoyed absolute power and control over their Universe.
Amenhotep III
Amenhotep III or Amenophis ||| ruled for 38 years during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom. He is remembered most for the abundant crops that were produced during his reign. That is why he was worshipped as a fertility god. Rather than pursuing military conquests, Amenhotep III focused his administration on pursuing diplomatic relations, building monuments, and encouraging the arts. Egypt lived in peace under Amenhotep III. His son Akhenaten (discussed below) went on to become king.
Hatshepsut
The great female Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, Hatshepsut, assumed power after her husband and half-brother, Thutmose II died. His son, by a different wife, was too young to rule the country and Hatshepsut was assigned as co-regent. She insisted it was her right to rule based on her lineage and wore the symbols of The Pharaoh. Her reign lasted for nearly 20 years, from 1473 until 1458 BC. During this time, she accomplished various architectural projects and sent trade expeditions into Punt to bring back exotic goods. During her time, it was been nearly impossible for a woman to rule Egypt and even more rare to become a Pharaoh. However, overcoming all the challenges, she still became one of the kind rulers
Akhenaten
Akhenaten, at birth named Amenhotep IV, was the son of Amenhotep III. At the beginning of his rule, he commissioned a temple for the god Aten. In his fifth year, he built a new capital at Amarna and named it Akhetaten. At this point in time, he also changed his name to Akhenaten. He then went on to change the state religion, claiming that Aten, the god of the solar disc, was the only Egyptian god. This became the first monotheistic religion of the region. One of his wives, Nefertiti, is depicted making sacrifices in many artworks of the time. Akhenaten also contributed to the arts by promoting and encouraging realistic artwork, insisting that artists represent the royal family by their true characteristics. These characteristics included elongated necks and arms, bloated stomachs, and weak muscle definition. These physical attributes are thought to be symptoms of Marfan Syndrome.
Khufu
King Khufu ruled during the Old Kingdom, the second Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. His reign lasted from 2589 to 2566 BC. Perhaps his most well-known contribution to Egypt was the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, a monument that is still standing today. Researchers continue to speculate about how such a massive structure could have been built during that time. It incorporates 2.3 million stones, each weighing between 2 and 15 tons. He left such an impact on society, that approximately 2,000 years after his death some Egyptians created a cult to worship him as a god.
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Thutmose III was the son of Thutmose II, the husband of Hatshepsut. He had been too young to rule Egypt when his father died, leaving Hatshepsut as his regent and later pharaoh of the country. Thutmose III ruled from 1479 until 1425 BC and is sometimes referred to as the Napoleon of Ancient Egypt, because of his military intelligence. He is the first person in history to utilize the sea during war efforts against the Kingdoms of Phoenicia. During his reign, Egypt carried out 16 military campaigns, capturing around 350 cities. He is known for increasing the wealth of Egypt and for treating his captures fairly.
Ramses III is another one of the famous kings of Egypt. He was the second Pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty and is considered to be the last ruler with significant power. He ruled from 1187 until 1151 BC and during this time, Egypt began to lose its important role in the world. Rather than focus on construction projects, Ramses III reorganized existing temples and allocated them arable lands. At the time of his death, approximately 33% of agricultural lands belonged to the temples, leading to food shortages in the kingdom. When his workers were not paid, they organized a strike which was the first in recorded history. One of his wives and a number of his officials plotted an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Ramses III, hoping that the Queen’s son, Pentewere, would take the throne. They were found guilty and forced to commit suicide. Ramses IV, Ramses V, and Ramses VI, all his sons, went on to be the next 3 kings of Egypt. Overall, the reign of Ramses III was marked by problems and economic decline.
Djoser was an Old Kingdom pharaoh during the 3rd Dynasty. He led the kingdom through great architectural and agricultural advances as well as improving trade relationships. His reign is surrounded by legend, however. Stories claim that Egypt suffered a 7-year famine and Djoser built a temple to honor Khnum, the god that controlled the flow of the Nile River. Happy with his dedication, Khnum returned the water to the river, and the famine ended.
Ramses II
Ramses II is considered one of the most powerful kings of Egypt of the New Kingdom. He ruled during the 19th Dynasty from 1279 until 1213 BC. Some of his greatest accomplishments while in power were the great monuments he had built. In fact, during his reign, more structures were built than during any other pharaoh’s time. Ramses II is also famous for his military achievements which allowed him to recapture Egyptian territory that had been previously lost under Akhenaten. He was celebrated by the public and made into a god. He made it his mission to return Egypt to the religion it had practiced before becoming monotheistic.
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII is one of the most well-known of the ancient Egyptian rulers. She has been depicted in movies, plays, and books. She inherited her position after the death of her father, King Ptolemy XII. She did not, however, rule alone. Because of the laws prohibiting women from ruling the kingdom, she was forced to share her position first with her younger brother and later with her son. She claimed to be the Egyptian goddess Isis and later the Greek goddess Aphrodite, thus paying tribute to her Greek heritage. She came into rule during a time when the Roman Empire had control over the Egyptian Kingdom and demanded payment. In order to secure an alliance with the Roman Empire, Cleopatra VII formed relationships with Caesar and Mark Antony. She ruled until her death on August 12, 30 BC.
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun ruled during the 18th Dynasty, becoming pharaoh at the age of 9. He was pharaoh between 1332 and 1323 BC. He moved the capital to Thebes and returned Egyptian religion to a focus on Amun, a previously worshiped God, instead of Aten. His short rule left a very small impact on Egypt. Today, he is famous for the treasures found in his tomb during the 1920s. His tomb is also said to be cursed; dozens of people have died after coming into contact with it.
Roman Egypt: Egypt was established as a Roman province in consequence of the Battle of Actium, where Cleopatra as the last independent ruler of Egypt and her Roman ally Mark Antony was defeated by Octavian, the adopted heir of the assassinated Roman dictator Julius Caesar. Octavian then rose to supreme power with the title Augustus, ending the era of the Roman Republic and installing himself as Princeps, the so-called “leading citizen” of Rome who in fact acted as an autocratic ruler. Although senators continued to serve as governors of most other provinces (the senatorial provinces), especially those annexed under the Republic, the role of Egypt during the civil war with Antony and its strategic and economic importance prompted Augustus to ensure that no rival could secure Aegyptus as an asset. He thus established Egypt as an imperial province, to be governed by a prefect he appointed from men of the equestrian order.
Islamic Egypt:
1. The Rashidun Caliphs era (640–658)
2. Umayyad Caliphate era (659–750)
3. Abbasid Caliphate era (750–969)
4. The Tulunid Dynasty (868–905)
5. The Second Abbasid Period (905–935)
6. The Ikhshidid Dynasty (935–969)
7. Fatimid Caliphate (969–1171)
8. Ayyubid Sultanate (1171–1252)
9. Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517)
10. Burji Mamluks (1382–1517)
History of Ottoman Egypt: The Ottoman Empire’s governors of Egypt from 1517 to 1805 were at various times known by different but synonymous titles, among them beylerbey, viceroy, governor, the governor-general, or, more generally, wāli. Furthermore, the Ottoman sultans very often changed positions of their governors in rapid succession, leading to complex and long lists of incumbents (this being the main reason for a political crisis in 1623, where the local Ottoman soldiers successfully sued to keep Kara Mustafa Pasha as governor after his replacement by Çeşteci Ali Pasha after only one year).
Governors ruled from the Cairo Citadel in Cairo. They ruled along with their divan (governmental council), consisting of a kadı (judge) and defender (treasurer). The title “beylerbey” refers to the regular governors specifically appointed to the post by the Ottoman sultan, while the title “kaymakam”, when used in the context of Ottoman Egypt, refers to an acting governor who ruled over the province between the departure of the previous governor and the arrival of the next one. Although almost all governors were succeeded and preceded by a kaymakam due to the traveling distance from their old post to Egypt.
List of monarchs of the Muhammad Ali dynasty (1805–1953):
Ibrahim Pasha
Abbas Helmi I Pasha
Muhammad Sa’id Pasha
Isma’il Pasha
Muhammad Tawfiq Pasha
Abbas Helmi II Pasha
Sultan Hussein Kamel
Ahmed Fuad I
King Farouk I
King Ahmed Fuad II
Presidents of Modern Egypt: The first president of Egypt was Mohamed Naguib, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, who took office on 18 June 1953, the day on which Egypt was declared a republic. Since then the office has been held by five further people: Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Hosni Mubarak, Mohamed Morsi and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. In addition, Sufi Abu Taleb acted as president between Sadat’s assassination and the election of his successor, and Adly Mansour acted as president after Morsi’s overthrow in the 2013 coup d’état.
Following Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on 11 February 2011 in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the office was vacant, with the functions of head of state and head of government being discharged by the chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
Mohamed Morsi took office on 30 June 2012, after being elected by the presidential election held on 23–24 May and 16–17 June 2012. He was deposed by the Egyptian Armed Forces in a coup d’état on 3 July 2013, following massive protests calling for his resignation. He was succeeded by Adly Mansour, the head of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt, as Acting President. Mansour was sworn into office in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court on 4 July 2013.
Current President el-Sisi took office on 8 June 2014, after being elected by the presidential election held on 26–28 May 2014.
Book now for a great experience of Egypt Vacations and Egypt holiday packages to visit the amazing Giza pyramids tour & the Sphinx, as well as many places covered during Egypt day tours like Luxor day tours, and Aswan day tours like Abu Simbel Temple and all the wonders of the capital city through Cairo day tours and Cairo day tours from airport to learn all the mysteries about the culture, history, and religion in ancient Egypt.
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