document_title: List of pharaohs

question_text: who was the first ever pharaoh in egypt

question_tokens: who was the first ever pharaoh in egypt

root

text: List of pharaohs

text: Ancient Egyptian king lists[edit]

text: Modern lists of pharaohs are based on historical records: Ancient Egyptian king lists and later histories, such as Manetho's Aegyptiaca, as well as archaeological evidence. Concerning ancient sources, Egyptologists and Historians alike call for caution about the credibility, exactitude and completeness of these sources, many of which were written long after the reigns they report.[2] An additional problem is that ancient king lists are often damaged, inconsistent with one another and/or selective.

tag: p

text: The following ancient king lists are known (along with the dynasty under which they were created)):[3]

text:
Den seal impressions (1st dynasty); found on a cylinder seal in Den's tomb. It lists all 1st dynasty kings from Narmer to Den by their Horus names.
Palermo stone (5th dynasty); carved on an olivin-basalt slab. Broken into pieces and thus today incomplete.
Giza King List (6th dynasty); painted with red, green and black ink on gypsum and cedar wood. Very selective.
South Saqqara Stone (6th dynasty); carved on a black basalt slab. Very selective.
Karnak King List (18th dynasty); carved on limestone. Very selective.
Abydos King List of Seti I (19th dynasty); carved on limestone. Very detailed, but omitting the First Intermediate Period.
Abydos King List of Ramses II (19th dynasty); carved on limestone. Very selective.
Saqqara King List (19th dynasty), carved on limestone. Very detailed, but omitting most kings of the 1st dynasty for unknown reasons.
Turin King List (19th dynasty); written with red and black ink on papyrus. Most possibly the most complete king list in history, today damaged.
Manetho's Aegyptiaca (Greek Period); possibly written on papyrus. The original writings are lost today and many anecdotes assigned to certain kings seem fictitious.

tag: ul

text: Predynastic period[edit]

text: Lower Egypt[edit]

text: Lower Egypt geographically consisted of the northern Nile and the Nile delta. The following list may not be complete:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Reign

Hsekiu / Seka
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[4]

Khayu
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[5]

Tiu / Teyew
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[6]

Thesh / Tjesh
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[7]

Neheb
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[8]

Wazner
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[9]
Ruled around or earlier than 3100 B.C.

Mekh
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[10]

(destroyed)
-
Only known from the Palermo stone[10]

Double Falcon

May also have ruled in Upper Egypt
Naqada III

tag: table

text: Upper Egypt[edit]

text: Regrouped here are predynastic rulers of Upper Egypt belonging to the late Naqada III period, sometimes informally described as Dynasty 00.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Reign

Elephant[11]

-
Naqada III

Bull
-
-
Naqada III

Scorpion I
-
-
Naqada III

text: Early Dynastic Period[edit]

text: Predynastic rulers: Dynasty 0[edit]

text: The following list of predynastic rulers may be incomplete. Since these kings precede the First Dynasty, they have been informally grouped as "Dynasty 0".

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Iry-Hor

Correct chronological position unclear.[12]
c. 3150 BC

Crocodile

Potentially read Shendjw; identity and existence are disputed.[13]
c. 3150 BC

Ka

Maybe read Sekhen rather than Ka. Correct chronological position unclear.[14]
c. 3150 BC

Scorpion II

Potentially read Serqet; possibly the same person as Narmer.[15]
c. 3150 BC

text: First Dynasty[edit]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Narmer

Believed to be the same person as Menes and to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt.
c. 3100 BC

Hor-Aha

Greek form: Athotís.
c. 3050 BC

Djer

Greek form: Uenéphes (after his Gold name In-nebw); His name and titulary appear on the Palermo Stone. His tomb was later thought to be the legendary tomb of Osiris.
54 years[16]

Djet

Greek form: Usapháis.
10 years[17]

Den

Greek form: Kénkenes (after the ramesside diction of his birthname: Qenqen[18]). First pharaoh depicted wearing the double crown of Egypt, first pharaoh with a full niswt bity-name.
42 years[17]

Anedjib

Greek form: Miebidós. Known for his ominous nebwy-title.[19]
10 years

Semerkhet

Greek form: Semempsés. First Egyptian ruler with a fully developed Nebty name. His complete reign is preserved on the Cairo stone.
8½ years[17]

Qa'a

Greek form: Bienéches. Ruled very long, his tomb is the last one with subsidiary tombs.
34 years

Sneferka

Very short reign, correct chronological position unknown.
c. 2900 BC

Horus Bird

Very short reign, correct chronological position unknown.
c. 2900 BC

text: Second Dynasty[edit]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Hotepsekhemwy[20]

Manetho names him Boëthos and claims that under this ruler an earthquake killed many people.
15 years

Nebra[21]

Greek form: Kaíechós (after the ramesside cartouche name Kakaw). First ruler who uses the sun-symbol in his royal name, could be identical to king Weneg.
14 years

Nynetjer[22]

Greek form: Binóthris. May have divided Egypt between his successors, allegedly allowed women to rule like pharaohs.
43–45 years

Weneg-Nebty[23]

Greek form: Ougotlas/Tlás. Could be an independent ruler or the same as Peribsen, Sekhemib-Perenmaat or Raneb.
Around 2740 B.C.

Senedj[24]

Greek form: Sethenes. Possibly the same person as Peribsen. This, however, is highly disputed.[25]
47 years (Supposedly)

Seth-Peribsen

Used a Seth-animal above his serekh rather than an Horus falcon. He promoted the sun-cult in Egypt and reduced the powers of officials, nomarchs and palatines. Some scholars believe that he ruled over a divided Egypt.[26]
c.2890-2686 B.C.

Sekhemib-Perenmaat

Could be the same person as Seth-Peribsen.[27]

Neferkara I

Greek form: Néphercherés. Known only from ramesside king lists, not archaeologically attested.

Neferkasokar

Greek form: Sesóchris. Known only from ramesside king lists, not archaeologically attested. Old Kingdom legends claim that this ruler saved Egypt from a long lasting drought.[28]

Hudjefa I

Known only from ramesside king lists, his "name" is actually a paraphrase pointing out that the original name of the king was already lost in ramesside times.

Khasekhem(wy)[29][30]

Greek form: Chenerés. May have reunified Egypt after a period of trouble, his serekh name is unique for presenting both Horus and Set.

text: Old Kingdom[edit]

text: Third Dynasty[edit]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Djoser[31][32]

Greek form: Tosórthros. Commissioned the first Pyramid in Egypt, created by chief architect and scribe Imhotep.
19 or 28 years c. 2670 BC.

Sekhemkhet[33]

Greek form: Tyréis (after the ramesside cartouche name for Sekhemkhet, Teti). In the necropolis of his unfinished step pyramid, the remains of a 2-year old infant were found.[34]
2649–2643

Sanakht

Greek form: Necheróphes. Could be the same as Nebka, this is disputed amongst scholars.
c. 2650

Khaba

Possibly built an unfinished step pyramid, could be identical with Huni.
2643–2637

Huni[35]

Greek form: Áches. Could be the same as Qahedjet or Khaba. Possibly built an unfinished step pyramid and several cultic pyramids throughout Egypt. Huni was for a long time credited with the building of the pyramid of Meidum. This, however, is disproved by New Kingdom graffitos which praise king Snofru, not Huni.
2637–2613

text: Fourth Dynasty[edit]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Sneferu

Greek form: Sóris. Reigned 48 years, giving him enough time to build the Meidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid. Some scholars believe that he was buried in the Red Pyramid. Long time it was thought that the Meidum Pyramid was not Snofru's work, but that of king Huni. Ancient Egyptian documents describe Snofru as a pious, generous and even accostable ruler.[36]

2613–2589 BC

Khufu

Greek form: Cheops and Suphis. Built the Great pyramid of Giza. Khufu is depicted as a cruel tyrant by ancient Greek authors, Ancient Egyptian sources however describe him as a generous and pious ruler. He is the main protagonist of the famous Westcar Papyrus. The first imprinted papyri originate from Khufu's reign, which may have made ancient Greek authors believe that Khufu wrote books in attempt to praise the gods.

2589–2566 BC

Djedefre

Greek form: Rátoises. Some scholars believe he created the Great Sphinx of Giza as a monument for his deceased father. He also created a pyramid at Abu Rawash. However, this pyramid is no longer intact as it is believed the Romans recycled the materials it was made from.

2566–2558 BC

Khafre

Greek form: Chéphren and Suphis II. His pyramid is the second largest in Giza. Some scholars prefer him as the creator of the Great Sphinx before Djedefra. Ancient Greek authors describe Khafra as likewise cruel as Khufu.

2558–2532 BC

Baka/Bauefrê

Greek form: Bikheris. Could be the owner of the Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan.

Menkaure

Greek form: Menchéres. His pyramid is the third and smallest in Giza. A legend claims that his only daughter died due an illness and Menkaura buried her in a golden coffin in shape of a cow.

2532–2503 BC

Shepseskaf

Greek form: Seberchéres. Owner of the Mastabat el-Fara'un.

2503–2498 BC

Thamphthis
–
According to Manetho the last king of the 4th dynasty. He is not archaeologically attested and thus possibly fictional.
—

text: Fifth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Fifth Dynasty ruled from 2498 to 2345 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Userkaf

Buried in a pyramid in Saqqara. Built the first solar temple at Abusir.

2498–2491 BC

Sahure

Moved the royal necropolis to Abusir, where he built his pyramid.

2490–2477 BC

Neferirkare Kakai

Son of Sahure, born with the name Ranefer

2477–2467 BC

Neferefre

Son of Neferirkare

2460–2458 BC

Shepseskare

Reigned most likely after Neferefre and for only a few months, possibly a son of Sahure.[37]

Few months

Nyuserre Ini

Brother to Neferefre, built extensively in the Abusir necropolis.

2445–2422 BC

Menkauhor Kaiu

Last pharaoh to build a sun temple

2422–2414 BC

Djedkare Isesi

Effected comprehensive reforms of the Egyptian administration. Enjoyed the longest reign of his dynasty, with likely more than 35 years on the throne.

2414–2375 BC

Unas

The Pyramid of Unas is inscribed with the earliest instance of the pyramid texts

2375–2345 BC

text: Sixth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Sixth Dynasty ruled from 2345 to 2181 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Teti

According to Manetho, he was murdered.

2345–2333 BC

Userkare

Reigned 1 to 5 years, may have usurped the throne at the expense of Teti

2333–2332 BC

Meryre Pepi I

—

2332–2283 BC

Merenre Nemtyemsaf I

—

2283–2278 BC

Neferkare Pepi II

Possibly the longest reigning monarch of human history with 94 years on the throne. Alternatively, may have reigned "only" 64 years.

2278–2184 BC

Neferka

Only mentioned in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Reigned during Pepi II; was possibly his son or co-ruler.

2200–2199 BC

Merenre Nemtyemsaf II[38]

Short lived pharaoh, possibly an aged son of Pepi II.

1 year and 1 month c. 2184 BC

Neitiqerty Siptah

Identical with Netjerkare. This male king gave rise to the legendary queen Nitocris of Herodotus and Manetho.[39] Sometimes classified as the first king of the combined 7th/8th Dynasties.
Short reign: c. 2184–2181 BC

text: First Intermediate Period[edit]

text: The First Intermediate Period (2181–2060 BC) is a period of disarray and chaos between the end of the Old Kingdom and the advent of the Middle Kingdom.

text: The Old Kingdom rapidly collapsed after the death of Pepi II. He had reigned for more than 64 and likely up to 94 years, longer than any monarch in history. The latter years of his reign were marked by inefficiency because of his advanced age. The union of the Two Kingdoms fell apart and regional leaders had to cope with the resulting famine.

text: The kings of the 7th and 8th Dynasties, who represented the successors of the 6th Dynasty, tried to hold onto some power in Memphis but owed much of it to powerful nomarchs. After 20 to 45 years, they were overthrown by a new line of pharaohs based in Herakleopolis Magna. Some time after these events, a rival line based at Thebes revolted against their nomial Northern overlords and united Upper Egypt. Around 2055 BC, Mentuhotep II, the son and successor of pharaoh Intef III defeated the Herakleopolitan pharaohs and reunited the Two Lands, thereby starting the Middle Kingdom.

text: Seventh and Eighth Dynasties (combined)[edit]

text: The Seventh and Eighth Dynasties ruled for approximately 20–45 years. They comprise numerous ephemeral kings reigning from Memphis over a possibly divided Egypt and, in any case, holding only limited power owing to the effectively feudal system into which the administration had evolved. The list below is based on the Abydos King List dating to the reign of Seti I and taken from Jürgen von Beckerath's Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen[40] as well as from Kim Ryholt's latest reconstruction of the Turin canon, another king list dating to the Ramesside Era.[41]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Menkare

Likely attested by a relief fragment from the tomb of queen Neit.[42][43][44]

Neferkare II

Neferkare (III) Neby

Attested by inscriptions in the tomb of his mother Ankhesenpepi, started the construction of a pyramid in Saqqara.

Djedkare Shemai

Neferkare (IV) Khendu

Merenhor

Neferkamin

Nikare

Possibly attested by a cylinder-seal.

Neferkare (V) Tereru

Neferkahor

Attested by a cylinder seal.

Neferkare (VI) Pepiseneb

Neferkamin Anu

Qakare Ibi

Built a pyramid at Saqqara inscribed with the last known instance of the Pyramid Texts
2169–2167 BC

Neferkaure

Attested by one to three decrees from the temple of Min at Coptos.
2167–2163 BC

Neferkauhor Khuwihapi

Attested by eight decrees from the temple of Min and an inscription in the tomb of Shemay.
2163–2161 BC

Neferirkare

Possibly to be identified with horus Demedjibtawy, in which case he is attested by a decree from the temple of Min.
2161–2160 BC

text: Ninth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Ninth Dynasty[45] ruled from 2160 to 2130 BC. The Turin King List has 18 kings reigning in the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties. Of these, twelve names are missing and four are partial.[45]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Meryibre Khety I (Acthoes I)

Manetho states that Achthoes founded this dynasty.
2160–?

—

-
 ?

Neferkare VII

-
 ?

Nebkaure Khety II (Acthoes II)

-
 ?

Senenh— or Setut

-
 ?

—

-
 ?

Mery—

-
 ?

Shed—

-
 ?

H—

-
 ?

text: Tenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Tenth Dynasty was a local group that held sway over Lower Egypt that ruled from 2130 to 2040 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Meryhathor

—
2130–?

Neferkare VIII

—
 ?

Wahkare Khety (Acthoes III)

—
 ?

Merykare

—
 ?–2040

text: Eleventh Dynasty[edit]

text: The Eleventh Dynasty was a local group with roots in Upper Egypt that ruled from 2134 to 1991 BC. The 11th dynasty originated from a dynasty of Theban nomarchs serving kings of the 8th, 9th or 10th dynasty.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Intef the Elder Iry-pat

Theban nomarch serving an unnamed king, later considered a founding figure of the 11th Dynasty.
—

text: The successors of Intef the Elder, starting with Mentuhotep I, became independent from their northern overlords and eventually conquered Egypt under Mentuhotep II.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Mentuhotep I Tepy-a

Nominally a Theban nomarch but may have ruled independently.

?–2134 BC

Sehertawy Intef I

First member of the dynasty to claim a Horus name.

2134–2117 BC

Wahankh Intef II

Conquered Abydos and its nome.

2117–2069 BC

Nakhtnebtepnefer Intef III

Conquered Asyut and possibly moved further North up to the 17th nome.[46]

2069–2060 BC

text: Middle Kingdom[edit]

text: The Middle Kingdom (2060–1802 BC) is the period from the end of the First Intermediate Period to the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. In addition to the Twelfth Dynasty, some scholars include the Eleventh, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties in the Middle Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom can be noted for the expansion of trade outside of the kingdom that occurred during this time. This opening of trade eventually led to the downfall of the Middle Kingdom, induced by an invasion from the Hyksos.

text: Eleventh Dynasty continued[edit]

text: The second part of the Eleventh Dynasty is considered to be part of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II[47]

Gained all Egypt c. 2015 BC, Middle Kingdom begins.

2060–2010 BC

Sankhkare Mentuhotep III[48]

Commanded the first expedition to Punt of the Middle Kingdom

2010–1998 BC

Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV[49]

Obscure pharaoh absent from later king lists; tomb unknown. May have been overthrown by his vizier and successor Amenemhat I.

1997–1991 BC

text: Enigmatic kings, only attested in Lower Nubia[edit]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Segerseni[50]

Obscure pharaoh absent from later king lists; tomb unknown. Only attested in Lower Nubia, most likely an usurper at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty or early Twelfth Dynasty.

Qakare Ini[50]

Obscure pharaoh absent from later king lists; tomb unknown. Only attested in Lower Nubia, most likely an usurper at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty or early Twelfth Dynasty.

Iyibkhentre[50]

Obscure pharaoh absent from later king lists; tomb unknown. Only attested in Lower Nubia, most likely an usurper at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty or early Twelfth Dynasty.

text: Twelfth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twelfth Dynasty ruled from 1991 to 1802 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Sehetepibre Amenemhat I[51][52]

Seized power after overthrowing Mentuhotep IV. Died assassinated.

1991–1962 BC

Kheperkare Senusret I[53] (Sesostris I)

Built the White Chapel

1971–1926 BC

Nubkaure Amenemhat II[54]

—

1929–1895 BC

Khakheperre Senusret II[55] (Sesostris II)

—

1897–1878 BC

Khakaure Senusret III[56] (Sesostris III)

Most powerful of the Middle Kingdom pharaohs.

1878–1860 BC

Nimaatre Amenemhat III[57]

—

1860–1815 BC

Maakherure Amenemhat IV[58]

Had a co-regency lasting at least 1 year based on an inscription at Konosso.

1815–1807 BC

Sobekkare Sobekneferu[59]

A rare female ruler.

1807–1802 BC

Seankhibtawy Seankhibra

Enigmatic king of the Twelfth Dynasty. He was either a usurper or identical with one of the first three kings of the Dynasty.

text: Second Intermediate Period[edit]

text: The Second Intermediate Period (1802–1550 BC) is a period of disarray between the end of the Middle Kingdom, and the start of the New Kingdom. It is best known as when the Hyksos, whose reign comprised the Fifteenth, made their appearance in Egypt.

text: The Thirteenth Dynasty was much weaker than the Twelfth Dynasty, and was unable to hold onto the two lands of Egypt. Either at the start of the dynasty, c. 1805 BC or toward the middle of it in c. 1710 BC, the provincial ruling family in Xois, located in the marshes of the eastern Delta, broke away from the central authority to form the Canaanite Fourteenth Dynasty.

text: The Hyksos made their first appearance during the reign of Sobekhotep IV, and around 1720 BC took control of the town of Avaris (the modern Tell el-Dab'a/Khata'na), conquering the kingdom of the 14th dynasty. Then, some time around 1650 BC the Hyksos, perhaps led by Salitis the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty, conquered Memphis, thereby terminating the 13th dynasty. The power vacuum in Upper Egypt resulting from the collapse of the 13th dynasty allowed the 16th dynasty to declare its independence in Thebes, only to be overrun by the Hyksos kings shortly thereafter.

text: Subsequently, as the Hyksos withdrew from Upper Egypt, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes set itself up as the Seventeenth Dynasty. This dynasty eventually drove the Hyksos back into Asia under Seqenenre Tao, Kamose and finally Ahmose, first pharaoh of the New Kingdom.

text: Thirteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Thirteenth Dynasty (following the Turin King List) ruled from 1802 to around 1649 BC and lasted 153 or 154 years according to Manetho. This table should be contrasted with Known kings of the 13th Dynasty.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep I

Founded the 13th Dynasty. His reign is well attested. Referred to as Sobekhotep I in dominant hypothesis, known as Sobekhotep II in older studies
1802–1800 BC[60]

Sonbef

Perhaps a brother of Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep and son of Amenemhat IV[60]
1800–1796 BC[60]

Nerikare

1796 BC

Sekhemkare Amenemhat V

Ruled for 3 to 4 years[60]
1796–1793 BC[60]

Ameny Qemau

Buried in his pyramid in south Dashur
1795–1792 BC

Hotepibre Qemau Siharnedjheritef

Also called Sehotepibre
1792–1790 BC

Iufni

Only attested on the Turin canon
Very short reign, possibly c. 1790 – 1788 BC[60]

Seankhibre Amenemhet VI

—
1788–1785 BC

Semenkare Nebnuni

—
1785–1783 BC[60] or 1739 BC[61]

Sehetepibre Sewesekhtawy

—
1783–1781 BC[60]

Sewadjkare

Known only from the Turin canon

Nedjemibre

Known only from the Turin canon
7 months, 1780 BC[60] or 1736 BC[61]

Khaankhre Sobekhotep

Referred to as Sobekhotep II in dominant hypothesis, known as Sobekhotep I in older studies
Reigned c. 3 years, 1780–1777 BC[60]

Renseneb

4 months
1777 BC[60]

Awybre Hor I

Famous for his intact tomb treasure and Ka statue
Reigned 1 year and 6 months, 1777–1775 BC[60]

Sekhemrekhutawy Khabaw

Possibly a son of Hor Awibre
Estimated reign 3 years, 1775–1772 BC[60]

Djedkheperew

Possibly a son of Hor Awibre and brother of Khabaw, previously identified with Khendjer
Estimated reign 2 years, 1772–1770 BC[60]

Sebkay

Possibly two kings, Seb and his son Kay.[60]

Sedjefakare

A well known king attested on numerous stelas and other documents.
5 to 7 years or 3 years, 1769–1766 BC[60]

Khutawyre Wegaf

Founder of the dynasty in old studies
c. 1767 BC

Khendjer

Possibly the first semitic pharaoh, built a pyramid at Saqqara
Minimum 4 years and 3 months c. 1765 BC

Imyremeshaw

Attested by two colossal statues
Reigned less than 10 years, starting 1759 BC[60] or 1711 BC.[62]

Sehetepkare Intef IV

—
 ?

Seth Meribre

—
 ?

Sekhemresewadjtawy Sobekhotep III

4 years and 2 months
c. 1755–1751 BC

Khasekhemre Neferhotep I

11 years
1751–1740 BC

Menwadjre Sihathor

Ephemeral coregent with his brother Neferhotep I, may not have reigned independently.
1739 BC[60]

Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV

10 or 11 years
1740–1730 BC

Merhotepre Sobekhotep V

—
c. 1730 BC

Khahotepre Sobekhotep VI

4 years 8 months and 29 days
c. 1725 BC

Wahibre Ibiau

10 years and 8 months
1725–1714 BC or 1712–1701 BC[60]

Merneferre Ay I

Longest reigning king of the dynasty
23 years, 8 months and 18 days, 1701–1677 BC[60] or 1714–1691 BC

Merhotepre Ini

Possibly a son of his predecessor
2 Years 3 or 4 Months and 9 days, 1677–1675 BC[60] or 1691–1689 BC

Sankhenre Sewadjtu

Attested only on the Turin canon
3 years and 2–4 months, 1675–1672 BC[60]

Mersekhemre Ined

May be the same person as Neferhotep II
3 years, 1672–1669 BC[60]

Sewadjkare Hori

5 years
 ?

Merkawre Sobekhotep VII

2 years and 6 months [60]
1664–1663 BC[60]

Seven kings

Names lost in a lacuna of the Turin canon [60]
1663 BC –?[60]

Mer[…]re

—
 ?

Merkheperre

—
Some time between 1663 BC and 1649 BC [60]

Merkare

Attested only on the Turin canon
Some time between 1663 BC and 1649 BC [60]

Name lost

—
 ?

Sewadjare Mentuhotep V

—
c. 1655 BC[60]

[…]mosre

—
 ?

Ibi […]maatre

—
 ?

Hor[…] […]webenre

—
 ?

Se...kare

 ?
 ?

Seheqenre Sankhptahi

May be the son of his predecessor
 ?

...re

 ?
 ?

Se...enre

 ?
 ?–1649 BC [60]

text: The position of the following kings is uncertain:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Dedumose I

Possibly a king of the 16th dynasty
c. 1654

Dedumose II

Possibly a king of the 16th dynasty
 ?

Sewahenre Senebmiu

Late 13th dynasty.
After 1660 BC.[60]

Snaaib

Possibly a king of the Abydos Dynasty
 ?

Mershepsesre Ini II

Late 13th dynasty.
 ?

text: Fourteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Fourteenth Dynasty was a local group from the eastern Delta, based at Avaris,[63] that ruled from either from 1805 BC or c. 1710 BC until around 1650 BC. The dynasty comprised many rulers with West Semitic names and is thus believed to have been Canaanite in origin. It is here given as per Ryholt, however this reconstruction of the dynasty is heavily debated with the position of the five kings preceding Nehesy highly disputed.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Yakbim Sekhaenre

Chronological position uncertain, here given as per Ryholt[63]
1805–1780 BC

Ya'ammu Nubwoserre

Chronological position uncertain, here given as per Ryholt[63]
1780–1770 BC

Qareh Khawoserre[63]

Chronological position uncertain, here given as per Ryholt[63]
1770–1760 BC

'Ammu Ahotepre[63]

Chronological position uncertain, here given as per Ryholt[63]
1760–1745 BC

Sheshi[64]

Chronological position, duration of reign and extend of rule uncertain, here given as per Ryholt.[63] Alternatively, he could be an early Hyksos king, a Hyksos ruler of the second part of the 15th Dynasty or a vassal of the Hyksos.
1745–1705 BC

Nehesy

Short reign, perhaps a son of Sheshi [63]
c. 1705

Khakherewre

-
 ?

Nebefawre

-
c. 1704

Sehebre

Possibly identifiable with Wazad or Sheneh[60]
-

Merdjefare

Possibly identifiable with Wazad or Sheneh[60]
c. 1699

Sewadjkare III

-
 ?

Nebdjefare

-
c. 1694

Webenre

-
 ?

—

-
 ?

Djefare?

-
 ?

Webenre

c. 1690

Nebsenre[63]

Attested by a jar bearing his prenomen
At least 5 months of reign, some time between 1690 BC and 1649 BC

Sekheperenre[63]

Attested by a single scarab seal
2 months, some time between 1690 BC and 1649 BC

Anati Djedkare[63]

Only known from the Turin canon

Bebnum[63]

Only known from the Turin canon

'Apepi[63]

Possibly attested as a king's son by 5 scarabs-seals

text: The position and identity of the following pharaohs is uncertain:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Nuya[60]

Attested by a scarab-seal

Wazad[60]

May be identifiable with Sehebre or Merdjefare
c. 1700 BC ?

Sheneh[60]

May be identifiable with Sehebre or Merdjefare

Shenshek[60]

Attested by a scarab-seal

Khamure[60]

Yakareb[60]

Yaqub-Har[64]

May belong to the 14th dynasty, the 15th dynasty or be a vassal of the Hyksos.
17th–16th centuries BC

text: The Turin King List provides additional names, none of which are attested beyond the list.

text: Fifteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Fifteenth Dynasty arose from among the Hyksos people who emerged from the Fertile Crescent to establish a short-lived governance over much of the Nile region, and ruled from 1674 to 1535 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Semqen

Chronological position uncertain.
1649 BC – ?

'Aper-'Anat

Chronological position uncertain.

Sakir-Har

-
 ?

Khyan

Apex of the Hyksos' power, conquered Thebes toward the end of his reign
30–40 years

Apepi

-
40 years or more

Khamudi

-
1555–1544

text: Abydos Dynasty[edit]

text: The Second Intermediate Period may include an independent dynasty reigning over Abydos from c. 1650 BC until 1600 BC.[65][66][67] Four attested kings may be tentatively attributed to the Abydos Dynasty, and they are given here without regard for their (unknown) chronological order:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Sekhemraneferkhau Wepwawetemsaf

May belong to the late 16th Dynasty[68]

Sekhemrekhutawy Pantjeny

May belong to the late 16th Dynasty[68]

Menkhaure Snaaib

May belong to the late 13th Dynasty.[69][70][71]

Woseribre Senebkay

Tomb discovered in 2014. Perhaps identifiable with a Woser[...]re of the Turin canon.

text: Sixteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Sixteenth Dynasty was a native Theban dynasty emerging from the collapse of the Memphis-based 13 th dynasty c. 1650 BC and finally conquered by the Hyksos 15th dynasty c. 1580 BC. The 16th dynasty held sway over Upper-Egypt only.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

—

Name of the first king is lost here in the Turin King List, and cannot be recovered

Sekhemresementawy Djehuti

–
3 years

Sekhemreseusertawy Sobekhotep VIII

–
16 years

Sekhemresankhtawy Neferhotep III

–
1 year

Seankhenre Mentuhotepi

May be a king of the 17th Dynasty[70]
1 year

Sewadjenre Nebiryraw I

–
26 years

Neferkare(?) Nebiryraw II

–

Semenre

–

Seuserenre Bebiankh

–
12 years

Djedhotepre Dedumose I

May be a king of the 13th Dynasty[70]

Djedneferre Dedumose II

–

Djedankhre Montemsaf

–

Merankhre Mentuhotep VI

–

Seneferibre Senusret IV

–

Sekhemre Shedwast

–

text: The 16th Dynasty may also have comprised the reigns of pharaohs Sneferankhre Pepi III[72] and Nebmaatre. Their chronological position is uncertain.[69][70]

text: Seventeenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Seventeenth Dynasty was based in Upper Egypt and ruled from 1650 to 1550 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Sekhemrewahkhaw Rahotep

-

c. 1620 BC

Sekhemre Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf I

Reigned at least 7 years
-

Sekhemre Shedtawy Sobekemsaf II

His tomb was robbed and burned during the reign of Ramses IX
-

Sekhemre-Wepmaat Intef V

-
-

Nubkheperre Intef VI

Reigned more than 3 years
-

Sekhemre-Heruhirmaat Intef VII

-
-

Senakhtenre Ahmose

-

c. 1558 BC

Seqenenre Tao

Died in battle against the Hyksos.

1558–1554 BC

Wadjkheperre Kamose

1554–1549 BC

text: The early 17th Dynasty may also have comprised the reign of a pharaoh Nebmaatre, whose chronological position is uncertain.[60]

text: New Kingdom[edit]

text: The New Kingdom (1550–1077 BC) is the period covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, from the 16th to the 11th century BC, between the Second Intermediate Period, and the Third Intermediate Period.

text: Through military dominance abroad, the New Kingdom saw Egypt's greatest territorial extent. It expanded far into Nubia in the south, and held wide territories in the Near East. Egyptian armies fought with Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria.

text: Three of the best known pharaohs of the New Kingdom are Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, whose exclusive worship of the Aten is often interpreted as the first instance of monotheism, Tutankhamun known for the discovery of his nearly intact tomb, and Ramesses II who attempted to recover the territories in modern Israel/Palestine, Lebanon and Syria that had been held in the Eighteenth Dynasty. His reconquest led to the Battle of Qadesh, where he led the Egyptian armies against the army of the Hittite king Muwatalli II.

text: Eighteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Eighteenth Dynasty ruled from c. 1550 to 1292 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Nebpehtire Ahmose I, Ahmosis I

Brother and successor to Kamose, conquered north of Egypt from the Hyksos.
c. 1550–1525 BC; Radiocarbon date range for the start of his reign is 1570–1544 BC, the mean point of which is 1557 BC[73]

Djeserkare Amenhotep I

Son of Ahmose I.
1541–1520

Aakheperkare Thutmose I

Father unknown, though possibly Amenhotep I. His mother is known to be Senseneb. Expanded Egypt's territorial extent during his reign.
1520–1492

Aakheperenre Thutmose II

Son of Thutmose I. Grandson of Amenhotep I through his mother, Mutnofret.
1492–1479

Maatkare Hatshepsut

The second known female ruler of Egypt. May have ruled jointly with her nephew Thutmose III during the early part of her reign. Famous for her expedition to Punt documented on her famous Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahari. Built many temples and monuments. Ruled during the height of Egypt's Power. Was the daughter of Thutmose I and the Great Wife of her brother Thutmose II.
1479–1458

Menkheperre Thutmose III

Son of Thutmose II. May have ruled jointly with Hatshepsut, his aunt and step-mother, during the early part of her reign. Famous for his territorial expansion into Levant and Nubia. Under his reign, the Ancient Egyptian Empire was at its greatest extent. Ruled during the height of Egypt's Power. Late in his reign, he obliterated Hatshepsut's name and image from temples and monuments.
1458–1425

Aakheperrure Amenhotep II

Son of Thutmose III. Ruled during the height of Egypt's Power.
1425–1400

Menkheperure Thutmose IV

Famous for his Dream Stele. Son of Amenhotep II. Ruled during the height of Egypt's Power.
1400–1390

Nebmaatre Amenhotep III The Magnificent King

Father of Akhenaten and grandfather of Tutankhamun. Ruled Egypt at the height of its power. Built many temples and monuments, including his enormous Mortuary Temple. Was the son of Thutmose IV.
1390–1352

Neferkheperure-waenre Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten

Founder of the Amarna Period in which he changed the state religion from the polytheistic Ancient Egyptian religion to the Monotheistic Atenism, centered around the worship of the Aten, an image of the sun disc. He moved the capital to Akhetaten. Was the second son of Amenhotep III. He changed his name from Amenhotep (Amun is pleased) to Akhenaten (Effective for the Aten) to reflect his religion change.
1352–1336

Ankhkheperure Smenkhkare

Ruled jointly with Akhenaten during the later years of his reign. Unknown if Smenkhare ever ruled in their own right. Identity and even the gender of Smenkhare is uncertain. Some suggest he may have been the son of Akenhaten, possibly the same person as Tutankhamun, others speculate Smenkhare may have been Nefertiti or Meritaten. May have been succeeded by or identical with a female Pharaoh named Neferneferuaten.
1335–1334

Ankhkheperure-mery-Neferkheperure/Neferneferuaten

A female Pharaoh, possibly the same ruler as Smenkhkare. Archaeological evidence relates to a woman who reigned as pharaoh toward the end of the Amarna Period. It is likely she was Nefertiti.
1334-1332

Nebkheperure Tutankhaten/Tutankhamun

Commonly believed to be the son of Akhenaten, most likely reinstated the Polytheistic Ancient Egyptian religion. His name change from Tutankhaten to Tutankhamun reflects the change in religion from the Monotheistic Atenism to the classic religion, of which Amun is a major deity. He is thought to have taken the throne at around age eight or nine and to have died around age eighteen or nineteen, giving him the nickname "The Boy King."
1332–1324

Kheperkheperure Ay

Was Grand Vizier to Tutankhamun and an important official during the reigns of Akhenaten and Smenkhkare. Possibly the brother of Tiye, Great Wife of Amenhotep III, and also possibly father of Nefertiti, Great Wife of Akhenaten. Believed to be born into nobility, but not royalty. Succeeded Tutankhamun due to his lack of an heir.
1324–1320

Djeserkheperure-setpenre Horemheb

Born a Commoner. Was a General during the Amarna Period. Obliterated Images of the Amarna Pharaohs and destroyed and vandalized buildings and monuments associated with them. Succeeded Ay despite Nakhtmin being the intended heir.
1320–1292

text: Nineteenth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Nineteenth Dynasty ruled from 1292 to 1186 BC and includes one of the greatest pharaohs: Rameses II the Great:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Menpehtire Ramesses I[74]

Of non-royal birth. Succeeded Horemheb due to his lack of an heir.
1292–1290

Menmaatre Seti I

Regained much of the territory that was lost under the reign of Akhenaten.
1290–1279

Usermaatre-setpenre Ramesses II the Great

Continued expanding Egypt's territory until he reached a stalemate with the Hittite Empire at the Battle of Kadesh in 1275 BC, after which the famous Egyptian–Hittite peace treaty was signed in 1258 BC.
1279–1213

Banenre Merenptah[75]

Thirteenth son of Ramesses II.
1213–1203

Menmire-setpenre Amenmesse

Most likely an usurper to the throne. Possibly ruled in opposition to Seti II. Suggested son of Merneptah.
1203–1200

Userkheperure Seti II[76]

Son of Merneptah. May have had to overcome a contest by Amenmesse before he could solidify his claim to the throne.
1203–1197

Sekhaenre/Akhenre Merenptah Siptah[77]

Possibly son of Seti II or Amenmesse, ascended to throne at a young age.
1197–1191

Satre-merenamun Tausret

Probably the wife of Seti II. Also known as Twosret or Tawosret.
1191–1190

text: Twentieth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twentieth Dynasty ruled from 1190 to 1077 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Userkhaure Setnakhte

Not related to Seti II, Siptah, or Tausret. May have usurped the throne from Tausret. Did not recognize Siptah or Tausret as legitimate rulers. Possibly a member of a minor line of the Ramesside royal family. Also called Setnakt.
1190–1186

Usermaatre-meryamun Ramesses III

Son of Setnakhte. Fought the Sea Peoples in 1175 BC. May have been assassinated.
1186–1155

Usermaatre/Heqamaatre-setpenamun Ramesses IV

Son of Ramesses III. During his reign, Egyptian power started to decline.
1155–1149

Usermaatre-sekheperenre Ramesses V

Son of Ramesses IV
1149–1145

Nebmaatre-meryamun Ramesses VI

Son of Ramesses III. Brother of Ramesses IV. Uncle of Ramesses V.
1145–1137

Usermaatre-setpenre-meryamun Ramesses VII

Son of Ramesses VI.
1137–1130

Usermaatre-akhenamun Ramesses VIII

An obscure Pharaoh, who reigned only around a year. Identifiable with Prince Sethiherkhepeshef II. Son of Ramesses III. Brother of Ramesses IV and Ramesses VI. Uncle of Ramesses V and Ramesses VII. He is the sole Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty whose tomb has not been found.
1130–1129

Neferkare-setpenre Ramesses IX

Probably grandson of Ramesses III through his father, Montuherkhopshef. First cousin of Ramesses V and Ramesses VII.
1129–1111

Khepermaatre-setpenptah Ramesses X[78]

A poorly documented Pharaoh, his reign was between 3 and 10 years long. His origins are completely uncertain.
1111–1107

Menmaatre-setpenptah Ramesses XI[79]

Possibly the son of Ramesses X. During the second half of his reign, High Priest of Amun Herihor ruled over the south from Thebes, limiting his power to Lower (Northern) Egypt. He was succeeded in the north by Smendes.
1107–1077

text: Third Intermediate Period[edit]

text: The Third Intermediate Period (1077–664 BC) marked the end of the New Kingdom after the collapse of the Egyptian empire. A number of dynasties of Libyan origin ruled, giving this period its alternative name of the Libyan Period.

text: Twenty-first Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-First Dynasty was based at Tanis and was a relatively weak group. Theoretically, they were rulers of all Egypt, but in practice their influence was limited to Lower Egypt. They ruled from 1069 to 943 BC

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Hedjkheperre-setpenre Nesbanebdjed I (Smendes I)[80]

Married to Tentamun, probable daughter of Ramesses XI.
1077–1051

Neferkare Heqawaset Amenemnisu

Obscure four-year reign.
1051–1047

Aakheperre Pasebakhenniut I (Psusennes I)

Son of Pinedjem I, a High Priest of Amun. Ruled for 40 to 51 years. Famous for his intact tomb at Tanis. Known as "The Silver Pharaoh" due to the magnificent silver coffin he was buried in. One of the most powerful rulers of the Dynasty.
1047–1001

Usermaatre Amenemope

Son of Psusennes I.
1001–992

Aakheperre Setepenre Osorkon (Osorkon the Elder)

Son of Shoshenq A, Great Chief of the Meshwesh (Libya). Also known as Osochor.
992–986

Netjerikheperre-setpenamun Siamun-meryamun

Unknown Origins. Built extensively for a third intermediate period Pharaoh. One of the most powerful rulers of the dynasty.
986–967

Titkheperure Pasebakhenniut II (Psusennes II)

Son of Pinedjem II, a High Priest of Amun.
967–943

text: Theban High Priests of Amun[edit]

text: Though not officially Pharaohs, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes were the de facto rulers of Upper Egypt during the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties, writing their names in cartouches and being buried in royal tombs.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Herihor

First High Priest of Amun to claim to be Pharaoh. He ruled in the south in Thebes, while Ramesses XI ruled from the north in Pi-Ramesses.
1080–1074

Piankh

-
1074–1070

Pinedjem I

Son of Piankh. Father of Psusennes I.
1070–1032

Masaharta

Son of Pinedjem I.
1054–1045

Djedkhonsuefankh

Son of Pinedjem I.
1046–1045

Menkheperre

Son of Pinedjem I.
1045–992

Nesbanebdjed II (Smendes II)

Son of Menkheperre.
992–990

Pinedjem II

Son of Menkheperre, Father of Psusennes II.
990–976

Pasebakhaennuit III (Psusennes III)

Possibly the same person as Psusennes II. Either he or Pinedjem II is generally considered to be the last High Priest of Amun to consider himself as a Pharaoh-like figure.
976–943

text: Twenty-second Dynasty[edit]

text: The pharaohs of the Twenty-Second Dynasty were Libyans, ruling from around 943 to 728 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Hedjkheperre-setepenre Shoshenq I

Son of Nimlot A, a brother of Osorkon the Elder and a Great Chief of the Meshwesh (Libya).
943–922

Sekhemkheperre Osorkon I

Son of Shoshenq I.
922–887

Heqakheperre Shoshenq II

Obscure Pharaoh, possibly a usurper.
887–885

Tutkheperre Shoshenq IIb

Obscure Pharaoh, placement uncertain.
880s

Hedjkheperre Harsiese

An obscure rebel, at Thebes.
880–860

Takelot I

Son of Osorkon I.
885–872

Usermaatre-setepenamun Osorkon II

Son of Takelot I.
872–837

Usermaatre-setepenre Shoshenq III

-
837–798

Shoshenq IV

-
798–785

Usermaatre-setepenre Pami

-
785–778

Aakheperre Shoshenq V

-
778–740

Usermaatre Osorkon IV

-
740–720

text: Twenty-third Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-Third Dynasty was a local group, again of Libyan origin, based at Herakleopolis and Thebes that ruled from 837 to c. 735 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Hedjkheperre-setpenre Takelot II

Previously thought to be a 22nd Dynasty pharaoh, he is now known to be the founder of the 23rd
837–813

Usermaatre-setepenamun Pedubast

A rebel—seized Thebes from Takelot II
826–801

Usermaatre-setepenamun Iuput I

Co-regent with Pedubast
812–811

Usermaatre Shoshenq VI

Successor to Pedubast
801–795

Usermaatre-setepenamun Osorkon III

Son of Takelot II; recovered Thebes, then proclaimed himself king
795–767

Usermaatre-setpenamun Takelot III

Co-reign with his father Osorkon III for the first five years of his reign.
773–765

Usermaatre-setpenamun Rudamun

Younger son of Osorkon III and brother of Takelot III.
765–762

text: Rudamun was succeeded in Thebes by a local ruler:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Menkheperre Ini

Reigned at Thebes only
762–?

text: Twenty-fourth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-fourth Dynasty was a short-lived rival dynasty located in the western Delta (Sais), with only two pharaohs ruling from 732 to 720 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Shepsesre Tefnakhte

-
732–725

Wahkare Bakenrenef (Bocchoris)

-
725–720

text: Twenty-fifth Dynasty[edit]

text: Nubians invaded Lower Egypt and took the throne of Egypt under Piye although they already controlled Thebes and Upper Egypt in the early years of Piye's reign. Piye's conquest of Lower Egypt established the Twenty-fifth Dynasty which ruled until 656 BC.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Usermaatre Piye

King of Nubia; conquered Egypt in 20th year; full reign at least 24 years, possibly 30+ years
744–714 according to Frédéric Payraudeau[81]

Djedkaure Shebitku

Believed to be Shabaka's successor until the 2010s
714–705 according to Frédéric Payraudeau[81]

Neferkare Shabaka

Believed to be Shebitku's predecessor until the 2010s
705–690 according to Frédéric Payraudeau[81]

Khuinefertemre Taharqa

-
690–664

Bakare Tantamani

Lost control of Upper Egypt in 656 BC when Psamtik I extended his authority into Thebes in that year.
664–653

text: They were ultimately driven back into Nubia, where they established a kingdom at Napata (656–590), and, later, at Meroë (590 BC – 4th century AD).

text: Late Period[edit]

text: The Late Period runs from around 664 to 332 BC, and includes periods of rule by native Egyptians and Persians.

text: Twenty-sixth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-sixth Dynasty ruled from around 664 to 525 BC.[82]

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Tefnakht II

Manetho's Stephinates. May have been a descendant of the Twenty-fourth Dynasty. The father of Necho I.
685–678 BC

Nekauba

Manetho's Nechepsos. His existence has been questioned.
678–672 BC

Menkheperre Nekau I (Necho I)

Was killed by an invading Kushite force in 664 BC under Tantamani. Father of Psamtik I.
672–664 BC

text: The son and successor of Necho I, Psamtik I, managed to reunify Egypt and is generally regarded as the founder of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Wahibre Psamtik I (Psammetichus I)

Reunified Egypt. Son of Necho I and father of Necho II.
664–610 BC

Wehemibre Necho II (Necho II)

Most likely the pharaoh mentioned in several books of the Bible. Son of Psamtik I and father of Psamtik II.
610–595 BC

Neferibre Psamtik II (Psammetichus II)

Son of Necho II and father of Apries.
595–589 BC

Haaibre Wahibre (Apries)

Fled Egypt after Amasis II (who was a general at the time) declared himself pharaoh following a civil war. Son of Psamtik II.
589–570 BC

Khnemibre Ahmose II (Amasis II)

He was the last great ruler of Egypt before the Persian conquest. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, he was of common origins. Father of Psamtik III.
570–526 BC

Ankhkaenre Psamtik III (Psammetichus III)

Son of Amasis II. Ruled for about six months before being defeated by the Persians in the Battle of Pelusium and subsequently executed for attempting to revolt.
526–525 BC

text: Twenty-seventh Dynasty (first Persian period)[edit]

text: Egypt was conquered by the Persian Empire in 525 BC and constitutued a satrapy as part of this empire until 404 BC. The Achaemenid Shahanshahs were acknowledged as Pharaohs in this era, forming the 27th Dynasty:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Cambyses (Cambyses II)

Defeated Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium at 525 BC
525–521 BC

Smerdis (Bardiya)

Son of Cyrus the Great
522–521 BC

Petubastis III[83]

A native Egyptian rebel in the Delta
522/21–520 BC

Darius I the Great

-
521–486 BC

Xerxes I the Great

-Was Assasinated
486–465 BC

Psammetichus IV[83]

A proposed native Egyptian rebel leader. Exact date uncertain.
possibly in the 480s BC

Artabanus the Hyrcanian

-
465–464 BC

Artaxerxes I Longhand

-
464–424 BC

Xerxes II

claimant
424–423 BC

Sogdianus

claimant
424–423 BC

Darius II

424–404 BC

text: Twenty-eighth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-eighth Dynasty lasted only 6 years, from 404 to 398 BC, with one Pharaoh:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Amyrtaeus

Descendant of the Saite pharaohs of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty; led a successful revolt against the Persians.
404–398 BC

text: Twenty-ninth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Twenty-ninth Dynasty ruled from 398 to 380 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Baenre Nefaarud I

Also known as Nepherites. Defeated Amyrtaeus in open battle and had him executed.
399–393 BC

Khenemmaatre Hakor (Achoris)

Son of Nefaarud I.
c. 392–c. 391 BC

Psammuthes

Possibly dethroned Hakor for a year.
c. 391 BC

Hakor (restored)

Retook the throne from Psammuthes.
c. 390–c. 379 BC

Nefaarud II

Was deposed and likely killed by Nectanebo I after ruling for only 4 months. Son of Hakor.
c. 379 BC

text: Thirtieth Dynasty[edit]

text: The Thirtieth Dynasty ruled from 380 until Egypt once more came under Persian rule in 343 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Kheperkare Nekhtnebef (Nectanebo I)

Also known as Nekhtnebef. Deposed and likely killed Nefaarud II, starting the last dynasty of native Egyptians. Father of Teos.
c. 379–c. 361 BC

Irimaatenre Djedher (Teos)

Co-regent with his father Nectanebo I from about 365 BC. Was overthrown by Nectanebo II with the aid of Agesilaus II of Sparta.
c. 361–c. 359 BC

Senedjemibre Nakhthorhebyt (Nectanebo II)

Last native ruler of ancient Egypt[84]
c. 359–c. 342 BC

text: Thirty-first Dynasty (second Persian period)[edit]

text: Egypt again came under the control of the Achaemenid Persians. After the practice of Manetho, the Persian rulers from 343 to 332 BC are occasionally designated as the Thirty-first Dynasty:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Artaxerxes III

Egypt came under Persian rule for the second time
343–338 BC

Artaxerxes IV Arses

Only reigned in Lower Egypt
338–336 BC

Khababash

Rebel pharaoh who led an invasion in Nubia
338–335 BC

Darius III

Upper Egypt returned to Persian control in 335 BC
336–332 BC

text: Hellenistic period[edit]

text: Argead Dynasty[edit]

text: The Macedonians under Alexander the Great ushered in the Hellenistic period with his conquest of Persia and Egypt. The Argeads ruled from 332 to 309 BC:

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Setepenre-meryamun Alexander III (Alexander the Great)

Macedon conquered Persia and Egypt
332–323 BC

Philip III Arrhidaeus

Feeble-minded half-brother of Alexander III the Great
323–317 BC

Haaibre Alexander IV

Son of Alexander III the Great and Roxana
317–309 BC

text: Ptolemaic Dynasty[edit]

text: The second Hellenistic dynasty, the Ptolemies, ruled Egypt from 305 BC until Egypt became a province of Rome in 30 BC (whenever two dates overlap, that means there was a co-regency). The most famous member of this dynasty was Cleopatra VII, who in modern times is known simply as Cleopatra who was successively the consort of Julius Caesar and after Caesar's death, of Mark Antony, and had children with both of them. Cleopatra strove to create a dynastic and political union between Egypt and Rome but the assassination of Caesar and the defeat of Mark Antony doomed her plans. Caesarion (Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar) was the last king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, he reigned jointly with his mother Cleopatra VII of Egypt, from September 2, 47 BC. He was the eldest son of Cleopatra VII, and possibly the only son of Julius Caesar, after whom he was named. Between the alleged death of Cleopatra, on August 12, 30 BC, up to his own alleged death on August 23, 30 BC, he was nominally the sole pharaoh. It is tradition that he was hunted down and killed on the orders of Octavian, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus, but the historical evidence does not exist.

text:
Name
Image
Comments
Dates

Setepenre-meryamun Ptolemy I Soter

Abdicated in 285 BC; died in 283 BC
305–285 BC

Berenice I

Wife of Ptolemy I
 ?–285 BC

Weserkare-meryamun Ptolemy II Philadelphos

-
288–246 BC

Arsinoe I

Wife of Ptolemy II
284/281–c. 274 BC

Arsinoe II

Wife of Ptolemy II
277–270 BC

Ptolemy III Euergetes I

-
246–222 BC

Berenice II

Wife of Ptolemy III. Was Murdered.
244/243–222 BC

Ptolemy IV Philopator

-
222–204 BC

Arsinoe III

Wife of Ptolemy IV. Was Murdered.
220–204 BC

Hugronaphor

Revolutionary Pharaoh in the South
205–199 BC

Ankhmakis

Revolutionary Pharaoh in the South
199–185 BC

Ptolemy V Epiphanes

Upper Egypt in revolt 207–186 BC
204–180 BC

Cleopatra I

Wife of Ptolemy V, co-regent with Ptolemy VI during his minority
193–176 BC

Ptolemy VI Philometor

Died 145 BC
180–164 BC

Cleopatra II

Wife of Ptolemy VI
175–164 BC

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II

Proclaimed king by Alexandrians in 170 BC; ruled jointly with Ptolemy VI Philometor and Cleopatra II from 169 to 164 BC. Died 116 BC
171–163 BC

Ptolemy VI Philometor

Egypt under the control of Ptolemy VIII 164 BC–163 BC; Ptolemy VI restored 163 BC
163–145 BC

Cleopatra II

Married Ptolemy VIII; led revolt against him in 131 BC and became sole ruler of Egypt.
163–127 BC

Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator

Proclaimed co-ruler by father; later ruled under regency of his mother Cleopatra II
145–144 BC

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II

Restored
145–131 BC

Cleopatra III

Second wife of Ptolemy VIII. Was murdered by her own son Ptolemy X.
142–131 BC

Ptolemy Memphitis

Proclaimed King by Cleopatra II; soon killed by Ptolemy VIII
131 BC

Harsiesi

Revolutionary Pharaoh in the South
131–130 BC

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II

Restored
127–116 BC

Cleopatra III

Restored with Ptolemy VIII; later co-regent with Ptolemy IX and X.
127–107 BC

Cleopatra II

Reconciled with Ptolemy VIII; co-ruled with Cleopatra III and Ptolemy until 116.
124–116 BC

Ptolemy IX Soter II

Died 80 BC
116–110 BC

Cleopatra IV
Was Murdered.
Shortly married to Ptolemy IX, but was pushed out by Cleopatra III
116–115 BC

Ptolemy X Alexander I

Died 88 BC
110–109 BC

Berenice III

Forced to marry Ptolemy XI; murdered on his orders 19 days later
81–80 BC

Ptolemy XI Alexander II

Young son of Ptolemy X Alexander; installed by Sulla; ruled for 80 days before being lynched by citizens for killing Berenice III
80 BC

Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes)

Son of Ptolemy IX; died 51 BC
80–58 BC

Cleopatra V Tryphaena

Wife of Ptolemy XII, mother of Berenice IV
79–68 BC

Cleopatra VI

Daughter of Ptolemy XII
58–57 BC

Berenice IV

Daughter of Ptolemy XII; forced to marry Seleucus Kybiosaktes, but had him strangled. Joint rule with Cleopatra VI until 57 BC.
58–55 BC

Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos

Restored; reigned briefly with his daughter Cleopatra VII before his death
55–51 BC

Cleopatra VII

Jointly with her father Ptolemy XII, her brother Ptolemy XIII, her brother-husband Ptolemy XIV, and her son Ptolemy XV; also known simply as Cleopatra
51–30 BC

Ptolemy XIII

Brother of Cleopatra VII
51–47 BC

Arsinoe IV

In opposition to Cleopatra VII
48–47 BC

Ptolemy XIV

Younger brother of Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII
47–44 BC

Ptolemy XV

Infant son of Cleopatra VII; aged 3 when proclaimed co-ruler with Cleopatra. Last known ruler of ancient Egypt when Rome took over.
44–30 BC

text: Rome[edit]

text: Cleopatra VII had affairs with Roman Dictator Julius Caesar and Roman General Mark Antony, but it was not until after her suicide (after Marc Antony was defeated by Octavian, who would later be Emperor Augustus) that Egypt became a province of Rome in 30 BC. Subsequent Roman Emperors were accorded the title of Pharaoh, although exclusively while in Egypt. One Egyptian king-list lists the Roman Emperors as Pharaohs up to and including Decius. See the list of Roman Emperors.


document_title: And Then There Were None

question_text: who was killer in and then there were none

text: And Then There Were None

text: Premise[edit]

text: In the novel, a group of people are lured into coming to an island under different pretexts, e.g., offers of employment, to enjoy a late summer holiday, or to meet old friends. All have been complicit in the deaths of other human beings, but either escaped justice or committed an act that was not subject to legal sanction. The guests and two servants who are present are "charged" with their respective "crimes" by a gramophone recording after dinner the first night, and informed that they have been brought to the island to pay for their actions.

text: Plot summary[edit]

text: On a hot, early August day sometime in the late 1930s, eight people arrive on a small, isolated island off the Devon coast of England. Each appears to have an invitation tailored to his or her personal circumstances, such as an offer of employment or an unexpected late summer holiday. They are met by Thomas and Ethel Rogers, the butler and cook-housekeeper, who state that their hosts, Mr Ulick Norman Owen and his wife Mrs Una Nancy Owen, whom they have not yet met in person, have not arrived, but left instructions, which strikes all the guests as odd.

text: A framed copy of a nursery rhyme, "Ten Little Niggers"[8] (called "Ten Little Indians" or "Ten Little Soldiers" in later editions), hangs in every guest's room, and ten figurines sit on the dining room table. After supper, a gramophone (or "phonograph") record is played; it contains a recording that describes each visitor in turn, accuses each of having committed murder but escaping justice, and then asks if any of "the accused" wishes to offer a defence. All but Anthony Marston and Philip Lombard deny the charges, and Miss Brent refuses to discuss the matter.

text: They discover that none of them actually knows the Owens and conclude that the name "U.N. Owen" is shorthand for "Unknown". In the aftermath of the recording, Marston finishes his drink and immediately dies from cyanide poisoning. The remaining guests notice that one of the ten figurines is now broken, and the nursery rhyme appears to reflect the manner of death ("One choked his little self and then there were nine").

text: The next morning, Mrs Rogers' corpse is found in her bed; she had died in her sleep from an overdose of chloral hydrate. By lunchtime, General MacArthur is found dead, from a heavy blow to his head. Two more figurines are found to be broken, and again the deaths parallel the rhyme. Miss Brent, who had refused to speak with the men present, relates the account of the gramophone charge against her to Vera Claythorne, who later tells the others.

text: A search for "Mr Owen" shows that nobody else is on the island except the remaining seven. The island is a "bare rock" with no hiding places, and no one could have arrived or left; thus, they uncomfortably conclude that any one of the seven remaining persons is the killer. Justice Wargrave leads the group in determining that as of yet, none of them can definitively be ruled out as the murderer. The next morning, Rogers is found dead while chopping wood, and after breakfast, Miss Brent is found dead in the kitchen, where she had been left alone after complaining of feeling unwell; she had been injected with potassium cyanide via a hypodermic needle.

text: Wargrave then suggests searching all the rooms, and any potentially dangerous items they can think of are locked up. Lombard's gun is missing from his room. When Vera goes upstairs to take a bath, she is shocked by the touch and smell of seaweed left hanging from the ceiling of her room and screams; the remaining guests rush upstairs to her room. Wargrave, however, is still downstairs. The others find him seated, immobile and crudely dressed up in the attire of a judge. Wargrave is examined briefly by Dr Armstrong and pronounced dead from a gunshot to the forehead.

text: That night, Lombard appears surprised when he finds his gun returned to his room. Blore catches a glimpse of someone leaving the house but loses the trail. He then discovers Armstrong is absent from his room, and the remaining three guests conclude that Armstrong must be the killer. Vera, Blore, and Lombard decide to stay together at all times. In the morning, they unsuccessfully attempt to signal SOS to the mainland from outside by using a mirror and sunlight. Blore then decides to return to the house for food by himself—the others are not hungry—and is killed by a heavy bear-shaped clock statue that is pushed from Vera's window sill, crushing his skull.

text: Vera and Lombard are now confident that Armstrong is the killer. However, shortly afterwards, the duo come upon Armstrong's body washed up on the beach, which they do not immediately recognize due to decomposition. They realize that Armstrong could not have killed Blore. Panicked, each concludes the other must be the killer, overlooking that neither had the opportunity as they were together on the beach and when they found Blore's body. Quickly regaining her composure, Vera suggests moving the doctor's body past the shore, but this is a pretext. She manages to lift Lombard's gun. When Lombard lunges at her to get it back, she shoots him dead.

text: She returns to the house in a shaken dreamlike state, relieved to be alive. She finds a noose and chair arranged in her room, and a strong smell of the sea. With visions of her former lover, Hugo, urging her on, in a post-traumatic state, she adjusts the noose and kicks the chair out from under her.

text: Two Scotland Yard officials are puzzled by the identity of U.N. Owen. Although they can ostensibly reconstruct the deaths from Marston to Wargrave with the help of the victims' diaries and a coroner's careful report, they are forced to conclude that "U.N. Owen" was one of the victims, but are unable to determine which one. They note that the chair on which Vera stood to hang herself had been set back upright, indicating that someone—presumably the killer—was still alive on the island after her suicide.

text: In a postscript, a fishing ship picks up a bottle inside its trawling nets; the bottle contains a written confession of the killings, which is then sent to Scotland Yard. It is not clear how long after the killings the bottle was discovered.

text: In the confession, Justice Wargrave writes that he has long wished to set an unsolvable puzzle of murder, but is morally limited to victims who are themselves guilty and deserving of such an end. He explains how he tricked the gullible Dr. Armstrong into helping him fake his own death under the pretext that it would supposedly give him the freedom to help the group identify the killer, and also explains that after Vera died, he replaced the chair in her room neatly against the wall. Finally, he reveals how he used the gun and some elastic to ensure his own death matched the account in the guests' diaries. Although he wished to create an unsolvable mystery, he acknowledges in the missive a "pitiful human need" for recognition, hence the confession.

text: He also describes how his first chronological victim was actually Isaac Morris, the sleazy lawyer and drugs trafficker who anonymously purchased the island and arranged the invitations on his behalf. Morris was poisoned before Wargrave departed for the island. Wargrave's intention is that when the police arrive they will find ten bodies, with evidence that someone had been alive after each death, but nobody else on the island, and no way to trace the killer through his invitations or preparations. He states that, although there are three clues that could guide the police to the correct killer, he is confident they will be unable to do so and that the mystery will remain unsolved until the confession is retrieved.

text: Current published version of the rhyme[edit]

text:
Ten little Soldier Boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Soldier Boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Soldier Boys travelling in Devon;
One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.[9]

Seven little Soldier Boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Soldier Boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Soldier Boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Soldier Boys walking in the zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Soldier Boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.[10]

One little Soldier Boy left all alone;
He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.[11]

text: Characters[edit]

text: The following details of the characters are based on the original novel. Backstories, backgrounds, and names vary with differing international adaptations, based on censorship, cultural norms, etc.

text:
Anthony James Marston, a handsome but amoral and irresponsible young man, killed two young children (John and Lucy Combes) while driving recklessly, for which he felt no real remorse and accepted no personal responsibility, complaining only that his driving licence had been suspended as a result. He was the first island victim, poisoned with potassium cyanide slipped into his drink while the guests were listening to the gramophone recording. ("One choked his little self ...")
Mrs Ethel Rogers, the cook/housekeeper and Thomas Rogers' wife, described as a pale and ghost-like woman who walks in mortal fear. She was dominated by her bullying husband, who coerced her into agreeing to withhold the medicine of a former employer (Miss Jennifer Brady, an elderly spinster) in order that they might collect an inheritance they knew she had left them in her will. Mrs Rogers was haunted by the crime for the rest of her life, and was the second victim, dying in her sleep from an overdose of chloral hydrate in her brandy. ("One overslept himself ...")
General John Gordon MacArthur, a retired World War I war hero, who sent his late wife's lover (a younger officer, Arthur Richmond) to his death by assigning him to a mission where it was practically guaranteed he would not survive. Leslie MacArthur had mistakenly put the wrong letters in the envelopes on one occasion when she wrote to both men at the same time. The general accepts that no one will leave the island alive, which he tells Vera Claythorne. Shortly thereafter, he is bludgeoned while left alone sitting along the shore. ("One said he'd stay there...")
Thomas Rogers, the butler and Ethel Rogers' husband. He dominated his weak-willed wife, and they killed their former elderly employer by withholding her medicine, causing the woman to die from heart failure, thus inheriting the money she bequeathed them in her will. Despite his wife's death, Rogers was still serving the others. In that capacity, he was killed when bludgeoned with an axe as he cut firewood in the woodshed. ("One chopped himself in halves ...")
Emily Caroline Brent, an elderly, religiously rigid, socially respectable spinster who accepted the vacation on Soldier Island largely due to financial constraints. Years earlier, she had dismissed her teenage maid, Beatrice Taylor, for becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Beatrice, who had already been rejected by her parents for the same reason, drowned herself, which Miss Brent considered an even worse sin. She refuses to discuss the matter with the gentlemen, telling them, "I have always acted in accordance with the dictates of my conscience. I have nothing with which to reproach myself." Later, she confides what happened regarding Beatrice Taylor to Vera Claythorne, who tells the others shortly before Miss Brent is found dead herself. She was sedated with chloral hydrate in her coffee, leaving her disorientated, before being injected in the neck with potassium cyanide while left alone in the kitchen, with one of Dr Armstrong's hypodermic syringes. The murderer also put a bee into the room. ("A bumblebee stung one...")
Dr Edward George Armstrong, a Harley Street doctor, responsible for the death of a patient, Louisa Mary Clees, after he operated on her while drunk many years earlier. Armstrong is asked by Justice Wargrave to help fake his death, on the pretext that this will leave the judge free to find the killer, but is fooled in doing so – while rendezvousing with the judge at night on a rocky cliff, the judge asks him if he sees a cave. When Armstrong looks, he is pushed by the other man into the sea, and is killed. ("A red herring swallowed one..."). His body goes missing for a while, leading the others to believe that he is the killer, but his corpse washes ashore at the end of the novel, sparking the final confrontation between Vera Claythorne and Philip Lombard in which the latter is killed.
William Henry Blore, a former police inspector and now a private investigator, was accused of falsifying his testimony in court for a bribe from a dangerous criminal gang, which resulted in an innocent man, James Landor, being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Landor, who had a wife and young child, died shortly afterwards in prison. Using the alias "Davis" and claiming to have arrived from South Africa, as he was instructed to do, he is on the island for "security work". His true name is revealed on the gramophone recording. He denies the accusation against him from the gramophone recording, but later privately admits the truth to Lombard. He was crushed by a bear-shaped clock dropped from Vera's bedroom window onto the terrace below. ("A big bear hugged one...")
Philip Lombard, a soldier of fortune. Literally down to his last square meal, he comes to the island with a loaded revolver, as suggested by his invitation letter. Lombard is accused of causing the deaths of a number of East African tribesmen, after stealing their food and abandoning them to their deaths. He and Marston are the only guests to openly and immediately confirm that the accusations against them are true; neither feels any remorse. ("Story's quite true! I left 'em! Matter of self-preservation. We were lost in the bush. I and a couple of other fellows took what food there was and cleared out ... Not quite the act of a pukka sahib, I'm afraid. But self-preservation's a man's first duty. And natives don't mind dying, you know. They don't feel about it as Europeans do.") Lombard fulfilled the ninth referenced verse of the rhyme, shot to death on the beach by Vera, ("One got frizzled up ...") who believed him to be the murderer. Of all the "guests" he is the only one to theorize that "U.N. Owen" might be Wargrave, but the others reject this and it does him no good. He and Vera are the only guests not killed by Justice Wargrave. Technically he is the 8th person to die out of the ten guests.
Vera Elizabeth Claythorne, a cool, efficient, resourceful young woman who is on leave from her position as a sports mistress at a third-rate girls' school. She has largely worked at secretarial jobs ever since her job as a governess was ended by the death of her charge, Cyril Hamilton. Claythorne let the boy drown so his uncle Hugo Hamilton could inherit the family estate and marry her, but Hugo rejected her when he suspected her crime. In the penultimate scene of the novel, she manages to take Lombard's gun, and shoot him dead in what she believed was self-defence. She returns to the house, relieved she has survived. When she goes to her room, she finds a readied noose, complete with chair beneath it, suspended from a hook hanging from the ceiling. She, in what Wargrave, hidden from her sight, describes first hand as a post-traumatic state, sees and hears Hugo, her former lover, encouraging her. She adjusts the noose round her neck and kicks the chair away, fulfilling the rhyme's final verse ("One little Soldier Boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.")
Justice Lawrence John Wargrave, a retired judge, known as a "hanging judge" for liberally awarding the death penalty in murder cases. Wargrave is accused of influencing the jury to hand a guilty verdict to Edward Seton, a man many thought was innocent of his crime of killing an old woman, and sentencing him to death unfairly. However, as the two policemen discuss at Scotland Yard, new evidence after Seton's execution proved he was unmistakably guilty. He admits in his postscript that he has a lifelong hidden sadistic urge to cause death, but felt bound only to indulge it with guilty persons, and a lifelong wish to create a masterpiece of a mystery. Finding himself terminally ill, he creates a game in which, as island owner "U.N. Owen" (i.e., "Unknown"), he entices to an island various people who have been responsible for the deaths of other people, but escaped justice, through a third party agent, Isaac Morris, in order to be a murderer himself, and kill his "guests" in a way that would leave an almost-unsolvable mystery. After the deaths, he arranges the island so that each death appears to have a survivor. However out of what he admits is a "pitiful human need" for recognition, he also writes a confession, which he throws in the sea, and leaves to chance whether it will be found. His final act is to shoot himself in a way that matches the description of his death in some of the other guests' diaries, by using a rubber cord and handkerchief wrapped around the gun when he shoots himself in the head; the elastic will separate and attract no attention, and the gun and cloth will recoil a sufficient distance from him to avoid any suspicion of the true circumstances by the police.
Isaac Morris is an unethical lawyer hired by Wargrave to purchase the island (under the name "U.N. Owen"), arrange the gramophone recording, and make various necessary arrangements on his behalf, including gathering information on the near destitute Philip Lombard, to whom he gave some money to get by (with the promise of more to come) and recommended Lombard bring his gun to the island (a fateful proposition, without which events could not have developed as they did to make Wargrave's gambit successful). Morris's is actually the first death chronologically, as he died before the guests arrived on the island. Morris was responsible for the addiction and suicide of a young woman through his narcotics activities. The victim by chance was the daughter of a friend of Wargrave. A hypochondriac, he trusted "Mr Owen" sufficiently to accept the latter's lethal cocktail of pills, assured they would improve his health, although Wargrave would have had to get rid of him in any event.
Fred Narracott, the boatman who delivered the guests to the island. After doing so, he does not appear again in the story, although Inspector Maine notes it was Narracott who, sensing something seriously amiss, returned to the island as soon as the weather allowed, before he was scheduled to do, and found the bodies. Maine speculates that it was the normalcy and ordinariness of the guests that convinced Narracott to do so and ignore his orders to dismiss any signals requesting help.
Sir Thomas Legge and Inspector Maine, two Scotland Yard detectives who discuss the case in the epilogue. In their conversation, which takes place an unspecified amount of time after the events of the book (but before Wargrave's confession is found), they attempt to reason out the events of the case, but are dumbfounded and unable to solve the mystery. The name Legge is a symbolic name, because, in Italian, it means Law.

text: History of the publication's title[edit]

text: English-language versions[edit]

text: The novel was originally published in 1939 and early 1940 almost simultaneously, in the United Kingdom and the United States. In the UK it appeared under the title Ten Little Niggers, in book and newspaper serialized formats. The serialization was in 23 parts in the Daily Express from Tuesday 6 June to Saturday 1 July 1939. All of the instalments carried an illustration by "Prescott" with the first having an illustration of Burgh Island in Devon which inspired the setting of the story. The serialized version did not contain any chapter divisions.[12] The book retailed for seven shillings and six pence.

text: In the United States it was published under the title And Then There Were None, again in both book and serial formats. Both of the original US publications changed the title from that originally used in the UK, due to the offensiveness of the word in American culture, where it was more widely perceived as a racially loaded ethnic slur or insult compared to contemporary UK culture, and because of the pejorative connotations of the original blackface rhyme. The serialized version appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in seven parts from 20 May (Volume 211, Number 47) to 1 July 1939 (Volume 212, Number 1) with illustrations by Henry Raleigh, and the book was published in January 1940 by Dodd, Mead and Company for $2.[4][5][6]

text: In the original UK novel all references to "Indians" or "Soldiers" were originally "Nigger", including the island's name, the pivotal rhyme found by the visitors, and the ten figurines.[5] (In Chapter 7, Vera Claythorne becomes semi-hysterical at the mention by Miss Brent of "our black brothers", which is understandable only in the context of the original name.) The word "nigger" was already racially offensive in the United States by the start of the 20th century, and therefore the book's first US edition and first serialization changed the title to And Then There Were None and removed all references to the word from the book, as did the 1945 motion picture.[citation needed]

text: The book and its adaptations have since been released under various new names since the original publication, including Ten Little Indians (1946 play, Broadway performance and 1964 paperback book), Ten Little Soldiers and – the most widely used today – And Then There Were None.[citation needed] UK editions continued to use the work's original title until the 1980s; the first UK edition to use the alternative title And Then There Were None appeared in 1985 with a reprint of the 1963 Fontana Paperback.[13]

text:
Christie, Agatha (November 1939). Ten Little Niggers. London: Collins Crime Club. OCLC 152375426.  Hardback, 256 pp. (First edition.)
Christie, Agatha (January 1940). And Then There Were None. New York: Dodd, Mead. OCLC 1824276.  Hardback, 264 pp. (First US edition.)
Christie, Agatha (1944). And Then There Were None. New York: Pocket Books (Pocket number 261). Paperback, 173 pp.
Christie, Agatha (1947). Ten Little Niggers. London: Pan Books (Pan number 4). Paperback, 190 pp.
Christie, Agatha (1958). Ten Little Niggers. London: Penguin Books (Penguin number 1256). Paperback, 201 pp.
Christie, Agatha (1963). And Then There Were None. London: Fontana. OCLC 12503435.  Paperback, 190 pp. (The 1985 reprint was the first UK publication of the novel under the title And Then There Were None.)[13]
Christie, Agatha (1964). Ten Little Indians. New York: Pocket Books. OCLC 29462459.  (First publication of novel as Ten Little Indians.)
Christie, Agatha (1964). And Then There Were None. New York: Washington Square Press. Paperback, teacher's edition.
Christie, Agatha (1977). Ten Little Niggers (Greenway ed.). London: Collins Crime Club. ISBN 0-00-231835-0.  Collected works, Hardback, 252 pp. (Except for reprints of the 1963 Fontana paperback, this was one of the last English-language publications of the novel under the title Ten Little Niggers.)[14]
Christie, Agatha (1980). The Mysterious Affair at Styles; Ten Little Niggers; Dumb Witness. Sydney: Lansdowne Press. ISBN 0-7018-1453-5.  (Late use of the original title in an Australian edition.)
Christie, Agatha (1986). Ten Little Indians. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-55222-8.  (Last publication of novel under the title Ten Little Indians.)

text: Foreign language versions[edit]

text: The original title (Ten Little Niggers) still survives in a few foreign-language versions of the novel, such as the Bulgarian title Десет малки негърчета, and was used in other languages for a time, for example in Dutch until the 1994 release of the 18th edition.[citation needed] The title Ten Little Negroes continues to be commonly used in foreign-language versions, for example in Spanish, Greek, Serbian, Romanian,[15] French[16] and Hungarian, as well as a 1987 Russian film adaptation Десять негритят (Desyat Negrityat). In 1999, the Slovak National Theatre staged the play under its original title but changed to A napokon nezostal už nik (And Then There Were None) mid-run.[17]

text: Literary significance and reception[edit]

text: Writing for The Times Literary Supplement of 11 November 1939, Maurice Percy Ashley stated, "If her latest story has scarcely any detection in it there is no scarcity of murders... There is a certain feeling of monotony inescapable in the regularity of the deaths which is better suited to a serialized newspaper story than a full-length novel. Yet there is an ingenious problem to solve in naming the murderer", he continued. "It will be an extremely astute reader who guesses correctly."[18]

text: For The New York Times Book Review (25 February 1940), Isaac Anderson has arrived to the point where "the voice" accuses the ten "guests" of their past crimes, which have all resulted in the deaths of human, and then said, "When you read what happens after that you will not believe it, but you will keep on reading, and as one incredible event is followed by another even more incredible you will still keep on reading. The whole thing is utterly impossible and utterly fascinating. It is the most baffling mystery that Agatha Christie has ever written, and if any other writer has ever surpassed it for sheer puzzlement the name escapes our memory. We are referring, of course, to mysteries that have logical explanations, as this one has. It is a tall story, to be sure, but it could have happened."[19]

text: Many compared the book to her novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926). For instance, an unnamed reviewer in the Toronto Daily Star of 16 March 1940 said, "Others have written better mysteries than Agatha Christie, but no one can touch her for ingenious plot and surprise ending. With And Then There Were None... she is at her most ingenious and most surprising... is, indeed, considerably above the standard of her last few works and close to the Roger Ackroyd level."[20]

text: Other critics laud the use of plot twists and surprise endings. Maurice Richardson wrote a rhapsodic review in The Observer's issue of 5 November 1939 which began, "No wonder Agatha Christie's latest has sent her publishers into a vatic trance. We will refrain, however, from any invidious comparisons with Roger Ackroyd and be content with saying that Ten Little Niggers is one of the very best, most genuinely bewildering Christies yet written. We will also have to refrain from reviewing it thoroughly, as it is so full of shocks that even the mildest revelation would spoil some surprise from somebody, and I am sure that you would rather have your entertainment kept fresh than criticism pure." After stating the set-up of the plot, Richardson concluded, "Story telling and characterisation are right at the top of Mrs Christie's baleful form. Her plot may be highly artificial, but it is neat, brilliantly cunning, soundly constructed, and free from any of those red-herring false trails which sometimes disfigure her work."[3]

text: Robert Barnard, a recent critic, concurred with the reviews, describing the book as "Suspenseful and menacing detective-story-cum-thriller. The closed setting with the succession of deaths is here taken to its logical conclusion, and the dangers of ludicrousness and sheer reader-disbelief are skillfully avoided. Probably the best-known Christie, and justifiably among the most popular."[21]

text: The original title of the mystery (Ten Little Niggers) has been changed because it was offensive in English-speaking countries and some others. Few critics have opined that Christie's original title and the setting on "Nigger Island" (later changed to "Indian Island" and "Soldier Island", variously) may be integral to the work. These aspects of the novel, argues Alison Light, "could be relied upon automatically to conjure up a thrilling 'otherness', a place where revelations about the 'dark side' of the English would be appropriate."[22] Unlike novels such as Heart of Darkness, "Christie's location is both more domesticated and privatized, taking for granted the construction of racial fears woven into psychic life as early as the nursery. If her story suggests how easy it is to play upon such fears, it is also a reminder of how intimately tied they are to sources of pleasure and enjoyment."[22]

text: In the "Binge!" article of Entertainment Weekly Issue #1343-44 (26 December 2014–3 January 2015), the writers picked And Then There Were None as an "EW favorite" on the list of the "Nine Great Christie Novels".[23]

text: Possible inspirations[edit]

text: The 1930 novel The Invisible Host by Gwen Bristow and Bruce Manning has a plot that strongly matches that of Christie's later novel, including a recorded voice announcing to the invitees that their sins will be visited upon them by death. The Invisible Host was adapted as the 1930 Broadway The Ninth Guest by Owen Davis,[24] which itself was adapted as the 1934 film The Ninth Guest.

text: The 1933 K.B.S. Productions Sherlock Holmes film A Study in Scarlet follows a strikingly similar plot;[25] it includes a scene where Holmes is shown a card with the hint: "Six little Indians ....bee stung one and then there were five". In this case, the rhyme refers to "Ten Little Fat Boys". (The film's plot bears no resemblance to Arthur Conan Doyle's original story of the same name.) The author of the movie's screenplay, Robert Florey, "doubted that [Christie] had seen A Study in Scarlet, but he regarded it as a compliment if it had helped inspire her".[26]

text: Adaptations[edit]

text: And Then There Were None has had more adaptations than any other single work by Agatha Christie. Many adaptations incorporate changes to the story, such as using Christie's alternative ending from her 1943 stage play or changing the setting to locations other than an island.

text: Film[edit]

text: There have been numerous film adaptations of the novel, some comedic. Examples include:

text:
And Then There Were None (1945 film), René Clair's cinema adaptation, was a successful US production
Ten Little Indians (1965 film), is George Pollock's cinema adaptation
Gumnaam (1965, translation: Unknown or Anonymous) is an Indian suspense thriller film adaptation
Nadu Iravil (1970, translation: In the middle of the night), a Tamil adaptation directed by Sundaram Balachander[27]
And Then There Were None (1974 film), the first English-language colour version, directed by Peter Collinson
Desyat' Negrityat (1987, Десять негритят, Eng: "Ten Little Negroes") Stanislav Govorukhin's Russian adaptation keeps intact Christie's grim storyline and ending.
Ten Little Indians, a 1989 American version directed by Alan Birkinshaw
Aduthathu (2012) is a Tamil adaptation[28]
Aatagara (2015) is a Kannada film adaptation[29]

text: Radio[edit]

text:
The BBC broadcast "Ten Little Niggers" (1947), adapted by Ayton Whitaker, first aired as a Monday Matinee on the BBC Home Service on 27 December 1947 and as Saturday Night Theatre on the BBC Light Programme on 29 December.[30]
On 13 November 2010, as part of its Saturday Play series, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a 90-minute adaptation written by Joy Wilkinson. The production was directed by Mary Peate and featured, among others, Geoffrey Whitehead as Justice Wargrave, Lyndsey Marshal as Vera Claythorne, Alex Wyndham as Philip Lombard, John Rowe as Dr. Armstrong, and Joanna Monro as Emily Brent. In this production, which is extremely faithful to the novel, the rhyme is "Ten Little Soldier Boys".[citation needed]

text: Stage[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
And Then There Were None (1943 play) is Christie's adaptation of the story for the stage. She and the producers agreed that audiences might not flock to a tale with such a grim ending as the novel, nor would it work well dramatically as there would be no one left to tell the story. Thus, she reworked the ending for Lombard and Vera to be innocent of the crimes of which they were accused, survive, and fall in love with each other. Some of the names were also changed, e.g., General Macarthur became General McKenzie (possibly due to the real-life General Douglas MacArthur's then playing a prominent role in the ongoing World War II[citation needed]).
And Then There Were None (1944 play), Dundee Repertory Theatre Company was given special permission to restore the original ending of the novel. The company first performed a stage adaptation of the novel in 1944 under its original title.[31]
And Then There Were None (2005 play), On 14 October 2005, a new version of the play, written by Kevin Elyot and directed by Steven Pimlott, opened at the Gielgud Theatre in London. For this version, Elyot returned to the original story, restoring the nihilism of the original.[citation needed]

text: Television[edit]

text: Several variations of the original novel were adapted for television, three of which were British adaptations. The first of these, in 1949, was produced by the BBC[32]. The second was produced in 1959[33], by ITV. Both of those productions aired with Christie's original title. The third and most recent British adaptation aired as And Then There Were None on BBC One in December 2015, as a mini-series produced in cooperation with Acorn Media and Agatha Christie Productions. The 2015 production adhered more closely to the original plot, though there were several differences, and was the first English language film adaptation to feature an ending similar to that of the novel.[34]

text: On 25 and 26 March, 2017 TV Asahi in Japan aired そして誰もいなくなった (Soshite daremo inakunatta), a Japanese language adaptation by Nagasaka Shukei (長坂秀佳) of the original story set in modern times.[35][36]

text: Other media[edit]

text: The novel has been the inspiration for several video games. For the Apple II, Online Systems released the game Mystery House in 1980. On the PC, The Adventure Company released the video game Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None in 2005, the first in a series of PC games based on Christie novels. In February 2008, it was ported to the Wii console. The identity of the murderer is not that of the killer in the original book. The game player assumes the role of Patrick Naracott (brother of Fred Naracott, who is involved in a newly created subplot), who is stranded with the others when his boat is scuttled. This allows for alternate, more successful endings in which Naracott survives and is able to prevent the murders of the innocent Lombard and Claythorne. All endings depart markedly from the novel and previous adaptations in that the killer and motives are different.[citation needed]

text: And Then There Were None was released by HarperCollins as a graphic novel adaptation on 30 April 2009, adapted by François Rivière and illustrated by Frank Leclercq.[2]

text: Peká Editorial released a board game based on the book, created by Judit Hurtado and Fernando Chavarría, and illustrated by Esperanza Peinado.[37]

text: Timeline of adaptations[edit]

text:
type
Title
Year
Notes

Film
And Then There Were None
1945
American film and first cinema adaptation. Produced & directed by René Clair.

TV
Ten Little Niggers
1949
BBC television production (IMDb)

TV
Ten Little Niggers
1959
ITV television production (IMDb)

TV
Ten Little Indians
1959
NBC television production (IMDb)

Film
Ten Little Indians
1965
British film and second cinema adaptation. Directed by George Pollock and produced by Harry Alan Towers; Pollock had previously handled four Miss Marple films starring Margaret Rutherford. Set in a mountain retreat in Austria.

Film (loosely based)
Gumnaam
1965
Uncredited Hindi film adaptation, which adds the characteristic "Bollywood" elements of comedy, music and dance to Christie's plot.[citation needed]

TV
Zehn kleine Negerlein
1969
West German television production (IMDb)

Film
And Then There Were None
1974
English language film by Peter Collinson and produced by Harry Alan Towers. First English-language color film version of the novel, based on a screenplay by Towers (writing as "Peter Welbeck"), who co-wrote the screenplay for the 1965 film. Set at a grand hotel in the Iranian desert.

TV
Ten Little Slaves (Achra Abid Zghar)
1974
Télé Liban TV series directed by Jean Fayyad, TV Adaptation by Latifeh Moultaka. (Facebook Page)

Film
Desyat' negrityat
Десять негритят
("Ten Little Negroes")
1987
Russian film version produced/directed by Stanislav Govorukhin, notable for being the first cinema adaptation to keep the novel's original plot and grim ending.

Film
Ten Little Indians
1989
British film, produced by Harry Towers and directed by Alan Birkinshaw, set on safari in the African savannah.

TV
Ten Little Slaves (Achra Abid Zghar)
2014
MTV Lebanon television production (MTV)

TV
And Then There Were None
2015
BBC One miniseries broadcast on three consecutive nights, directed by Craig Viveiros and adapted by Sarah Phelps. Similar to book, although not identical, with changes to backstories and actual murders on the island.

TV
Soshite Daremo Inakunatta
2017
Japanese TV Asahi miniseries broadcast on two consecutive nights, directed by Seiji Izumi and adapted by Hideka Nagasaka. (TV Asahi)

text: Parodies, references and related works[edit]

text: Several parodies of the novel have been made. As early as autumn 1942, "World's Finest Comics" (#7, Fall Issue) had a Superman story by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster called "The Eight Doomed Men" which used Christie's basic structure and even borrowed a number of her victim's backgrounds, although Superman intervened to rescue half of the intended victims and the killer's motivation was changed to specific revenge. Siegel and Shuster anticipated the 1965 film by moving the locale to a mountain cabin and tossed in a Zeppelin-like dirigible – one location not yet used in adaptations of the story.

text: Another parody, the 1976 Broadway musical Something's Afoot, stars Tessie O'Shea as a female sleuth resembling Miss Marple. Something's Afoot takes place in a remote English estate, where six guests have been invited for the weekend. The guests, as well as three servants and a young man who claims to have wandered innocently onto the estate, are then murdered one by one, several in full view of the audience, with the murderer's surprise identity revealed at the end. For an encore, the murdered cast members perform a song, "I Owe It All to Agatha Christie".[citation needed]

text: In the 1967 The Avengers episode "The Superlative Seven"[38] John Steed is invited to a costume party aboard a chartered aeroplane. The aeroplane is being flown by remote control. Steed and the six other fancy-dressed guests, who are specialists in various combat styles, eventually land on a deserted island where they are informed that one of them is a trained assassin trying to kill them all. When the first murder is committed, Steed observes "Looks as though his back was broken". To which an off-screen protagonist responds, over a speaker, "Quite right, Mr Steed. And then there were six".[39] CSI:Crime Scene Investigation based an episode of the show's second season under the same name focusing on a gang of armed robbers stealing from casinos outside the Las Vegas metropolitan area with each criminal killing a member of the gang to keep more of the proceeds. The animated US sitcom Family Guy loosely parodied the novel in the 2010 episode And Then There Were Fewer in which a number of previously regular characters were killed off.

text: The 1998 anime film Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target is a combination of this story, with intended victims invited to a secluded island and the murderer hiding amongst them, and Christie's Hercule Poirot novel The A.B.C. Murders.

text: The sixth game of the Touhou Project series Embodiment of Scarlet Devil contains references to the Christie novel in the Extra boss, such as the title of the music being played called "U.N Owen Was Her?", an attack named "And Then There Were None" and also dialogues quoting the book.

text: The season 2 finale of the Australian TV show Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries ("Murder under the Mistletoe", 2013) mirrors the plot of Christie's novel. Guests stranded in a secluded mansion are murdered one by one according to the circumstances described in the "12 Days of Christmas." Like in the Christie novel, the guests soon realize that the murderer must be among them, but the culprit escapes detection by means of a bluff involving one of the corpses. The episode follows the 1965 film Ten Little Indians in re-imagining the island as a snowed-in inaccessible chalet.

text: In Anthony Horowitz's detective series, The Diamond Brothers, the case I Know What You Did Last Wednesday pays homage to And Then There Were None; protagonist Nick Diamond accompanies his brother Tim to a school reunion on a lonely island where the various guests start dying in a manner that reflects back to a subject that they came first in at school (the person who came first in chemistry is poisoned, the one who came first in geography is crushed by a globe, etc.), with the killer revealed at the conclusion to be a former schoolfriend who came second in everything.

text: Sierra's Laura Bow adventure game has a similar plot, inspired by the novel, where some (although innocent) people are murdered by a serial killer who is also found dead before their true identity is revealed.

text: The 2018 novel The Prisoner in the Castle, an installment of the "Maggie Hope Mysteries," has British WWII-era spy Maggie Hope confined to a remote Scottish island after she refuses to follow the path chosen for her by her superiors. Also on the island with her are other spies who have somehow "washed out" of their training or are considered compromised. One by one, Maggie's companions are killed and she must fight to stay alive.