Pharaoh
:''For other uses, see
Pharaoh (disambiguation)Pharaoh (
Arabic فرعون ;
Hebrew ;
Ge'ez ፈርዖን
Farʻon) is a title used to refer to the rulers of
Egypt in the pre-Christian and pre-Islamic period.
The term 'Pharaoh' is a Greek interpretation of the
Egyptian word
Per-aa literally meaning 'Great House', used in the
Old Kingdom as part of phrases like 'smr per-Aa' literally meaning 'Courtier of the Great House', with specific reference to the buildings of the court or palace itself
[Ancient Egyptian Grammar (3rd ed.), A. Gardiner (1957-) 71-76].From the
Twelfth Dynasty onwards the word appears in a wish formula 'Great House, may it live, prosper and be in health', but only with reference to the buildings of the court rather than the king himself.The earliest certain instance where
'Per Aa' is used specifically to address the king is in a letter to
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) in the mid-
Eighteenth Dynasty (
1539-
1292 BC) which is addressed to 'Pharaoh, given life, prosperity and health, the Master'
[Hieratic Papyrus from Kahun and Gurob, F. LL. Griffith, 38, 17. Although see also Temples of Armant, R. Mond and O. Myers (1940), pl.93, 5 for an instance possibly dating from the reign of Tuthmoses III.]. From the
Nineteenth Dynasty onwards it is used as regularly as
hm.f 'His Majesty'.
Therefore the term evolved from one specifically referring to a building to a respectful designation for the king, both specifically of the
Twenty-Second Dynasty and
Twenty-Third Dynasty.
The king of Egypt wore a double
crown, created from the Red Crown of
Lower Egypt and the White Crown of
Upper Egypt. It was adorned by a
uraeus, which was doubled under the
Twenty-fifth Dynasty.
Egyptologist
Bob Brier has noted that despite its widespread depiction in royal portraits, no actual ancient Egyptian crown has been discovered.
Tutankhamun's tomb, discovered largely intact, did contain such regal items as his crook and flail, but did not contain a crown. Crowns were assumed to have magical properties, and Brier's speculation is that there were items a dead pharaoh could not take with him and, therefore, had to be passed along to his living successor.
The official titulary of the king by the
New Kingdom consisted of
five names; for some rulers, we know only one or two of them.
*
List of Pharaohs*
Egyptian chronology -
Conventional Egyptian chronology*
History of Egypt*
Monarch*
Fivefold Titulary*Sir
Alan Gardiner Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, Third Edition, Revised. London: Oxford University Press, 1964. Excursus A, pp. 71-76.
*Brier, Bob. PhD. History of ancient Egypt (Audio).
The First Nation in History. The Learning Company. 2001.
*
Pharaoh of the Exodus article The Kings Calendar
*
Tutankhamun: Pictures*
Egyptian Royal Genealogy*
Digital Egypt for Universities 
