Kemet chronology
One of the most significant yet often overlooked aspects when examining the civilization of Kemet is its chronology. Establishing or understanding temporal frameworks regarding its evolution as a culture enables us to comprehend more profoundly the transformations, personalities, deities, and the overall culture.
Image of the Description of L'Egypte of Napoleon's expedition
To comprehend the extensive history of Kemet, which spans nearly three millennia, a clear chronology is essential. Without it, the myriad of kings, tombs, and temples becomes an indecipherable tangle, detached from their rightful place in history. Thus, our focus will be on delineating this chronology.
While this entry does not aim for an exhaustive analysis of Kemet's historical periods or a deep dive into the nuances of each era, it serves as an introductory guide for those new to Ancient Egypt. Generally, Egyptologists and scholars have categorized Kemet's history into three primary periods—Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Empire—interspersed with First, Second, and Third Intermediate Periods.
This segmentation aids in grasping the country's timeline and understanding the distinct phases of its narrative. Each phase is marked by abrupt transitions that often plunged the nation into turmoil. Additionally, a systematic list of rulers organized into Dynasties has been established, extending from the proto-dynastic period (Dynasty 0) to Dynasty XXXI, by which time rulers were no longer Egyptian.
The term 'Dynasty' was coined by Manetho, a renowned Egyptian historian who postdated the dynasties themselves. He grouped Kemet's monarchs into clusters he termed dynasties, where each dynasty's kings were typically related by blood. A new dynasty was declared when a successor emerged from a different family or origin. It's also noteworthy that these dynasties could end abruptly due to coups d'état, foreign invasions, and other significant events.
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The precise duration of each dynasty or reign cannot be determined with absolute certainty due to the limited and sometimes conflicting information provided by the historical sources available to us. Among the primary contemporary records for the pharaohs listed are The Royal List of Abydos, The Royal Canon of Turin, The Palermo Stone, The Royal List of Karnak, and The Royal List of Saqqara. However, these records are not exhaustive; some intentionally omit certain rulers while others include them. Additionally, Manetho's Aegyptiaca presents a compilation of rulers, but it is considered a post-civilizational source relative to the subjects it addresses.
Piedra de Palermo
For these reasons, the dating of reigns and the time spans of dynasties should be approached with caution. Despite their approximate nature, they carry margins of error and are subject to debate among Egyptologists. Consequently, the general lists available in books or on historical websites should be regarded as approximations.
Turning to history itself, initially, we encounter stages known as predynastic and late predynastic, extending from the Neolithic period to Dynasty I. These stages are where we have the least information due to their antiquity and the archaeological evidence available. They represent times when the earliest governmental structures and social conventions were established, which would later evolve with the country's unification.
Following these eras was the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by the king, a prolonged period that witnessed the construction of the great pyramids still visible in Egypt today. It was during this initial phase after unification that the foundational principles of civilization were laid down, along with all the terms and concepts that would persist, whether unchanged or evolving, throughout its history.
This initial phase is marked by order and control, by the organization of an administration that saw the establishment of Taui as the first capital of united Kemet, and where Ra was venerated as a national god for most of this era.
The most notable kings (nesut) of this period include Djoser (netjerikhet djoser), who commissioned his architect Imhotep to build the Step Pyramid at Saqqara; Khufu (medjedu khufu), responsible for constructing the first of the three great pyramids at Giza; and Pepi II (neferkare pepi), renowned for being the last ruler of this era.
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From there, it progressed to a state of complete disintegration, precipitated by the decentralization of power and the autonomy of provincial princes who ultimately relegated the king to a mere spectator of his nation. Accompanied by famine and a lack of governance, Kemet descended into chaos, nearly ending the illustrious narrative of its civilization.
Fortunately, following a series of conflicts between two self-styled kings, a legitimate monarch arose who reunified the nation and restored peace and order to both the north and south. This ushered in a new era of prosperity where art achieved unprecedented levels of grandeur. It is an era less known generally because it did not leave behind works as monumental as the pyramids or tombs as grandiose as those from other periods, but it was a pivotal moment in Kemet's history that endured extensively.
The capital was relocated first to Iti-taui and then to Uaset (Thebes), while Ra's status as the principal deity was supplanted by Imen, either through replacement or assimilation.
Subsequently, a new period of turmoil and disarray emerged due to the weakening of the monarchy and invasions by foreign peoples (Hyksos) who seized control of the northern and central regions. This epoch of foreign rule concluded after many years of turmoil, subjugation, and conflict when a southern king successfully ousted the invaders and reunified the nation.
The ensuing epoch is among the most renowned in Kemet's history at a general level since it saw the construction of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, and its sovereigns are widely recognized today, albeit by their foreign appellations such as Tutankhamun or Ramses II.
When this period concluded, Kemet reverted to an era of foreign domination that would persistently consign its culture to three millennia of neglect and pillage.
Bibliography:
Cyril Aldred, Los egipcios
P. A. Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs,
Pirenne, J. Historia del Antiguo Egipto. Tomo I.
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