Gregory Bar Hebraeus (Abu al-Faraj)
Chronography 1-7
c. 1284 CE
translated by Jason Colavito
2026
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NOTE |
Gregory Bar Hebraeus (Abu al-Faraj) (1226-1286) was a Syrian Christian primate and academic famous for his world chronicle, which drew on earlier Syriac and Arabic sources and combined them with Biblical and Greek learning. In the first section of his Chronography, he presented an unusual and truncated history of Ancient Egypt, interspersed throughout the first seven divisions, scattered among the other events between the Flood and Alexander. The king list is closely copied from his predecessor Michael the Syrian, but not all the stories he alludes to for these kings are found in Michael. Similarities to the abridged account found in Agapius of Hierapolis suggest he also drew on a now-lost Syrian tradition, likely derived from unknown Late Antique chronographies.
In 1877, the German scholar Franz Joseph Lauth proposed with fanciful reasoning that the first pharaoh of Bar Hebraeus, “Phanophis,” is Menes under the guise of what he considered the original first month of the Coptic year, Paopi (it is now second). However, it is an actual Egyptian personal name known to have been used in the Greek period, and the name appears both in Michael the Syrian’s Chronicle a century earlier and in less recognizable form as “Manouphis” in Agapius of Hierapolis’s Kitāb al-ʿunwān two centuries before that. Andreas Su-Min Ri believes the original form to have been “Panouphis” and considers it a corruption of the city of Panopolis, the center of Hermeticism in Late Antiquity. However, the appearance of the name Yanuf as the first king of Egypt in the sixth-century Book of Adam and Eve, which traces back via Arabic to a Syriac translation of the Cave of Treasures, suggests the original was Manf, or Memphis, the capital founded in legend by Menes. (Memphis and Menes share an etymological root, leading to the legend of their shared name.) The Cave of Treasures gives it as Puntos but lacks the story of the founding of Memphis, so the change appears to have occurred under Arabic influence. though some argue Puntos is itself a corruption of a form like Panouphis. However, the parallel story in the later Apocalypse of Pseduo-Methodius (c. 692 CE), inspired by The Cave of Treasures, where the king is called Pontipos in Greek and Pupienus in Syriac, suggests that the Cave of Treasures story has an independent origin and the two versions merged at some point. A decade before, Lauth offered a more plausible, though still speculative (and not always fully accurate), hypothesis (reproduced in translation below) that a heavily distorted version of Manetho’s list stands behind Bar Hebraeus’s, with dynasties reduced to representative pharaohs or descriptors. This is most obvious with “Thebanus,” who may stand for the Theban (Diospolitan) dynasty, which also appears in similarly reduced form in al-Maqrizi’s account of Manetho’s list. The story of Apiphanus as the first ship builder echoes an ancient tradition associating the first ships with Egypt, including the Greek myth of Danaus, the Egyptian prince who built the first ship, and the Greco-Phoenician myth in the fragments of Sanchuniathon that a descendant of Misor’s (Mesraim’s) brother built the first ship. Danaus was the brother of Aegyptus, just as Misor’s (Misr’s) name means “Egypt.” Andreas Su-Min Ri believes Aphantos to be Puntos, the first Egyptian king in the Late Antique Cave of Treasures. I preface my translation of the Egyptian sections of Bar Hebraeus, taken from de Sacy’s 1789 Latin translation, with the parallel passages in Agapius, taken from the 1910 French edition, and Michael, from the 1899 French translation. |
PREDECESSOR TEXTS
Cave of Treasures (sixth century CE)
And in the days of Reu the Mesrâyê, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Puntos, and he reigned over them sixty-eight years. (translated by E. A. Wallace-Budge)
Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius 3 (c. 692 CE)
In the seven hundred and ninetieth year of the third millennium Babylon the Great was founded and Nimrod ruled in it. And after these things the sons of Ham made a king for themselves out of their own number, whose name was Pontipos. (translated by Benjamin Garstad)
Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan 3.23 (later medieval translation)
And in those days Ragu was one hundred and eighty years old, and in his one hundred and fortieth year, Yanuf reigned over the land of Egypt. He is the first king that reigned over it; and he built the city of Memphis, and named it after his own name. That is whose name is rendered Masrin. This Yanuf died; and in his stead, in the days of Ragu, one from the land of India reigned, whose name was Sasen; and who built the city of Saba. And all the kings who reigned over that country were called Sabaeans, after the name of the city. (translated by S. C. Malan)
Agapius, Kitāb al-ʿunwān (before 942 CE)
It is written that in the year 84 after the birth of Ar’u, ten years after the completion of the third millennium, there appeared the first king to rule over the entire earth: Nimrod, at Babel. He was the son of Canaan, son of Ham, the giant-king who reigned for sixty-nine years; his crown was woven and was not made of gold. Nimrod built three cities: Arakh, Adja, and Kilam—that is to say, Edessa (ar-Roha), Nisibis, and Seleucia. In the year 101 of Ar’u, the Egyptians, following the example of the Babylonians, appointed a king for themselves, whose name was Manouphis; he reigned over them for sixty-eight years. He was called Mesraim, after the name of Mesraim, their forefather. It is certain that it is from the name Mesraim that [Egypt] came to be called Misr.
[…] At that time [of Abraham], a king named Antoutis (Aphintos) reigned in Egypt for thirty-two years; he was the first to invent books, the sciences, astronomy, and arithmetic, drawing upon the books of the Chaldeans and of Eastern scholars, and to introduce them into Egypt; he also mastered the science of sorcery and magic.
[…] At that time [of Abraham], a king named Antoutis (Aphintos) reigned in Egypt for thirty-two years; he was the first to invent books, the sciences, astronomy, and arithmetic, drawing upon the books of the Chaldeans and of Eastern scholars, and to introduce them into Egypt; he also mastered the science of sorcery and magic.
Michael the Syrian, Chronicle 2.7 (c. 1194 CE)
Kings of Egypt
In the year 100 of Ragau, Pânouphis: 68 years.
Eupropis: 46 years (114).
Sânos: 60 years (174).
Pharaoh, son of Sânos: 35 years (209).
Pharaoh Kârîmon: 4 years (213).
Pharaoh Aphantos: 32 years (245) (ms.: 246).
Pharaoh Orkos: 33 years (278).
Pharaoh Samos: 20 years (298).
Pharaoh Hirkos: 25 years (323) (ms.: 325).
In the 17th year of this last one, Abraham was born.
In the year 100 of Ragau, Pânouphis: 68 years.
Eupropis: 46 years (114).
Sânos: 60 years (174).
Pharaoh, son of Sânos: 35 years (209).
Pharaoh Kârîmon: 4 years (213).
Pharaoh Aphantos: 32 years (245) (ms.: 246).
Pharaoh Orkos: 33 years (278).
Pharaoh Samos: 20 years (298).
Pharaoh Hirkos: 25 years (323) (ms.: 325).
In the 17th year of this last one, Abraham was born.
EGYPTIAN EXCERPTS FROM THE CHRONOGRAPHY
I.
[…] And in his [Peleg’s] one hundred and first year, the first king of Egypt, Phanophis, reigned for 68 years. […] The sons of Canaan, who was the son of Ham, begotten by Noah, when they learned of the superiority of Palestine and Lebanon, they remained in that part, and did not go to their inheritance, which was situated towards the western shore of the Egyptian sea. […] And at this time, there rose up a second leader of Egypt, Apiphanus, for 46 years. He was the first to build a ship, and the first to ride the sea. After him rose up a third leader, Atanuphus, who because he had conquered the Cushites was called by the name Cuszean, which is translated as “Cushite.” He killed Saba, after whose death his daughter reigned for 40 years. From that time on, women began to rule over the Cushites. Atanuphus was succeeded by the fourth king of Egypt, Pharaoh Barsanus, for 35 years, from which time the name Pharaoh began to be used. […] At this time, the fifth king, Pharaoh Charemon, reigned in Egypt for 4 years, and at the same time, Armunus the Canaanite founded two cities named after his sons, Sodom and Gomorrah. […]
The sixth king of Egypt, Pharaoh Apintus, reigned for 32 years, and sent ambassadors to Kisronus, king of the Parthians, to bring the writings and knowledge of the Chaldeans into Egypt. He called the city which he built near the river Nile Babylon, or Babel. Asaphus says that in the time of Terah the Egyptians learned astronomy, and built a golden image for the idol Kinos. […] In the fifth year of Terah, the seventh king reigned in Egypt, Pharaoh Urunchus, for 33 years, whom was succeeded by the eighth king, Pharaoh Semunus for 20 years, and then the ninth king, Pharaoh Armenis, for 27 years. […] In Egypt there reigned a tenth king, the Pharaoh Thebanus, for 43 years, who was succeeded by the eleventh, Pharoah Phanus. He took away Abraham’s wife Sarah, whom he had desired, offering her gold, silver, and riches, with which he sent him (Abraham) out of Egypt. Then the twelfth king Pharaoh Iscus reigned in Egypt for 31 years. And then reigned the thirteenth, king Pharaoh Suchunus, for 44 years. And then reigned the fourteenth king, Pharaoh Tarkus, for 44 years. […]
In the time of Isaac, the fifth king of Assyria, Aris, lived for 30 years, and the fifteenth king of Egypt, Satis, lived for 19 years. He was the first of the four kings who are called shepherds. […] When Levi was three years old, Joseph was born, who, after Levi had lived 20 years, was sold at the age of 17 and served 10 years, spent three years in prison, and stood before Pharaoh for 30 years, He ruled over Egypt for 80 years and died at the age of 140 years. […] When Jacob was 130 years old, he went down into Egypt in the thirtieth (sic) year of the famine. After Jacob came Levi, his son. […] In his days […] Maphus (Memphis) was built in Egypt. […] In Egypt reigned the fourth of the shepherds, Apapus, for 14 years, the same one who dreamed dreams and made Joseph prefect of the kingdom, according to the writings of the Chaldeans. […] After Levi came Kohath [and then] Amrom his son. […] During his (Amrom’s) time, Maphrus reigned in Egypt for 12 years, then Tumuthus for 12 years, and then Amunphatis for 45 years. He began to drown the children of the Hebrews in the Nile.
Moses, the son of Amram, was appointed leader of Israel in the eightieth year of his age, and he led the people through the wilderness for forty years. When he was born, he was thrown into the river; but the daughter of Pharaoh Amunphatis, named Tremothis, that is, “the trembling one,” whom the Hebrews call Damris, the wife of Canphera, king of Memphis, found him, drew him out of the water, and raised him as her own son. When he was ten years old, Jannes and Jambres instructed him in wisdom, as Artemonius reports. This is not written in the Pentateuch, but it is mentioned by the Apostle Paul.
In his twenty‑second year, Amunphatis began to oppress the Hebrews, compelling them to lay bricks and to build Hermopolis. The same king conquered the Cushites and took Reusa, daughter of Sur, their king, among his wives. Others attribute this victory to Moses, who, they say, took the same Reusa as his own wife. For this reason Canphera envied him and began to plot his death, though he lacked the opportunity until his wife Damris died. […]
[…] When Moses reached the age of 80, i.e. in the year 430 of the promise, he was commanded by God to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. But when the Hebrews crossed the sea, which had dried up, Pharaoh Phesunus, who had risen (as king) after Amunphatis, together with his whole army, was drowned in the sea of Suph. But the Egyptians who had not gone out with Pharaoh, when they perceived the destruction of those who had departed, treated their own servants with honor and showed them respect, since it was on account of the servants having been forbidden to leave that the calamity had occurred. […]
The sixth king of Egypt, Pharaoh Apintus, reigned for 32 years, and sent ambassadors to Kisronus, king of the Parthians, to bring the writings and knowledge of the Chaldeans into Egypt. He called the city which he built near the river Nile Babylon, or Babel. Asaphus says that in the time of Terah the Egyptians learned astronomy, and built a golden image for the idol Kinos. […] In the fifth year of Terah, the seventh king reigned in Egypt, Pharaoh Urunchus, for 33 years, whom was succeeded by the eighth king, Pharaoh Semunus for 20 years, and then the ninth king, Pharaoh Armenis, for 27 years. […] In Egypt there reigned a tenth king, the Pharaoh Thebanus, for 43 years, who was succeeded by the eleventh, Pharoah Phanus. He took away Abraham’s wife Sarah, whom he had desired, offering her gold, silver, and riches, with which he sent him (Abraham) out of Egypt. Then the twelfth king Pharaoh Iscus reigned in Egypt for 31 years. And then reigned the thirteenth, king Pharaoh Suchunus, for 44 years. And then reigned the fourteenth king, Pharaoh Tarkus, for 44 years. […]
In the time of Isaac, the fifth king of Assyria, Aris, lived for 30 years, and the fifteenth king of Egypt, Satis, lived for 19 years. He was the first of the four kings who are called shepherds. […] When Levi was three years old, Joseph was born, who, after Levi had lived 20 years, was sold at the age of 17 and served 10 years, spent three years in prison, and stood before Pharaoh for 30 years, He ruled over Egypt for 80 years and died at the age of 140 years. […] When Jacob was 130 years old, he went down into Egypt in the thirtieth (sic) year of the famine. After Jacob came Levi, his son. […] In his days […] Maphus (Memphis) was built in Egypt. […] In Egypt reigned the fourth of the shepherds, Apapus, for 14 years, the same one who dreamed dreams and made Joseph prefect of the kingdom, according to the writings of the Chaldeans. […] After Levi came Kohath [and then] Amrom his son. […] During his (Amrom’s) time, Maphrus reigned in Egypt for 12 years, then Tumuthus for 12 years, and then Amunphatis for 45 years. He began to drown the children of the Hebrews in the Nile.
Moses, the son of Amram, was appointed leader of Israel in the eightieth year of his age, and he led the people through the wilderness for forty years. When he was born, he was thrown into the river; but the daughter of Pharaoh Amunphatis, named Tremothis, that is, “the trembling one,” whom the Hebrews call Damris, the wife of Canphera, king of Memphis, found him, drew him out of the water, and raised him as her own son. When he was ten years old, Jannes and Jambres instructed him in wisdom, as Artemonius reports. This is not written in the Pentateuch, but it is mentioned by the Apostle Paul.
In his twenty‑second year, Amunphatis began to oppress the Hebrews, compelling them to lay bricks and to build Hermopolis. The same king conquered the Cushites and took Reusa, daughter of Sur, their king, among his wives. Others attribute this victory to Moses, who, they say, took the same Reusa as his own wife. For this reason Canphera envied him and began to plot his death, though he lacked the opportunity until his wife Damris died. […]
[…] When Moses reached the age of 80, i.e. in the year 430 of the promise, he was commanded by God to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. But when the Hebrews crossed the sea, which had dried up, Pharaoh Phesunus, who had risen (as king) after Amunphatis, together with his whole army, was drowned in the sea of Suph. But the Egyptians who had not gone out with Pharaoh, when they perceived the destruction of those who had departed, treated their own servants with honor and showed them respect, since it was on account of the servants having been forbidden to leave that the calamity had occurred. […]
III.
[…] In the 31st year of Josiah, there reigned in Egypt Pharaoh the Lame. He set out toward the Euphrates River, to Mabug, in order to fight against the king of the Assyrians. But when Josiah attacked him, Josiah was killed there by Necho; his servants carried him away and buried him in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz, the son of Josiah, [reigned] three months. This man Pharaoh the Lame, on his return, carried off as a captive, and in his place he appointed Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the brother of Jehoahaz. Jehoiakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, [reigned] eleven years; his other name was Eliakim. Pharaoh the Lame appointed him in his brother’s place on the condition that he pay Pharaoh each year one hundred talents of gold. […]
IV.
[…] After Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean, reigned twenty-four years. […] And Egypt was granted to the army of Nebuchadnezzar as a reward for the iron bridge which they had built on the sea near Tyre. […]
VI.
[…] Ahasuerus, the son of Darius, reigned for 100 years. In his second year he brought Egypt under his control, and in his eleventh year he burned Athens. […] Darius Nothus [reigned] nineteen years. In his fifteenth year the Egyptians revolted against the Persians and set up a king for themselves, after 124 years had passed during which they had been under the dominion of the Persians. […] Artaxerxes Ochus [reigned] twenty‑seven years. With a strong force he invaded Egypt and subjected its inhabitants to the Persians, while the king of Egypt, whose name was Nectanebo, fled into Ethiopia. In a vision it was revealed to him that many troops were coming against him. He is said to have been the illegitimate father of Alexander.
VII.
[...] In the time of Alexander […] Ptolemy, his servant, [reigned] forty years. He was the son of Lagus, that is, of “the Hare.” He received Alexander at Alexandria, carried off his body, and buried it there. In the year in which he assumed power, he deceitfully captured Jerusalem and led the Jews away as captives, and ordered them to migrate into Egypt in the time of Onias the high priest. From him the kings were called the Ptolemies. […]
COMMENTARY
A Critique of the Epitomizers of Manetho
Franz Joseph Lauth
(1865)
A. THE BYZANTINES
Malalas, Kedrenus, and a compiler of the Chronicon Paschale present an Egyptian king list in which one can scarcely still recognize anything derived from Manetho. The claim of these writers — ταῦτα δὲ παλαιὰ καὶ ἀρχαῖα βασίλεια τῶν Αἰγυπτίων Μανέθων συνεγράψατο (“these ancient and primeval kingdoms of the Egyptians were written down by Manetho”) — can be accepted as true only in a very limited sense. For how could the Egyptian priest, who lived and wrote under Ptolemy Philadelphus, have begun with Mizraim and ended with Nachor, a likewise Semitic name? We are therefore dealing only with a very muddied offshoot, one that has reshaped the Egyptian royal names out of deference to biblical matters. Yet even this distorted image preserves some features of the original form. The kings of Egypt appear here in the following sequence:
The closing sentence — “Up to here (extend) the dynasties of the Egyptians” — proves that a system underlies the list. For the Excerpta Latina Barbari ends in precisely the same way: “Haec (sic!) sunt potestates Aegyptiorum,” and this phrasing seems to be taken from the genuine lists of Manetho, which conclude with μέχρι τούδε Μανέθων (“up to this point, Manetho”).
The first king of this series, Mestraim, is the Hellenized Mizraim, who in the canon of Syncellus is directly identified with Mens. From this it follows that Hermes corresponds to Asosis. Indeed, the translation of Eratosthenes, Hermogeus, proves that the second king is meant. To be sure, in Malalas and his companions Hermes appears once more, this time under the reign of Sostris. But a glance at the list of Eusebius convinces us that in this case Armais (Danaus), the brother of Rameses (Aegyptus), was intended.
The list of Kedrenus places, after Sōis or Arēs, a Kēb. The addition τοῦ Ἡλίου ἤτοι Κρόνου (“of Helios, that is, Kronos”) proves that he ought to stand before Sōis(is).
The name Thouelis presents some difficulty. But if we read ΘΟΥΔΙC = Θωὺδς, we obtain the god Thod, whose etymon I have already demonstrated elsewhere in the Semitic חור, as the seat of intelligence. And indeed, the Turin Papyrus will show us this god in precisely the corresponding position.
Thus the compiler of this list has smuggled the names of gods into the framework of the first human dynasty, which likewise contains eight members. The next name, Sithostrīs, provides the most decisive proof for the correctness of my view. For in precisely the same way, in the canon of Syncellus, after Osirpotis (Σίραπις) there appears a king Sithochchōsis, a variant of Sithostrīs.
As for Pharaō, also called Nachōr, he corresponds far too exactly to the Phrouophō, that is, Neilos of the Laterculus for one to doubt their identity. Moreover, Nachōr = נהר, nowadays nah’r, the general term for “river,” is in fact Egyptian; for all these forms derive from the hieroglyphic Nu‑her or Nu‑hel, from which Nt‑il‑os = Neilos originates.
This list has therefore preserved the following important points from the genuine Manetho:
The numbers 20 and 50 appended to the last two names are formed in a manner very similar to the two sums of the Barbarus, 1550 and 1520. But since, as is evident, the addition of the third sum, 2100, in the system of the Barbarus is intended to yield the world‑year 5170 — that is, the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, as I intend soon to demonstrate — the conclusion cannot be avoided that the Byzantine compilations are likewise based on a similar system. A comparison of the 1680 and 4477 days with the 680 and 77 years of the Barbarus makes the kinship of the two sources even clearer; in any case, it is not worth the trouble to force complete agreement by altering the text.
B. THE ARABIC TRADITION
Abulfaragius gives the following sequence of Egyptian royal names in his Chronicon:
The last seven names leave no doubt that the list was intended to reach down to the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, that is, to the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This follows immediately from the title Memphite, which at once recalls the passage in Herodotus (II, 112): “They said that after him (Pharaoh) a Memphite man succeeded to the kingship, whose name in the Greek tongue was Proteus.” I attach no weight either to this name or to the specific title; but so much is clear from it: the source used by Abulfaragius intended, with its No. 20, to designate the first king of the Nineteenth Manethonian Dynasty. From this follows at once the conclusion that the list proceeds eclectically, naming one king from each dynasty. The further comparison will demonstrate this.
The princess Tremothisa is nothing other than Thermuthis, who according to Jewish legend rescued Moses and had him raised. Her father was the Pharaoh Amunphatis — an important form of the name, since it agrees so strikingly with the last king in Africanus’ Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenophes³), and with the monumental name Menoptah. Artapanus recalls the same king Palamanophes. One sees that here the title Pharaoh has merged with the name Mano(phthes) into a single form, whereas the list of Abulfaragius presents the title Pharaoh in the form Phesunus instead of Pherun‑us, that is, Herodotus’ Φερω.
The excerpt was placed under Mephramounisosis. It is evident that the two names (Nos. 17 and 18), Maphrus and Tumuthus, likewise mean nothing else. Yet it deserves notice that this Arabic tradition contains the two names separately.
Ascending further, we arrive at the Hyksos Apapus, under whom, “according to general opinion,” the patriarch Joseph lived in Egypt. From this it is clear that the source used by our Arab author did not share the view defended by Flavius Josephus, according to which the expulsion of the Shepherds was identical with the Exodus of the Hebrews.
The predecessor of Apapus (Ἀπαφις), the last Hyksos king, is called Satis in our list. It is evidently the first king of the Fifteenth Dynasty who is meant—the one named Satis in the excerpts of Africanus and Eusebius. His number, 15, again agrees with my hypothesis that each dynasty has, on average, contributed one name.
Let us now attempt to carry out the comparison from the beginning. It is striking that the name of the proto‑monarch Menes—otherwise given consistently by very different sources—appears here in the peculiar form Phanophisius. I believe that the Greek original must have had Μην ὁ Θυνίτης, or that “the man from the city of This” (ΦΑ‑ΝΟ‑ΘΙΣ) was intended to be expressed.
The next name, Apiphanus, may—assuming the same confusion of Θ and Φ—have arisen from Manetho’s Asosis. Although shipbuilding is not attributed to him, the construction of the royal citadel in Memphis is.
The second Manethonian dynasty, as in the Laterculus of Eratosthenes, is likewise passed over in silence here.
No. 3, Atanuphus, I compare with Necherophes, the first king of the Third Dynasty, who subdued the Libyans again. Here, however, they are Kushites. Further variants of this royal name I will provide in the second part.
The name No. 4, Bar‑Senu (it must be divided thus, because it is expressly stated that he was the first to be called “Pharaoh”), I relate to Sephrouphis (III, 8), the Seneffru of the monuments, who according to the Turin Papyrus belongs to the Fourth Dynasty. Additional variants--Senemures, Senepos—see in Part II.
No. 5, Charemon, must be identified with the builder of the Great Pyramid: Cheops, Χέωψης, Σούφις, Nem‑chufu. The Fifth Dynasty, as in the list of Eusebius, is omitted.
Nos. 6 and 7 I relate to Pepi the “long‑lived” (ur‑anch). Although Apintus (Ur‑unchus) deviates very far from the original name, I would point out that there is also a great difference between this name and Φιαφ, Ἀνάππους.
No. 8, Semunus (the Seventh Dynasty is rightly omitted), is nothing other than Emounos, shimon, שמון = ὄγδοος (“eighth”). Because no king of the Eighth Dynasty was named in the original, they made do with the numeral. For the same reason, representatives of the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Dynasties are missing.
It is true that in the excerpts of Manetho, Auentes I, with 16 years, is in a certain sense counted with the Eleventh Dynasty; but the Turin Papyrus proves that he must be listed as the head of the Twelfth Dynasty. In the second part I will relate the report of Censorinus — “that King Arminos introduced the five epagomenal days” — to this Auentes I. Here I merely draw attention to the remarkable similarity of the names Arminos and Armenis, the latter appearing as No. 9 in our list. That I am right in identifying this Armenis with Amenemhat I and assigning him to the Twelfth Manethonian Dynasty follows incontrovertibly from the next number. For No. 10 is called Pharondus Thebanus. “Theban,” that is, Diospolite, is explicitly the designation of the Twelfth Dynasty. Since this name Pharondus again means nothing more than the title Phara, which is evident from its contemporaneity with Abraham, I add No. 11, Phanus, and see in it — just as above in Phesun‑us — again the word Pharaoh. Presumably the intention was to designate thereby the most famous king of the Twelfth Dynasty: Sesostris III (Σέσωστρις erroneously rendered), as the Pharaoh par excellence.
The names that follow under Nos. 12, 13, and 14 place us in the period of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. I understand Iskus as a designation of the Fourteenth Dynasty, which is called the Xoite dynasty, after the city of Ξοΐς, Coptic Sekooÿ, Sekhooÿ, Shôoy. The Arabic idiom had to supply a vowel, and thus Iskus arose.
Long ago, the monumental king Sekenen‑(ra)‑Taaakun was recognized as contemporary with the Hyksos king Apophis. One will approve that I identify Nos. 13 and 14 — Sechunus‑Tarkus, taken as a single king — with this ruler. The Laterculus offers the form Σουκοινινος, whose identity with the original name particularly recommends my critique of the Laterculus, since it places him at the end of the relevant dynasty.
Exactly the same is found in the list of Abulfaragius, at least with respect to contemporaneity; for he names under the next two numbers Satis and Apapus, that is, the first and the last Hyksos king of the Fifteenth Manethonian Dynasty, as I have already demonstrated above.
Malalas, Kedrenus, and a compiler of the Chronicon Paschale present an Egyptian king list in which one can scarcely still recognize anything derived from Manetho. The claim of these writers — ταῦτα δὲ παλαιὰ καὶ ἀρχαῖα βασίλεια τῶν Αἰγυπτίων Μανέθων συνεγράψατο (“these ancient and primeval kingdoms of the Egyptians were written down by Manetho”) — can be accepted as true only in a very limited sense. For how could the Egyptian priest, who lived and wrote under Ptolemy Philadelphus, have begun with Mizraim and ended with Nachor, a likewise Semitic name? We are therefore dealing only with a very muddied offshoot, one that has reshaped the Egyptian royal names out of deference to biblical matters. Yet even this distorted image preserves some features of the original form. The kings of Egypt appear here in the following sequence:
- Mestraim.
- Hermes, 39 years.
- Heraistos, 1680 days.
- Helios, 4477 days.
- Sotes.
- Osiris.
- Isris.
- Thoulis.
- (Se) Sostris, 20 years.
- Pharao, also called Nachor, 50 years. “Up to this point are the dynasties of the Egyptians.”
The closing sentence — “Up to here (extend) the dynasties of the Egyptians” — proves that a system underlies the list. For the Excerpta Latina Barbari ends in precisely the same way: “Haec (sic!) sunt potestates Aegyptiorum,” and this phrasing seems to be taken from the genuine lists of Manetho, which conclude with μέχρι τούδε Μανέθων (“up to this point, Manetho”).
The first king of this series, Mestraim, is the Hellenized Mizraim, who in the canon of Syncellus is directly identified with Mens. From this it follows that Hermes corresponds to Asosis. Indeed, the translation of Eratosthenes, Hermogeus, proves that the second king is meant. To be sure, in Malalas and his companions Hermes appears once more, this time under the reign of Sostris. But a glance at the list of Eusebius convinces us that in this case Armais (Danaus), the brother of Rameses (Aegyptus), was intended.
The list of Kedrenus places, after Sōis or Arēs, a Kēb. The addition τοῦ Ἡλίου ἤτοι Κρόνου (“of Helios, that is, Kronos”) proves that he ought to stand before Sōis(is).
The name Thouelis presents some difficulty. But if we read ΘΟΥΔΙC = Θωὺδς, we obtain the god Thod, whose etymon I have already demonstrated elsewhere in the Semitic חור, as the seat of intelligence. And indeed, the Turin Papyrus will show us this god in precisely the corresponding position.
Thus the compiler of this list has smuggled the names of gods into the framework of the first human dynasty, which likewise contains eight members. The next name, Sithostrīs, provides the most decisive proof for the correctness of my view. For in precisely the same way, in the canon of Syncellus, after Osirpotis (Σίραπις) there appears a king Sithochchōsis, a variant of Sithostrīs.
As for Pharaō, also called Nachōr, he corresponds far too exactly to the Phrouophō, that is, Neilos of the Laterculus for one to doubt their identity. Moreover, Nachōr = נהר, nowadays nah’r, the general term for “river,” is in fact Egyptian; for all these forms derive from the hieroglyphic Nu‑her or Nu‑hel, from which Nt‑il‑os = Neilos originates.
This list has therefore preserved the following important points from the genuine Manetho:
- The indication of the reign of the gods.
- The beginning and the extent of the first human dynasty, and thus the first volume of Manetho.
- The beginning of the second volume, in the name Sithostrīs, which is (though improperly) assigned to the Twelfth Dynasty.
- The conclusion of the second Manethonian volume with the epoch‑king Nachōr, who also appears as Neilos in Eratosthenes, Dicaearchus, and Diodorus.
The numbers 20 and 50 appended to the last two names are formed in a manner very similar to the two sums of the Barbarus, 1550 and 1520. But since, as is evident, the addition of the third sum, 2100, in the system of the Barbarus is intended to yield the world‑year 5170 — that is, the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, as I intend soon to demonstrate — the conclusion cannot be avoided that the Byzantine compilations are likewise based on a similar system. A comparison of the 1680 and 4477 days with the 680 and 77 years of the Barbarus makes the kinship of the two sources even clearer; in any case, it is not worth the trouble to force complete agreement by altering the text.
B. THE ARABIC TRADITION
Abulfaragius gives the following sequence of Egyptian royal names in his Chronicon:
- Phanophisus.
- Apiphanus, builder of ships.
- Atanuphus, conqueror of the Kushites.
- Barsenus, the first to be called “Pharaoh.”
- Charemon.
- Apintus, who brought the Chaldean script to Egypt.
- Urunchus.
- Semunus.
- Armenis.
- Pharondus the Theban.
- Phanus, the contemporary of Abraham.
- Iskus.
- Sechunus.
- Tarkus.
- Satis.
- Apapus, Hyksos king, under whom Joseph lived.
- Maphrus.
- Tumuthus.
- Amunphatis, Phesunus, who caused the children of the Jews to be drowned in the Nile and himself perished in the Red Sea. His daughter Tremothisa is the wife of the
- Memphite Kanphera.
The last seven names leave no doubt that the list was intended to reach down to the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, that is, to the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This follows immediately from the title Memphite, which at once recalls the passage in Herodotus (II, 112): “They said that after him (Pharaoh) a Memphite man succeeded to the kingship, whose name in the Greek tongue was Proteus.” I attach no weight either to this name or to the specific title; but so much is clear from it: the source used by Abulfaragius intended, with its No. 20, to designate the first king of the Nineteenth Manethonian Dynasty. From this follows at once the conclusion that the list proceeds eclectically, naming one king from each dynasty. The further comparison will demonstrate this.
The princess Tremothisa is nothing other than Thermuthis, who according to Jewish legend rescued Moses and had him raised. Her father was the Pharaoh Amunphatis — an important form of the name, since it agrees so strikingly with the last king in Africanus’ Eighteenth Dynasty, Amenophes³), and with the monumental name Menoptah. Artapanus recalls the same king Palamanophes. One sees that here the title Pharaoh has merged with the name Mano(phthes) into a single form, whereas the list of Abulfaragius presents the title Pharaoh in the form Phesunus instead of Pherun‑us, that is, Herodotus’ Φερω.
The excerpt was placed under Mephramounisosis. It is evident that the two names (Nos. 17 and 18), Maphrus and Tumuthus, likewise mean nothing else. Yet it deserves notice that this Arabic tradition contains the two names separately.
Ascending further, we arrive at the Hyksos Apapus, under whom, “according to general opinion,” the patriarch Joseph lived in Egypt. From this it is clear that the source used by our Arab author did not share the view defended by Flavius Josephus, according to which the expulsion of the Shepherds was identical with the Exodus of the Hebrews.
The predecessor of Apapus (Ἀπαφις), the last Hyksos king, is called Satis in our list. It is evidently the first king of the Fifteenth Dynasty who is meant—the one named Satis in the excerpts of Africanus and Eusebius. His number, 15, again agrees with my hypothesis that each dynasty has, on average, contributed one name.
Let us now attempt to carry out the comparison from the beginning. It is striking that the name of the proto‑monarch Menes—otherwise given consistently by very different sources—appears here in the peculiar form Phanophisius. I believe that the Greek original must have had Μην ὁ Θυνίτης, or that “the man from the city of This” (ΦΑ‑ΝΟ‑ΘΙΣ) was intended to be expressed.
The next name, Apiphanus, may—assuming the same confusion of Θ and Φ—have arisen from Manetho’s Asosis. Although shipbuilding is not attributed to him, the construction of the royal citadel in Memphis is.
The second Manethonian dynasty, as in the Laterculus of Eratosthenes, is likewise passed over in silence here.
No. 3, Atanuphus, I compare with Necherophes, the first king of the Third Dynasty, who subdued the Libyans again. Here, however, they are Kushites. Further variants of this royal name I will provide in the second part.
The name No. 4, Bar‑Senu (it must be divided thus, because it is expressly stated that he was the first to be called “Pharaoh”), I relate to Sephrouphis (III, 8), the Seneffru of the monuments, who according to the Turin Papyrus belongs to the Fourth Dynasty. Additional variants--Senemures, Senepos—see in Part II.
No. 5, Charemon, must be identified with the builder of the Great Pyramid: Cheops, Χέωψης, Σούφις, Nem‑chufu. The Fifth Dynasty, as in the list of Eusebius, is omitted.
Nos. 6 and 7 I relate to Pepi the “long‑lived” (ur‑anch). Although Apintus (Ur‑unchus) deviates very far from the original name, I would point out that there is also a great difference between this name and Φιαφ, Ἀνάππους.
No. 8, Semunus (the Seventh Dynasty is rightly omitted), is nothing other than Emounos, shimon, שמון = ὄγδοος (“eighth”). Because no king of the Eighth Dynasty was named in the original, they made do with the numeral. For the same reason, representatives of the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Dynasties are missing.
It is true that in the excerpts of Manetho, Auentes I, with 16 years, is in a certain sense counted with the Eleventh Dynasty; but the Turin Papyrus proves that he must be listed as the head of the Twelfth Dynasty. In the second part I will relate the report of Censorinus — “that King Arminos introduced the five epagomenal days” — to this Auentes I. Here I merely draw attention to the remarkable similarity of the names Arminos and Armenis, the latter appearing as No. 9 in our list. That I am right in identifying this Armenis with Amenemhat I and assigning him to the Twelfth Manethonian Dynasty follows incontrovertibly from the next number. For No. 10 is called Pharondus Thebanus. “Theban,” that is, Diospolite, is explicitly the designation of the Twelfth Dynasty. Since this name Pharondus again means nothing more than the title Phara, which is evident from its contemporaneity with Abraham, I add No. 11, Phanus, and see in it — just as above in Phesun‑us — again the word Pharaoh. Presumably the intention was to designate thereby the most famous king of the Twelfth Dynasty: Sesostris III (Σέσωστρις erroneously rendered), as the Pharaoh par excellence.
The names that follow under Nos. 12, 13, and 14 place us in the period of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. I understand Iskus as a designation of the Fourteenth Dynasty, which is called the Xoite dynasty, after the city of Ξοΐς, Coptic Sekooÿ, Sekhooÿ, Shôoy. The Arabic idiom had to supply a vowel, and thus Iskus arose.
Long ago, the monumental king Sekenen‑(ra)‑Taaakun was recognized as contemporary with the Hyksos king Apophis. One will approve that I identify Nos. 13 and 14 — Sechunus‑Tarkus, taken as a single king — with this ruler. The Laterculus offers the form Σουκοινινος, whose identity with the original name particularly recommends my critique of the Laterculus, since it places him at the end of the relevant dynasty.
Exactly the same is found in the list of Abulfaragius, at least with respect to contemporaneity; for he names under the next two numbers Satis and Apapus, that is, the first and the last Hyksos king of the Fifteenth Manethonian Dynasty, as I have already demonstrated above.
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Sources: Agapius (Mahboub) de Menbidj, Kitab al-‘unvan / Histoire Universelle, ed. and trans. Alexandre Vasilev, Part 1, Patrologia Orientalis 5 (1910), 631, 638; Michel le Syrien, Chronique de Michel le Syrien, trans. and ed. J.-B. Chabot (Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1899), 28; Paulus Jacobus Bruns and Georgius Guilielmus Kirsch (eds. and trans.), Gregorii Abulpharagii sive Bar Hebraei Chronicon Syriacum (Leipzig: Adam Friedrich Böhme, 1789), 8-38 passim; Franz Joseph Lauth, “Kritik der Auszügler Manetho’s,” Manetho und der Turiner Königs-Papyrus (Munich: 1865), 3-7.
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