Conventional Egyptian chronology

This conventional chronology of the rulers of ancient Egypt, taking into account well accepted developments during the 20th century but not including any of the major revision proposals that have also been made in that time.

Even within a single work, often archeologists will offer several possible dates or even several whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in articles on particular rulers. Often there are also several possible spellings of the names.

It should be noted that there is a 60 year discrepancy between the dates proposed by these two authors. There is no attempt to remove this in the combined chronology presented below, which is the “Conventional Chronology” that is quoted by David Rohl in A Test of Time (1995, Century).

All dates are BC.

Sources

Predynastic Egypt is from Late Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt (http://xoomer.virgilio.it/francescoraf/).
The dates of Dynasties 1 to 10 are from Baines and Malek, Atlas of Ancient Egypt (Oxford, 1980).
The dates of Dynasties 11 to 20 are from Kitchen, "The Basics of Egyptian Chronology in Relation to the Bronze Age", in Astrom (ed) High, Middle or Low (Gothengurg, 1987), taking his low chronology.
The dates of Dynasties 21 to 26 are from Kitchen, Third Intermediate Period in Egypt (1973, Warminster).

(This information has been supplemented from The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw (Oxford, 2000), and Digital Egypt for Universities (http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/), which was developed by The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology (http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/).)

See also

Protodynastic Period

Dynasty 0 circa 3100?2920

Scorpion I
Double Falcon
Ny-Hor
Pe-Hor
Hat-Hor
Hedj-Hor
Crocodile
Scorpion II
Iry Hor
Ka
Narmer

Early Dynastic Period

1st Dynasty 2920-2770

Aha / Menes
Djer
Djet
Queen Merytneit
Den
Anedjib
Semerkhet
Kaa

2nd Dynasty 2770-2650

Hetepsekhemwy
Reneb
Ninetjer
Sekhemib
Peribsen
Sened
Weneg
Khasekhem
Khasekhemwy

Position uncertain

Sneferka
Ba (two different writings, possibly two separate kings)

Old Kingdom

3rd Dynasty

Netjerkhet (Djoser)
Sekhemkhet
Khaba
Sanakht (Nebka ?)
Huni (Horus Qahedjet ?)

4th Dynasty

Sneferu 2575-2551
Khufu (Cheops) 2551-2528
Djedefre 2528-2520
Khafre (Chephren) 2520-2494
Nebka (Bikheris of later Greek-language sources)
Menkhaure (Mycerinus) 2490-2472
Shepseskaf 2472-2467
Thampthis (in later Greek-language sources)

5th Dynasty

Userkhaf 2465-2458
Sahure 2458-2446
Neferirkare Kakai 2446-2426
Shepseskare Ini 2426-2419
Neferefre 2419-2416
Niuserre Izi 2416-2392
Menkauhore 2396-2388
Djedkare Izezi 2388-2356
Wenis (Unas) 2356-2323

6th Dynasty

Teti 2323-2291
Userkare 2291-2289
Pepy I (Meryre) 2289-2255
Merenre Nemtyemzaf 2255-2246
Pepi II Neferkare 2246-2152

First Intermediate Period

7th Dynasty

In the kinglist summaries from the third century BC historian Manetho, this is a group of 70 kings ruling 70 days: there is no evidence for this - it may be a later literary metaphor for chaos at the end of the Sixth Dynasty, chaos for which there is also no direct contemporary evidence.