Egypt Facts / Egypt Gods: Famous Pharaohs

The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun and its fabulous wealth has made King Tut one of the most famous Pharaohs. According to Egyptian legend, the first kings of Egypt were to become some of country's most famous gods. According to many sources, the first real king of a unified Egypt was Menes. He would have ruled around 3100 BC, but there is little if any archaeological basis for this name. Most scholars today believe that he may have been a king named Narmer, or more likely still, Aha, two figures that are better attested in the archaeological record.

King Akhenaten made waves in ancient Egypt when he abandoned the old religion of worshipping many gods and goddesses. Instead, he proclaimed that the sun god, Aton, was the only god. At one point, Akhenaten took Aton's name as his own. During King Akhenaten's reign, he created a new capital city and closed all temples not devoted to his god Aton. He went so far as to order the removal of the names of the other gods from the temples. However, he died before all this could happen. His wife, Queen Nefertiti, was as powerful as he. She helped her husband set up cults and temples devoted soley to Aton. Akhenaten and Nefertiti were hated among the Egyptian people. When they died, their names were removed from inscriptions and their temples were torn down.

There is contradictory information regarding the first king of Egypt. Some authorities believe he might have been Aha, while others contend that Menes held this title. Very little information on the Egyptian pharaohs of the first and second dynasties is known. The few facts that are known about the sixteen or so ancient Egyptian pharaohs who ruled Egypt during this time has been gleaned from the Palermo stone, an ancient stone tablet that contains information such as lists of pharaohs and other facts of daily life from the ancient pharonic periods.

Cleopatra was a Hellenistic co-ruler of Egypt with her father (Ptolemy XII Auletes) and later with her brothers/husbands Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV. She later became the supreme ruler of Egypt, as Pharaoh, consummated a liaison with Gaius Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne, and, after Caesar's assassination, aligned with Mark Antony, with whom she produced twins. Her unions with her brothers produced no children. It is possible that they were never consummated; in any case, they were not close. Her reign marks the end of the Hellenistic Era and the beginning of the Roman Era in the eastern Mediterranean. She was the last Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion, ruled in name only before Augustus had him executed).

The 4th Dynasty marked the golden age of ancient Egypt. During this period, construction and literature flourished. It is during this time when pharaohs started building bigger and grander pyramids. The most famous of these (and still standing) are the Great Pyramids at Giza. As such, this period is also known as the Age of Pyramids. <br/><br/>
Some of the more famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt come from this period, including pharaoh Khufu and pharaoh Khafre of the 4th Dynasty who built the Giza pyramids. Also famous is pharaoh Pepi II of the 6th Dynasty, who ruled for 94 years, longer than any other ruler.

The first true pharaoh of Egypt was Narmer (sometimes called Menes), who united Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. He was the first king of the First Dynasty, the beginning of the Old Kingdom.