Okronology and Ilistory.—One of the most important points of Egyptian history is the chronological, involving as it does the date of the earliest historical epoch of man. In the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the 3d c. B.c., Manetho of Sebenuytus, high-priest of Heliopolis, drew up, at the request of the king, a history, iu which lie divided the space of time from Menes to the reconquest of E. by Darius II. into 30 dynasties. The work of Manetho has perished, but chronological epitomes remain in the works of Julius Africanus, a writer of 300 A n., and Ensebius, and George the Syucellus, 800 A.D. Besides the Bible, Herodotus, Diodorus, Josephus, and other writers, especially Eratos thenes, also contained sources of chronological information, and the learned of Europe for the last 3 centuries had endeavored to reconcile the conflicting statements of these authors, the discrepancy of their ciphers, and the inaccuracy of their details. Even in Biblical chronology, the-Hebrew, 'Samaritan, and Septuagint versions gave very different results, but in England the chronology of which, from the Hebrew-, placed 4004 B.C. as the date of creation, and 2348 B.C. for the deluge, has somehow obtained the sanction of theological writers. To reconcile these conflicting authorities, two schools of chronological critics, called of the long and short chronology, have arisen, and the epoch of Meues has been placed by the advocates of the long chronology, as Boockh, at 5702 B.C., by Bunsen, at 3643 B.c., by Lepsius, at 3892 B.C., by Henry, at 5305 B.C.; while the same date falls, according to Sharpe, 2000 B.C., to Nolan, 2673 B.c., and Poole, 2717 B.C. Unfortunately, the monumental information is defective at certain periods, while in all, the national custom of dating in kings' reigns only, without the use of the controlling date of any cycle, renders the subject still more obscure; for the sothic cycle, or dogstar period of 1461 vague years, was not in official use. The celebrated hieratic papyrus at Turin, of the age of the 19th dynasty, which contained a system of chronology arranged on a principle of cyclic and regnal years, has unfortunately suffered so much mutilation that it is impossible to reconstruct it satisfactorily. It is therefore better to arrange the history according to the dynastic successions of Manetho, giving these as waves of time, leaving the question of their duration to individual judgment. At present, the elaborate systems of chronology are only chronological draughts from recollection of a vast ruin, each more or less happy or defective in some particular respects or general conception. There are not sufficient monumental data for a sure conclusion about the remoter dynasties. Mythically E. was said to have been first governed by a dynasty of gods, who, according to Manetho and other Greek authors, were Vulcan or Ptah, Helios the Sun or Ra, &is or Shu, Saturn or Seb, Osiris or Heshar, Typhon or Seti, and Horns or Hor. These gods reigned 13,900 years, and were suc ceeded by the Manes and demigods, whose reign occupied 4,000 more years. But con siderable difference exists in the lists—that of Thebes giving Amen, Mentu, Tum, Su and Seb, Osiris, Seti, and Horns; that of Memphis, Ptah, Ra, Shu, Seb, Osiris, Set, and IIorus. After the reigns of the gods, the epoch of Menes is the first point in the chronology of the history of ancient E., and has been placed, as above mentioned, by the rival systems of chronology.
No contemporary monuments of Menes exist, but he is said by tradition to have corrupted the simplicity of the patriarchal life of the nation, instituted the first laws and divine worship, founded the temple of Ptah, by turning the course of the Nile, by means of a barrage, to the w. at Kosheishe, and to have founded Mennefer or Memphis, after some expeditions against the Libyans, and to have been devoured by a crocodile. The statue of Menes is represented borne iu ancestral procession in the reigns of Rameses II. and III. at Thebes, but no contemporary monument of this monarch exists. His successor, Athothis, wrote a work upon anatomy, and built the palace of Memphis. The other kings of this dynasty were Kenkenes, Venephes, who built the pyramids at Ko or Kochome, Miebis, Semempses, and Bieneches; but their names have not been identified, nor do any monuments of them remain. This dynasty reigned about 250 years, and was succeeded by the 2d, which lasted about 300 years, but of which no contemporary monuments remain. This dynasty, however, introduced the worship of sacred animals, and abolished the Salle law, which had hitherto prevailed. With the 3d dynasty of Memphites, which endured about 200 years, monumental history properly begins, the monumental king Seneferu of this dynasty having conquered the Sinaitic peninsula, and opened the copper mines of the Wady Magara. The 4th dynasty, also of Memphites, had an existence of 284 years. The celebrated canon of Turin contains fragments of the duration of the reigns and lives of the monarchs of this line, some of which were prolonged to upwards of 90 years. Monumental remains are found of Solis. The two Khufus built the two great pyramids of Giza, and held the Arabian peninsula in subjection. Cheops, or the elder of the two Khufus, constructed the largest of this group of the pyramids by means of a forced conscription, and was regarded as a detestable and impious tyrant. Subsequently, he repented, and wrote a book in honor of the gods, which enjoyed a great reputation. Khafren, his successor, built the second of the great pyramids, and Mencheres, or Myceriuus, the third pyramid. The so-called book of the ritual, which dates from this period, and the high civilization which Memphis had then attained, mark an epoch in Egyptian civilization, and the numerous tombs, in the vicinity of the pyramid, constructed during this and the sub sequent dynasty, exhibit a highly progressing state of civilization; the cultivation of farms, the chase, the arts, enjoyed a great deal of the attention of the Egyptians; but horses and wheel-carriages were alike unknown, although the simpler mechanical instruments and manufactured articles had been invented.
The 4th dynasty began, according to Lepsius, 3427 n.c. The 5th, which monument ally appears a continuation of the 4th, terminates with Annos or Onnos, who was killed by his guards. His sepulchre was the pyramid of the Mastabat-el-Faraoun, near Saq qarah. This 5th dynasty was, however, from Elephantine, and appears to have ruled in Upper as well as Lower E., monuments of it being found in the Thebaid. Consider able difference, however, exists between Lepsius and Bunsen in the assignment of the royal cartouches of this period, Lepsius assigning them to the 5th, and Bunsen to the 3d dynasty. The group of the Abooseer pyramids is of this age. The next dynasty,
the 6th, a 3lemphite, was more remarkable, and tombs and numerous small objects of the period are found in Upper and Central Egypt, and in the valley of Hamamat, lead ing from Coptos to 'the Red tea. The principal Monarchs of were Othoes, killed by his guards; Phiops or Apappus, whose reign extended to 100 years: and Nitocris, whom the legends represent as drowning the murderers of her brother, and constructing the third Gizeh pyramid, in which she was buried, and which she perhaps enlarged from the old original sepulcher of Mycerinus, having added to it the revet ment of red syenitic granite. Of the 7th dynasty, two names, An and Assa, are sup posed to have been found; but the monumental connection between the close of the 6th and 11th dynasties, has not been even conjecturally restored, from the conflicting tablets of Karnak and Abydos, and the mutilated papyrus of Turin. It is not possible to follow the order of the succession till the 11th dynasty, nor are there monuments either of a public or sepulchral nature to show the existence of the intermediate period, rendered more unintelligible by the contemptuous silence of the lists of Manetho, one tyrant, Achthoes, being alone mentioned in them. Considerable discrepancy exists between the canon of Turin and the lists of Manetho relative to this period; the canon making two dynasties—one of 6, the other of 17 kings between the 6th and the 12th dynasty; Manetho, 86 kings, and about 500 years. The impossibility of reconciling, these statements has given rise to the idea, that the lists were respectively Memphite and Theban, each having contemporary kings. The existence, however, of the 11th dynasty, consisting of a line of monarchs called Hantefs and Mentuhetps, has been proved by the discoveries of their coffins in the tombs at Gournah and the El Assasifs, and the•tablets of the island of Konosso and others, referring to the construction of the fortress of Coptos and in honor of the local god. The successive reigns and monarchs of the 12th dynasty are fixed by numerous monuments. Amenemha I., the founder of the tine, opened the quarries of Tourah, embellished An or Heliopolis, and founded the temple of Amen at Thebes, reigning nine years alone, and seven with Osirtesen I., his successor. A historical papyrus recording his dreams and other facts of this reign remains. The monuments of Osirtesen I. exist in the Faioum at Benihassan and. Heliopolis; he subjected some of the Ethiopian tribes. During his reign there occurred a famine; and in the 38th year of his reign, he associated Amenemha II. into the gov ernment for four years. Little of historical import is known of his successors, Amenemha II. and Osirtesen II., except their conquest of Kash or Ethiopia, and the arrival of a tribe of 36 Amu or Semitics in the sixth year of Osirtesen II. These resemble, in their costume and physiognomy, the Hebrews, and have been supposed to represent the arrival of Jacob in Egypt. Osirtesen III., his successor, established the southern frontier at Samuel', which he fortified; and was subsequently deified in Nubia, and received, in the reign of Thothmes III., a worship in that region, and forti fied Coptos. His successor, Amenemha III., excavated the Birket-el-Keroun or Mceris lake; constructed the Labyrinth, composed of 6,000 rooms; the pyramid of Crocodilo polis, in its vicinity; and the temple of the goddess Athor at the Sarabout-el-Khadem. His successors, Amenemha IV. and the queen Sebeknefru, are only known from the remains of the Labyrinth, and some inferior monuments. The same difficulty of trac ing the succession which exists between the 0th and 12th, occurs again between the 12th and 15th. The most plausible conjecture, however, is that the 13th (Diospolite) and the 14th Nolte dynasty, in Lower E., were contemporaneous, and that the 15th and 16th Theban and DI iospolitan had for their contemporaries the 17th Hykshos or Shepherd dynasty in Lower Egypt. The monarchs of the 14th dynasty appear from the monu ments to have been occupied in regulating the course of the Nile at Samneh, while their power reached from the isle of Argo to El Hamarnat, and they engaged in traffic with the Phenicians. About 2000 IL C., the advance of the Assyrians in Asia, or some internal revolution, precipitated the so-called Hykshos or Shepherd kings, who appear to have been Arabs or Phenicians, on Lower Egypt. These invaders overthrew the Xoite dynasty of Lower E., took Memphis by assault, and established themselves in the city of Haouar or Avaris, subsequently called Tanis, where their monuments still exist. But the Egyptian rulers of tipper E. overthrew their rule, and under Ra-skenen, the last king of the 16th dynasty, Avaris was invested, while his successor, Aahmes I., of the 17th, took it by assault, besieged Sarahan or Sharon, and attacked the moun taineers of Nubia. The Hykshos endeavored to substitute the worship of Sut or Set for Ea or the Sun, but Aahmes I. restored the ancient temples, and opened the quarries of Tourah. Amenophis I., his son and successor, who reigned under the tutelage of his mother, continued the Ethiopian campaigns, and embellished Thebes. Thothmes I. carried his anus to Tombos, in the heart of Nubia, and into Naharaina or Mesopotamia, and embellished Thebes. Thothmes II., who reigned under the guardianship of Hatasu, defeated the Shos. His brother and successor, Thothmes III., elevated E. to the highest pinnacle of glory; and by the victory of Megiddo, in his 23d year, sub jected the whole of Syria and part of Mesopotamia to his arms, receiving immense tributes from Kash and the Ethiopian races of the s., the islands of the sea, and Assyria, Babylon, Phoenicia, and Central Asia, and endowing the temple of Thebes with the revenues of tributary cities. A calendar preserved at Elephantine recording the heliaeal rise of the Dog-star on the 28th Epiphi, shows that the year 1444 B.c. fell in his reign. Thothmes III. recovered the copper-mines of Magarah, and decorated all Egypt. Amenophis II. continued the conquests of the Ruten, took Nineveh by assault. and vanquished the Ethiopians. Thothmes IV. is supposed to have erected the Great Sphinx. Amenophis III, maintained the frontiers of the empire. At this period, a heresy became introduced into E., favored by the queen Taia. Amenophis IV. became a worshiper of the Aten or solar orb, to the exclusion of the other deities of E., especially of Amen Ra. The capital was removed to Tel-el-Amarna or Alabastroi4 the king changed his name to Akhuenatneu, and a succession of three heretic monarchs ruled E. for about 33 years, till Haremhebi or Horus restored the orthodox faith and the limits of empire.