Egypt was ruled by pharaohs for roughly three thousand years — longer than the gap between Cleopatra and the present day. Over 170 rulers are known by name, and many more only from broken king lists.
This is a filterable list of the rulers who matter most: the ones whose reigns are securely attested and whose decisions are still visible in the archaeology. Search by name, dynasty or achievement, or filter by period.
How Many Pharaohs Were There?
About 170 pharaohs are known by name, spread over roughly 30 dynasties and three thousand years, from Narmer around 3100 BC to Cleopatra VII, who died in 30 BC. The true number was higher. Some kings are known only from damaged king lists, and during the Intermediate Periods two or more rival dynasties ruled different parts of Egypt at the same time, so totals vary from one book to the next.
- First pharaoh: Narmer, c. 3100 BC, credited with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt.
- Last pharaoh: Cleopatra VII, 51–30 BC.
- Longest reign among major kings: Ramesses II, 66 years.
- Women who ruled as pharaoh: at least five (see below).
- Pharaohs from Sudan: the five kings of the 25th Dynasty (see below).
Famous Pharaohs in Order
If you only need the big names, these are the fifteen pharaohs most people ask about, in chronological order. The full searchable list of 53 rulers is below.
- Narmer (c. 3100 BC) — first king of a united Egypt.
- Djoser (c. 2670 BC) — built the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.
- Khufu (c. 2589–2566 BC) — built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
- Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC) — second Giza pyramid; usually credited with the Great Sphinx.
- Mentuhotep II (c. 2055–2004 BC) — reunited Egypt and began the Middle Kingdom.
- Senusret III (c. 1870–1831 BC) — the Middle Kingdom’s great reformer and campaigner.
- Ahmose I (c. 1550–1525 BC) — expelled the Hyksos and founded the New Kingdom.
- Hatshepsut (c. 1473–1458 BC) — the most powerful woman to rule as pharaoh.
- Thutmose III (c. 1479–1425 BC) — Egypt’s greatest military campaigner.
- Amenhotep III (c. 1390–1352 BC) — ruled Egypt’s golden age.
- Akhenaten (c. 1352–1336 BC) — replaced the old gods with the Aten.
- Tutankhamun (c. 1332–1323 BC) — restored the old religion; famous for his near-intact tomb.
- Ramesses II (c. 1279–1213 BC) — Kadesh, Abu Simbel and a 66-year reign.
- Taharqa (690–664 BC) — the best-known of the Kushite “black pharaohs”.
- Cleopatra VII (51–30 BC) — the last pharaoh of Egypt.
How Many Female Pharaohs Were There?
At least five women ruled Egypt as pharaoh in their own right, rather than as a king’s wife or regent:
- Sobekneferu (12th Dynasty, c. 1800 BC) — the first woman securely known to have taken the full royal titles.
- Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty) — ruled for about twenty years and built on a huge scale.
- Neferneferuaten (18th Dynasty) — a short reign after Akhenaten; she may have been Nefertiti, but this is still debated.
- Tausret (19th Dynasty) — the last ruler of her dynasty.
- Cleopatra VII (Ptolemaic) — the last pharaoh of all.
A few other women, such as Merneith in the 1st Dynasty, held great power but are usually counted as regents. Nitocris, named by later writers, may be legendary.
Who Were the Black Pharaohs?
“Black pharaohs” is the popular name for the kings of the 25th Dynasty, who came from the kingdom of Kush in what is now Sudan. Piye conquered Egypt around 728 BC, and his family ruled it until about 656 BC, when Assyrian invasions pushed them back south. There were five of them: Piye, Shabaka, Shebitku, Taharqa and Tanutamani. They presented themselves as restorers of old Egyptian tradition, and they were buried under steep pyramids at El-Kurru and Nuri, part of the reason Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt.
Full List of Egyptian Pharaohs (Searchable)
| Pharaoh | Dynasty | Approx. dates BC | Remembered for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD — c. 3100–2686 BC | |||
| Narmer | 1st | c. 3100 | Credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt. The Narmer Palette shows him wearing both crowns |
| Hor-Aha | 1st | c. 3080 | Possibly the same figure as Narmer, or his immediate successor |
| Den | 1st | c. 2970 | First ruler shown wearing the double crown and titled King of Upper and Lower Egypt |
| Khasekhemwy | 2nd | c. 2690 | Ended a period of internal conflict. Father of Djoser |
| OLD KINGDOM — c. 2686–2181 BC | |||
| Djoser | 3rd | c. 2670 | Built the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first monumental stone structure in Egypt |
| Sneferu | 4th | c. 2613–2589 | Built three pyramids, including the Bent and Red pyramids. Perfected the true pyramid form |
| Khufu | 4th | c. 2589–2566 | Built the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest ever constructed |
| Djedefre | 4th | c. 2566–2558 | Khufu’s successor. Sometimes proposed as the builder of the Sphinx |
| Khafre | 4th | c. 2558–2532 | Second Giza pyramid. Usually credited with the Great Sphinx |
| Menkaure | 4th | c. 2532–2503 | Third and smallest Giza pyramid. The great age of pyramid building was ending |
| Userkaf | 5th | c. 2494–2487 | Founded the 5th dynasty and the first sun temple |
| Unas | 5th | c. 2375–2345 | First pyramid inscribed with the Pyramid Texts, ancestor of the Book of the Dead |
| Teti | 6th | c. 2345–2333 | Founded the 6th dynasty |
| Pepi I | 6th | c. 2321–2287 | Extensive building and Nubian campaigns |
| Pepi II | 6th | c. 2278–2184 | Traditionally credited with the longest reign in history, though the figure is disputed |
| MIDDLE KINGDOM — c. 2055–1650 BC | |||
| Mentuhotep II | 11th | c. 2055–2004 | Reunified Egypt after the First Intermediate Period |
| Amenemhat I | 12th | c. 1985–1956 | Founded the 12th dynasty. Assassinated, according to a surviving text |
| Senusret I | 12th | c. 1956–1911 | Major temple building at Karnak |
| Senusret III | 12th | c. 1870–1831 | Nubian campaigns and a centralised reform of provincial government |
| Amenemhat III | 12th | c. 1831–1786 | Large-scale irrigation work in the Faiyum |
| Sobekneferu | 12th | c. 1806–1802 | First woman securely attested as pharaoh. Brief reign, ending the dynasty |
| SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD — c. 1650–1550 BC | |||
| Apepi | 15th (Hyksos) | c. 1590–1550 | Hyksos ruler of the Delta during the division of Egypt |
| Seqenenre Tao | 17th | c. 1560 | Died violently. His mummy shows axe and dagger wounds to the skull |
| Kamose | 17th | c. 1555–1550 | Began the campaign to expel the Hyksos |
| NEW KINGDOM — c. 1550–1069 BC | |||
| Ahmose I | 18th | c. 1550–1525 | Expelled the Hyksos and founded the New Kingdom |
| Thutmose I | 18th | c. 1504–1492 | Probably the first king buried in the Valley of the Kings |
| Hatshepsut | 18th | c. 1473–1458 | Ruled as pharaoh for twenty years. Her name was later erased from monuments |
| Thutmose III | 18th | c. 1479–1425 | Egypt’s most successful military campaigner. Ordered Hatshepsut’s erasure |
| Thutmose IV | 18th | c. 1400–1390 | Erected the Dream Stele between the paws of the Sphinx |
| Amenhotep III | 18th | c. 1390–1352 | Reign of exceptional wealth and monumental building |
| Akhenaten | 18th | c. 1352–1336 | Abandoned the traditional gods for the Aten and built a new capital at Amarna |
| Neferneferuaten | 18th | c. 1335 | Ruled as pharaoh. Possibly Nefertiti under a throne name |
| Tutankhamun | 18th | c. 1332–1323 | Reversed Akhenaten’s religion. Famous for his near-intact tomb |
| Horemheb | 18th | c. 1319–1292 | Army general who took the throne and systematically erased the Amarna kings |
| Seti I | 19th | c. 1290–1279 | Built the longest and most finely decorated tomb in the Valley of the Kings |
| Ramesses II | 19th | c. 1279–1213 | Reigned 66 years. Abu Simbel, Kadesh, and more monuments than any other pharaoh |
| Merneptah | 19th | c. 1213–1203 | His victory stele carries the earliest known mention of Israel |
| Tausret | 19th | c. 1191–1189 | Took the throne outright after her stepson’s death |
| Ramesses III | 20th | c. 1186–1155 | Last pharaoh of the great era. Assassinated in a harem conspiracy |
| THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD — c. 1069–664 BC | |||
| Psusennes I | 21st | c. 1047–1001 | Buried at Tanis in a silver coffin, found intact in 1940 |
| Shoshenq I | 22nd | c. 943–922 | Libyan origin. Campaigned in the Levant |
| Piye | 25th | c. 747–714 | Nubian king who conquered Egypt and founded the Kushite dynasty |
| Taharqa | 25th | c. 690–664 | Major builder. Fought Assyrian invasions |
| LATE PERIOD — 664–332 BC | |||
| Psamtik I | 26th | 664–610 | Reunified Egypt and ended Assyrian control |
| Necho II | 26th | 610–595 | Commissioned a canal towards the Red Sea and a reported circumnavigation of Africa |
| Amasis | 26th | 570–526 | Long, prosperous reign. Close trading ties with the Greeks |
| Cambyses II | 27th (Persian) | 525–522 | Persian conquest of Egypt |
| Nectanebo II | 30th | 360–343 | The last native Egyptian pharaoh. Fled the second Persian conquest |
| PTOLEMAIC PERIOD — 332–30 BC | |||
| Alexander the Great | Macedonian | 332–323 | Took Egypt from Persia. Founded Alexandria |
| Ptolemy I Soter | Ptolemaic | 305–282 | One of Alexander’s generals. Founded the dynasty that ruled for three centuries |
| Ptolemy II | Ptolemaic | 284–246 | Expanded the Library of Alexandria |
| Ptolemy V | Ptolemaic | 204–181 | The Rosetta Stone records a decree issued in his reign |
| Cleopatra VII | Ptolemaic | 51–30 | The last pharaoh of Egypt. Macedonian Greek by descent |
A Note on the Dates
Every date above is approximate, and you will find different figures in other sources. That is not carelessness — Egyptian chronology genuinely is uncertain, and the further back you go the wider the margin becomes.
The reason is how Egyptians recorded time. For much of the Old Kingdom they dated events by counting periodic cattle censuses rather than regnal years, and whether those counts happened annually or every second year varies by reign. That single ambiguity can shift a king’s dates by decades, as our article on the ancient Egypt census explains.
For the New Kingdom onward the margins narrow considerably, because astronomical observations and better-preserved records allow cross-checking. Dates for Cleopatra are firm to the year; dates for Narmer are an educated estimate.
Which rulers are included
This list covers securely attested rulers with a meaningful historical footprint. It leaves out the many short-lived or disputed kings of the Intermediate Periods, where rival dynasties ruled simultaneously and the king lists contradict each other.
Four women appear: Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut, Tausret and Cleopatra VII, plus Neferneferuaten, whose identity is disputed. Only Hatshepsut ruled long enough to leave a substantial building record.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt?
Over 170 are known by name across roughly thirty dynasties and three thousand years, though the exact count depends on how you treat rival rulers during the Intermediate Periods, when more than one dynasty held power at the same time.
Who was the first pharaoh of Egypt?
Narmer is usually named as the first, around 3100 BC, credited with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Some scholars identify him with Hor-Aha, and the unification was probably a process rather than a single event.
Who was the last pharaoh of Egypt?
Cleopatra VII, who died in 30 BC. The last native Egyptian pharaoh was Nectanebo II, who fled the Persian conquest in 343 BC — Cleopatra’s family was Macedonian Greek.
Which pharaoh ruled the longest?
Pepi II is traditionally credited with 94 years, but that figure is disputed and may be a misreading. The longest reign that is firmly documented is Ramesses II, at 66 years.
Were there female pharaohs?
Yes, though very few. Sobekneferu, Hatshepsut, Tausret and Cleopatra VII all held the title outright, and Neferneferuaten did too, though her identity is debated. Hatshepsut’s twenty-year reign was by far the most substantial.
Why are the dates different in other sources?
Because Egyptian chronology is reconstructed rather than recorded. Old Kingdom dates rest on cattle-count records whose interval is uncertain, so estimates vary by decades. Later periods can be cross-checked against astronomical records and are much firmer.