Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Hawass Clarifies Whether "Pharaoh" Represents Name or Title"


Sat 04 May 2019 | 03:01 PM
Ali Abu Dashish

 

Recently, people debating on "Pharaoh of Exodus" his name and origin.

Well- known archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass said that Ahmed Murad, a famous Egyptian writer, clarified this on his prominent novel "Land of God."

"Murad said that Pharaoh is the name of the king who oppressed Jews in Egypt," Hawass noted, adding, "Pharaoh" was not an Egyptian, but he is believed to belong to one of the Asian peoples, who occupied Egypt during Hyksos era.

Since the beginning of the early dynastic period of Egypt, the Royal Palace was known as "Pr Nswt"; "Pr" means house, home, or palace, while "Nswt" means "the King."

Sometimes, it was written as " Pr-C3," which means "Great Palace."

During the era of the Old and Middle Kingdom of Egypt, "Nswt" is the name of the king who ruled the Arab State, while "Pr-C3" was called on the king, during the era of the New Kingdom of Egypt.

Pharaoh or "Pr-C3" became the title of Egyptian ruler since from the beginning of the New Kingdom until the end of Pharaonic times when Alexander the Great entered Egypt in 332 BC.

It is known that the kings of the old Kingdom had five surnames, but "Pr-C3" was not among these.

As soon as Egypt turned into an empire, its ruler held absolute authority. For that reason, he was named "Pr-C3."

Texts recorded on the walls of temples, tombs, and papyri that belonged to the New Kingdom of Egypt proved that none of the pharaohs was named "Pr-C3."

The clear example of the above mentioned is the "Battle of Kadesh" between Ramses II and the Hittites.

During the era of 25th, 26th and 27th dynasties of Egypt, it became clear that "Pr-C3" was a royal title.

There is clear evidence in Dendera Temple showing that "Pr-C3" became a royal title.

Contributted by: Mohamed Helba