# Seventh Dynasty of Egypt

Periods and dynasties of ancient Egypt :
All years are BC :
Predynastic Protodynastic 0 c. 3300–3150 :
Early Dynastic First Dynasty I c. 3150–2890 Second Dynasty II 2890–2686 :
Old Kingdom Third Dynasty III 2686–2613 Fourth Dynasty IV 2613–2498 Fifth Dynasty V 2498–2345 Sixth Dynasty VI 2345–2181 :
First Intermediate Seventh Dynasty VII spurious Eighth Dynasty VIII 2181–2160 Ninth Dynasty IX 2160–2130 Tenth Dynasty X 2130–2040 Early Eleventh Dynasty XI 2134–2061 :
Middle Kingdom Late Eleventh Dynasty XI 2061–1991 Twelfth Dynasty XII 1991–1803 Thirteenth Dynasty XIII 1803–1649 :
Second Intermediate Fourteenth Dynasty XIV 1705–1690 Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos) XV 1674–1535 Sixteenth Dynasty XVI 1660–1600 Abydos Dynasty 1650–1600 Seventeenth Dynasty XVII 1580–1549 :
New Kingdom Eighteenth Dynasty XVIII 1549–1292 Nineteenth Dynasty XIX 1292–1189 Twentieth Dynasty XX 1189–1077 :
Third Intermediate Twenty-first Dynasty XXI 1069–945 Twenty-second Dynasty XXII 945–720 Twenty-third Dynasty XXIII 837–728 Twenty-fourth Dynasty XXIV 732–720 Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubian) XXV 732–653 :
Late Period Twenty-sixth Dynasty XXVI 672–525 Twenty-seventh Dynasty (1st Persian Period) XXVII 525–404 Twenty-eighth Dynasty XXVIII 404–398 Twenty-ninth Dynasty XXIX 398–380 Thirtieth Dynasty XXX 380–343 Thirty-first Dynasty (2nd Persian Period) XXXI 343–332 :
Hellenistic Egypt Thirty-second Dynasty XXXII 332–305 Thirty-third Dynasty XXXIII 305–30 :
Roman Egypt Thirty-fourth Dynasty (Roman Pharaohs) XXXIV 30 BC – 313 AD :
Byzantine Egypt Thirty-fifth Dynasty (speculated) XXXV 379 AD – 641 AD :
See also: List of pharaohs by period and dynasty Periodization of ancient Egypt :
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The Seventh Dynasty of Egypt would mark the beginning of the First Intermediate Period in the early 22nd century BC but its actual existence is debated. The only historical account on the Seventh Dynasty was in Manetho's Aegyptiaca, a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC, where the Seventh Dynasty appears essentially as a metaphor for chaos. Since next to nothing is known of this dynasty beyond Manetho's account, Egyptologists such as Jürgen von Beckerath and Toby Wilkinson have usually considered it to be fictitious. In a 2015 re-appraisal of the fall of the Old Kingdom, the Egyptologist Hracht Papazian has proposed that the Seventh Dynasty was real and that it consisted of kings usually attributed to the Eighth Dynasty.

## Metaphorical interpretation of Historical sources

Based on the now lost writings of Africanus (c. 160–240) and Eusebius (c. 260–340), themselves based on the now lost work of the Egyptian priest Manetho (3rd century BC), the Byzantine scholar George Syncellus (died after 810) variously assigns to the period after the Sixth dynasty – the Seventh Dynasty – 70 kings in 70 days (Africanus) or 5 kings in 75 days (Eusebius).$^{:395}$ According to Manetho, these kings would have ruled in Memphis.$^{:396}$ Rather than a historical reality, this rapid succession of kings has long been interpreted as a metaphor for chaos.$^{:395}$

## Existence claim

Some Egyptologists, such as Papazian (2015),$^{:395}$ believe that this interpretation may give undue weight to Manetho's writings, and that it distorts the general scholarly understanding of the end of the Old Kingdom. According to Papazian (2015),$^{:395}$ "a re-examination ... of the Seventh Dynasty's existence, remains fully justified" and some of the kings usually attributed to the mid-Eighth Dynasty should instead be understood to belong to the Seventh Dynasty. Being attested by two additional ancient historical sources as well as archeological evidence, the Eighth Dynasty is not quite as obscure as the Seventh. As a consequence, some Egyptologists combine the Seventh and Eighth Dynasty into a single line of kings, reigning immediately after the Sixth Dynasty.

## List of rulers

The Seventh Dynasty is usually considered fictitious and is thus either ignored altogether by modern scholars or it is combined with the Eighth Dynasty. The Egyptologist Hratch Papazian has proposed in 2015 that a number of rulers usually seen as belonging to the mid-Eighth Dynasty identified by the Abydos King List should be attributed to a Seventh Dynasty:$^{:416}$
Dynasty VII as per Papazian$^{:416}$ :
| Name | Evidence beyond the Abydos king list |
| Djedkare Shemai | — |
| Neferkare Khendu | — |
| Merenhor | — |
| Neferkamin | — |
| Nikare | Possibly attested by a cylinder seal. |
| Neferkare Tereru | — |
| Neferkahor | Attested by a cylinder seal. |
| Neferkare Pepiseneb | Turin Canon gives at least one year. |
| Neferkamin Anu | — |