How many foreign dynasties ruled ancient Egypt? Answer: Six According to the tradition codified by the third-century BCE Egyptian priest and historian Manetho, ancient Egyptian kings and queens belonged to 30 distinct dynasties. Out of the 30, four dynasties were foreign: the Hyksos (Dynasty 15: 16th century BCE), Libyans (Dynasty 22: tenth–eighth centuries), Nubians or Kushites (Dynasty 25: eighth–seventh centuries), and Persians (Dynasty 27: sixth–fifth centuries, and again in the fourth century). Manetho did not count the contemporary, Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt as a distinct dynasty. However, since Alexander the Great and his successors presented themselves as true pharaohs, two […]
