Egyptian Kings of the Siriadic Land: Pre-Deluge Inscriptions

The Book of Sothis includes a list of Egyptian kings, claiming these were recorded from ancient monuments in the “Siriadic land” (possibly Egypt), which were supposedly engraved before the Great Deluge and later translated into hieroglyphics and preserved in Egyptian temples.

It is said to be a Late Antique forgery falsely attributed to the Egyptian priest Manetho, who originally wrote a history of Egypt in the 3rd century BCE. Scholars date the forgery between the start of the Roman era and around 400 CE. Its Christian influences confirm it as a product of Late Antiquity.

The book’s main significance lies in its mistaken use as an authentic Manetho work by historians Panodorus and Annianus.

Their interpretations heavily influenced Byzantine and Arab-Islamic views of Egyptian history for over a millennium.

Fragments of the text are preserved in George Syncellus’s Chronicle, and a translation by W.G. Waddell was published in 1940.

This translation is now public, as its copyright expired in the late 1960s.

Letter of Manetho of Sebennytus to Ptolemy Philadelphus.

To the great King Ptolemy Philadelphus Augustus. Greeting to my lord Ptolemy from Manetho, high-priest and scribe of the sacred shrines of Egypt, born at Sebennytus and dwelling at Hêliopolis. It is my duty, almighty king, to reflect upon all such matters as you may desire me to investigate.

So, as you are making researches concerning the future of the universe, in obedience to your command I shall place before you the Sacred Books which I have studied, written you your forefather, Hermês Trismegistus. Farewell, I pray, my lord King.

Such is his account of the translation of the books written by the second Hermês. Thereafter Manetho tells also of five Egyptian tribes which formed thirty dynasties . . . 

Source

King Number	King Name	Details	Reduced Reign (Years)	Corrected Reign (Years)
1	Mestraïm (Menes)		35	420
2	Kourôdês		63	756
3	Aristarchus		34	408
4	Spanius		36	432
5	Two kings (unrecorded)		72	864
6	Ôsiropis		23	276
7	Sesonchôsis		49	588
8	Amenemês		29	348
9	Amasis		2	24
10	Acesephthrês		13	156
11	Anchoreus		9	108
12	Armiÿses		4	48
13	Chamoïs	The name Chamoïs is probably the Greek form of the name Khamuas: for Khamuas, the principal son of Ramessês II, see Griffith, Stories of the High Priests	12	144
14	Miamûs		14	168
15	Amesêsis		65	780
16	Usês		50	600
17	Ramesês		29	348
18	Rames(s)omenês		15	180
19	Usimarê(s)	The name Usimarê(s) is the first part of the praenomen of Ramessês II	31	372
20	Ramessêseôs	It is tempting to see in this name the Egyptian Ramesese‑o, “Ramessês the Great,” although this term, so commonly used in modern times, is not found in Egyptian records	23	276
21	Ramessamenô	He is the first Pharaoh mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. In his reign the patriarch Abraham went down into Egypt.​	19	228
22	Ramessê Iubassê		39	468
23	Ramessê (son of Uaphrês)	This description “son of Uaphrês” is a remarkable anachronism: a king of Dynasty XIX or XX is said to be the son of a king of Dynasty XXVI.	29	348
24	Concharis	In this 5th year of Concharis, the 25th king of Egypt, during the Sixteenth Dynasty of the Sôthic Cycle as it is called in Manetho, the total of years from the first king and founder of Egypt, Mestraïm, is 700 belonging to 25 kings, i.e. from the general cosmic year 2776, in which the Dispersion took place in the 34th year of the rule of Arphaxad​ (son of Shem) and the 5th year of Phalec Phalec or Peleg (= division): “for in his days was the earth divided” (Genesis x.25). Cf. the name of the town Phaliga on the Euphrates, — not that the patriarch Peleg is to be connected directly with this town (W. F. Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine and the Bible2, 1932‑3, p210). ​Next in the succession were 4 kings of Tanis, who ruled Egypt in the Seventeenth Dynasty for 254 years, according to the following computation.	5	60
25	Silitês		19	228
26	Baiôn		44	528
27	Apachnas		36	432
28	Aphôphis	Some say that this king was at first called Pharaoh, and that in the 4th year of his kingship Joseph came as a slave into Egypt.​ He appointed Joseph lord of Egypt and all his kingdom in the 17th year of his rule, having learned from him the interpretation of the dreams and having thus proved his divine wisdom. The Holy Scriptures, however, give the name of Pharaoh also to the king of Egypt in the time of Abraham.	61	732
29	Sethôs		50	600
30	Cêrtôs (Josephus)	According to Josephus, 29 years; according to Manetho, 44 years.	29	348
31	Asêth		20	240
32	Amôsis (Tethmôsis)	This king added the 5 intercalary days to the year:​10 in his reign, they say, the Egyptian year became a year of 365 days, being previously reckoned as 360 days only. In his time the bull-calf was deified and called Apis.	26	312
33	Chebrôn		13	156
34	Amemphis		15	180
35	Amensês		11	132
36	Misphragmuthôsis		16	192
37	Misphrês		23	276
38	Tuthmôsis		39	468
39	Amenôphthis (Memnôn)	This is the king who was reputed to be Memnôn and a speaking statue. Many years later Cambysês, the Persian king, cut this statue in two, deeming that there was sorcery in it, as Polyaenus of Athens​11 relates. The Ethiopians, removing from the River Indus, settled near Egypt.	34	408
40	Ôrus		48	576
41	Achencherês		25	300
42	Athôris		29	348
43	Chencherês		26	312
44	Achêrrês		30	360
45	Armaeus (Danaus)	This king, fleeing from his brother Ramessês, also called Aegyptus, was driven from his kingdom of Egypt and came to Greece. Ramessês, his brother, whose other name was Aegyptus, ruled Egypt for 68 years, changing the name of his country to Egypt after his own name. Its previous name was Mestraea, and among the Greeks Aeria. Now Danaus or Armaeus took possession of Argos and, driving out Sthenelus the son of Crotôpus, ruled over the Argives. His descendants thereafter were called Danaïdae down to Eurystheus son of Sthenelus, the son of Perseus. Next to these, after Pelops the Pelopidae succeeded to the kingdom: the first of these was Atreus.	9	108
46	Ramessês (Aegyptus)		68	816
47	Amenôphis		8	96
48	Thuôris		17	204
49	Nechepsôs	Nechepsôs appears again as Nechepsus	19	228
50	Psammuthis		13	156
51	Unrecorded		4	48
52	Cêrtôs	53‑58 may be the 6 kings of Dynasty XIX, some of them repeated. 53 Cêrtôs may be Sethôs: 54 Rampsis = 47 Ramessês: 55 Amensês = Amenmesês: while Thuôris appears as 58 and 49.	20	240
53	Rampsis		45	540
54	Amensês (Ammenemês)		26	312
55	Ochyras		14	168
56	Amendês		27	324
57	Thuôris (Polybus)	This is the Polybus of Homer, who appears in the Odyssey as husband of Alcandra: the poet tells how Menelaus and Helen dwelt with him in their wanderings after the capture of Troy.	50	600
58	Athôthis (Phusanus)	In his reign earthquakes occurred in Egypt, although previously unknown there.	28	336
59	Cencenês		39	468
60	Uennephis		42	504
61	Susakeim	This king brought up Libyans, Ethiopians, and Trôglodytes before Jerusalem. Susakeim, apparently, is Shoshenḳ, or Sesonehôsis, the first king of Dynasty XXII	34	408
62	Psuenus		25	300
63	Ammenôphis		9	108
64	Nephecherês		6	72
65	Saïtês		15	180
66	Psinachês		9	108
67	Petubastês		44	528
68	Osôrthôn		9	108
69	Psammus		10	120
70	Concharis		21	252
71	Osŏrthôn		15	180
72	Tacalôphis		13	156
73	Bocchôris	This king made laws for the Egyptians: in his time report has it that a lamb spoke.	44	528
74	Sabacôn	This king, taking Bocchôris captive, burned him alive.	12	144
75	Sebêchôn		12	144
76	Taracês		20	240
77	Amaês		38	456
78	Stephinathês		27	324
79	Nechepsus		13	156
80	Nechaô		8	96
81	Psammêtichus		14	168
82	Nechaô II (Pharaoh)		9	108
83	Psamuthês the Second (Psammêtichus)	also called Psammêtichus	17	204
84	Uaphris		34	408
85	Amôsis		50	600
	Total:		2,231	26,772

Several names in this list correspond to well-known figures in ancient Egyptian history and mythology, as well as figures referenced in historical traditions. Here’s a breakdown of some recognizable ones:

1. Menes (Mestraïm): Often identified as the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt, considered the first pharaoh of Egypt’s 1st Dynasty. His name is sometimes associated with Narmer in archaeological records.
2. Sesonchôsis: Likely corresponds to Senusret (or Sesostris), a prominent pharaoh from the Middle Kingdom, known for military campaigns and building projects.
3. Amenemês: A reference to Amenemhat, a name borne by several pharaohs of the 12th Dynasty, particularly Amenemhat I, the founder of the dynasty.
4. Ramesês: Several kings bore this name, notably Ramesses II, one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs, often referred to as Ramesses the Great.
5. Tuthmôsis (Thutmose): A name borne by multiple pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, such as Thutmose III, often called the “Napoleon of Egypt” for his military prowess.
6. Amenôphthis (Amenhotep): Likely Amenhotep III or Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten). Amenhotep III is famous for his building projects, while Akhenaten introduced significant religious reforms.
7. Ramessês (Aegyptus): This name likely refers to one of the many Ramesside pharaohs. The mention of “Aegyptus” ties it to a mythical tradition where a king named Aegyptus gave Egypt its Greek name.
8. Thuôris: Sometimes linked to Tawosret, a queen-pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty.
9. Psammêtichus: Refers to Psamtik I, a ruler of the 26th Dynasty known for reuniting Egypt after the Assyrian invasions.
10. Nechaô (Necho II): A famous pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty, known for his military campaigns and for commissioning a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea.
11. Bocchôris: Likely Bakenranef, a king of the 24th Dynasty. Known for his legal reforms, he was later vilified by the Nubian conqueror Shabaka.

Some other names are harder to identify, as they either belong to mythological traditions (e.g., “Armaeus/Danaus”) or are less prominent figures from Manetho’s or Syncellus’s accounts.

The Book of Sôthis which Syncellus believed to be the genuine Manetho, but which in its original form was based upon Eusebius and Josephus, is dated by Gutschmid to the third century after Christ. It is not possible to divide the kings of this “Cycle” into dynasties, for their sequence is unchronological: e.g. 18‑24 belong to Dynasties XIX and XX, 26‑29, 32 to the Hyksôs period, 33‑48 to Dynasty XVIII, 49, 58 to Dynasty XIX, 50, 51 to Dynasty XXVI, 59‑61 to Dynasty I, 63‑67 to Dynasty XXI, 68‑70 to Dynasty XXIII, 74 to Dynasty XXIV, 75‑77 to Dynasty XXV, and 79‑86 to Dynasty XXVI.

The Book of Sôthis includes names taken from another source than Manetho.