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The Turin Royal Canon, also known as the Turin King List, is an ancient Egyptian papyrus that provides a list of Egyptian kings and is considered one of the most important sources for the chronology of ancient Egypt.
Description and Origin
The papyrus was discovered in the early 19th century by the Italian explorer Bernardino Drovetti. It is currently housed in the Egyptian Museum in Turin, Italy, which gives it its name.
The Turin Royal Canon is believed to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II during the Nineteenth Dynasty, around the 13th century BC. It is written in hieratic script on papyrus and is unfortunately fragmentary, with many parts missing or damaged.
Content and Structure
List of Kings: The papyrus originally contained a comprehensive list of Egyptian rulers from mythical times up to the period in which it was compiled. This includes:
Gods and Demi-gods: The list begins with mythological rulers, including gods and demi-gods, who are said to have ruled Egypt for thousands of years. This section suggests the existence of a divine or semi-divine lineage that governed Egypt long before the historical pharaohs.
Predynastic Rulers: After the mythological period, the list includes predynastic rulers, indicating a recognition of human governance before the formal establishment of the dynastic period.
Dynastic Pharaohs: The list then proceeds to record the names and reigns of pharaohs from the First Dynasty through to the time of its creation in the Nineteenth Dynasty.
Historical Significance
Chronological Accuracy: The Turin Royal Canon is considered one of the most accurate ancient king lists because it provides the lengths of reigns for many kings and attempts to include all known rulers, even those with very short reigns.
Historical Challenges: Due to its fragmentary nature, reconstructing the complete list is challenging, but it remains a critical source for understanding the chronology and succession of ancient Egyptian rulers.
Interpretation by Graham Hancock
Alternative History: Hancock references the Turin Royal Canon to support his theories of advanced prehistoric civilizations. He suggests that the long reigns of gods and demi-gods could point to a lost civilization with advanced knowledge that predated the known Egyptian dynasties.
Mythological Significance: Hancock argues that the mythological elements of the king list, often dismissed by mainstream Egyptology, could hold historical truths about a forgotten era of high civilization.
The Turin Royal Canon provides a unique glimpse into how the ancient Egyptians viewed their past, blending mythology with historical record-keeping, and remains a subject of interest for those exploring alternative histories and ancient mysteries.
The Turin Royal Canon, also known as the Turin King List, is believed to cover a span of time that reaches back into the mythical past, extending into historical periods. While exact numbers are challenging to specify due to the fragmentary nature of the document, here is an overview of the total span it is thought to cover:
- Mythical and Predynastic Period: This section of the list begins with the rule of gods and demi-gods, suggesting reigns that collectively span thousands of years. Estimates for this mythical period often suggest spans of 10,000 to 15,000 years, based on traditional interpretations of these early reigns.
- Historical Dynastic Period: The list continues into the historical period of Egypt’s dynastic history, starting from the First Dynasty around 3100 BC and continuing through the known pharaohs up to the Nineteenth Dynasty, around 1300 BC.
Total Estimated Span
- Overall Span: Combining both the mythical and historical sections, the Turin Royal Canon could be interpreted to cover a span of over 15,000 years, with the earliest periods being largely mythological in nature.
