TheRoman pharaohs,[1] rarely referred to asancient Egypt'sThirty-fourth Dynasty,[2][a] were theRoman emperors in their capacity as rulers of Egypt, especially inEgyptology. After Egypt was incorporated into theRoman Republic in 30 BC byOctavian, the people and especially the priesthood of the country continued to recognize the Roman emperors aspharaohs, according them traditionalpharaonic titularies and depicting them with traditional pharaonic garb, engaging in traditional pharaonic activities, in artwork and at temples throughout Egypt.
Though the Egyptians themselves considered the Romans to be their pharaohs and the legitimate successors of the ancient pharaohs, the emperors themselves never adopted any pharaonic titles or traditions outside of Egypt, as these would have been hard to justify in the Roman world at large. Most emperors probably gave the status accorded to them by the Egyptians little care and rarely visitedthe province more than once in their lifetime. Their role as god-kings was only ever officially acknowledged by the Egyptians themselves. This was a sharp contrast to thepreceding dynasty of the HellenisticPtolemaic Kingdom, who had spent the majority of their lives in Egypt. Pharaohs before Egypt's incorporation into theAchaemenid Empire in theLate Period had also all ruled the country from within Egypt. Egypt was, however, governed differently from otherRoman provinces, with emperors hand-pickinggovernors for the region and often treating it more like a personal possession than a province. Though not all emperors were recognized as pharaohs, Egyptian religion demanded the presence of a pharaoh to act as the intermediate between humanity and the gods. The emperors filling this role proved to be the most simple solution, and was similar to how thePersians had been regarded as pharaohs centuries prior (constituting theTwenty-seventh andThirty-first dynasties).
Though Egypt continued to be a part of the Roman Empire untilit was conquered by theRashidun Caliphate in 641 AD, the last Roman emperor to be conferred the title of pharaoh wasMaximinus Daza (reigned 311–313 AD). By his time, the view of Romans as pharaohs had already been declining for some time due to Egypt being on the periphery of the Roman Empire (in contrast to the traditional pharaonic view of Egypt as the center of the world). The spread ofChristianity throughout the empire in the 4th century, and the transformation of Egypt's capitalAlexandria into a major Christian center, decisively ended the tradition, due to the new religion being incompatible with the traditional implications of being pharaoh.
The names of the emperors were written in hieroglyphs phonetically, based on the renditions of their names in Greek. This way of rendering the names led to the Roman pharaohs having a significant impact on modern Egyptology since the readings of their names marked an important step in thedecipherment of hieroglyphs.
Cleopatra VII hadaffairs with Roman dictatorJulius Caesar and Roman generalMark Antony, but it was not until after her30 BC suicide (after Mark Antony's defeat againstOctavian, who became EmperorAugustus) that Egypt became a province of theRoman Republic. Subsequent Roman emperors were accorded the title of pharaoh, although exclusively while in Egypt. As such, not all Roman emperors were recognized as pharaohs. Although Octavian made a point of not taking the Pharaonic crown when he conquered Egypt, which would have been difficult to justify to the wider empire considering the vast amount ofpropaganda which he had spread about the "exotic" behavior of Cleopatra and Antony,[4] the native population of Egypt regarded him as the pharaoh succeeding Cleopatra andCaesarion. Depictions of Octavian, now called Augustus, in traditional pharaonic garbs (wearing different crowns and the traditional kilt) and sacrificing goods to various Egyptian gods were made as early as around 15 BC and they are present in theTemple of Dendur, built byGaius Petronius, the Roman governor of Egypt.[5] Even earlier than that, Augustus had been accorded royal titles in the Egyptian version of a 29 BC stele made byCornelius Gallus, despite royal titles not being present in the Latin or Greek-language versions of the same text.[6]
Unlike the preceding Ptolemaic pharaohs and pharaohs of other previous foreign dynasties, the Roman emperors were rarely physically present in Egypt. As such, the traditional role of the pharaoh, a living embodiment of the gods and cosmic order, was somewhat harder to justify; an emperor rarely visited the province more than once in their lifetime, a sharp contrast to previous pharaohs who had spent a majority of their lives in Egypt. Even then, Egypt was hugely important to the empire as it was highly fertile and the richest region of the Mediterranean. Egypt was governed differently from other provinces, emperors treating it more like a personal possession than a province; hand-picking governors and administering it without theRoman Senate's interference; senators were rarely made governors of Egypt and they were even typically barred from visiting the province without explicit permission.[7]
Vespasian (r. 69–79) was the first emperor since Augustus to appear in Egypt.[8] At Alexandria he was hailed as pharaoh; recalling the welcome ofAlexander the Great at theOracle of Zeus-Ammon of theSiwa Oasis, Vespasian was proclaimed the son of the creator-deityAmun (Zeus-Ammon), in the style of the ancient pharaohs, and an incarnation of Serapis in the manner of the Ptolemies.[9] As pharaonic precedent demanded, Vespasian demonstrated his divine election by the traditional methods of spitting on and trampling a blind and crippled man, thereby miraculously healing him.[10]
To the Egyptians, their religion demanded that there was a pharaoh to act as the intermediary between the gods and humanity. As such, the emperors continued to be regarded as pharaohs since this proved the most simple solution, disregarding the actual political situation, similar to how Egypt had regarded the Persians or Greeks before the Romans. The abstract nature of the role of these "Roman pharaohs" ensured that the priests of Egypt could demonstrate their loyalty both to their traditional ways and to the new foreign ruler. The Roman emperors themselves mostly ignored the status accorded to them by the Egyptians; in Latin and Greek their titles continued to be Roman only (Imperator in Latin andAutokrator in Greek) and their role as god-kings was only ever acknowledged domestically by the Egyptians themselves.[11] Not all Egyptians were positively inclined towards the Roman emperors; there were a handful of Egyptian revolts against Roman rulers and there are surviving examples of texts by Egyptian priests lamenting Roman rule of Egypt and calling for the reinstatement of a native dynasty of pharaohs.[12]
As Christianity became more and more accepted within the empire, eventually becoming the state religion, emperors no longer found it possible to accept the traditional implications of being pharaoh (a position firmly rooted in the Egyptian religion) and by the early 4th century,Alexandria itself, the capital of Egypt since the time ofAlexander the Great, had become a major center of Christianity. By this point, the view of the Romans as pharaohs had already declined somewhat; Egypt being on the periphery of the Roman Empire was much different from the traditional pharaonic view of Egypt as the center of the world. This was evident in the imperial pharaonic titulatures; though early emperors had been given elaborate titulatures similar to those of the Ptolemies and native pharaohs before them, no emperor afterMarcus Aurelius (r. 161–180) is attested by more than anomen (though still written in royalcartouches). Although there continued to be Roman emperors for centuries, until theFall of Constantinople in 1453 AD, and Egypt continued to be a part of the empire until 641 AD, the last Roman emperor to be conferred the title of pharaoh wasMaximinus Daza (reigned 311–313 AD).[13]
Despite actual dynastic relationships (there were at least four distinct dynasties of Roman emperors between Augustus and Maximinus Daza), the period of Roman rule over Egypt in its entirety is sometimes referred to as the Thirty-fourth Dynasty.[2] Some nineteenth century Egyptian scholars, such as Mikhail Sharubim andRifa'a al-Tahtawi, split the Roman emperors into two dynasties, a Thirty-fourth Dynasty for pagan emperors and aThirty-fifth Dynasty encompassing Christian emperors fromTheodosius I to theMuslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, although no Christian Roman emperor was ever referred to as pharaoh by the population of ancient Egypt.[14]
The pharaonic titularies of the Roman emperors played a highly important role in modernEgyptology. A central figure in the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics was the French orientalistJean-François Champollion (1790–1832). Champollion's 1822Lettre à M. Dacier is the most famous publication in all of Egyptology and is sometimes considered the beginning of the discipline itself.[15] The letter included Champollion's proposed readings of pharaonic cartouches from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods,[15] based on previous attempts and comparisons between different cartouches. The decipherment of names of emperors, and in particular the Egyptian renditions of titles likeCaesar andautokrator, were a highly important part of the process.[16]
Though there would be further developments before full-length hieroglyphic texts could be read with reasonable accuracy, Champollion's discoveries in phonetic hieroglyphics were highly impactful.[15] By the time of the publication of the letter, which included a list of identified phonetic hieroglyphic signs, Champollion did not expect that the phonetic values he discovered could be applied to names of pre-Ptolemaic pharaohs as well.[16] His subsequent realization, at some point later in 1822 or in 1823, that hieroglyphic writing was often a combination of phonetic and ideographic (i.e. symbols of words or ideas) laid the groundwork for future successful decipherment efforts[17] and led Champollion to begin focusing on not only deciphering the symbols but also to translate the underlying language.[18][19]
This list only contains emperors who are attested in hieroglyphics (i.e. with pharaonic titles), per von Beckerath (1984).[20]
| Depiction | Name & reign | Pharaonic titles (cartouches)[b] | Notes | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Augustus r. 30 BC[c]– AD 14 | Horus name: ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ wr-pḥtj ḥwnw-bnr-mrwt ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Ptḥ-Nnw-jt-nṯrw The sturdy-armed one with great strength, the youth sweet of love, ruler of rulers, chosen of Ptah and Nun, the father of the gods  ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ wr-pḥtj ḥwnw-bnr-mrwt The sturdy-armed one with great strength, the youth sweet of love | Prenomen: ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Ptḥ Ruler of rulers, chosen by Ptah  ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Ptḥ mrj-Ꜣst Ruler of rulers, chosen by Ptah, beloved of Isis  Autokrator | Nomen: Kaisaros,Ep. nt.f mḥ[d]  Kaisaros,Ep. pꜢ nṯr  Kaisaros,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt mrj-Ptḥ-Ꜣst  Romaios | First Roman emperor and the first Roman ruler to control Egypt. Instituted new unpopular taxation systems in Egypt and banned Egyptian cults in Rome itself. | [24] | |
 | Tiberius r. 14–37 | Horus name: ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ wr-pḥtj ḥwnw-bnr-mrwt ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Ptḥ-Nnw-jt-nṯrw The sturdy-armed one with great strength, the perfect and popular youth, ruler of rulers, chosen of Ptah and Nun, the father of the gods  ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ wr-pḥtj ḥwnw-bnr-mrwt kꜢ-nsw sḫm-ḫntj-pr-dwꜢt The sturdy-armed one with great strength, the perfect and popular youth, ruler of rulers, royal ka of power, Foremost of the House of the Duat  ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ ẖwj-ḫꜢswt wr-pḫtj nḫhw-BꜢqt The uniter and subduer of the Foreign Lands, Great strength, Victorious one of Baqet  ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ ẖnmw-n-tꜢw smꜢw-wꜢs-?-gmj-wš-m-Jtrtj He who unites the two lands on behalf of Khnum, the scribe who finds strength in the two rivers | Nomen: Tiberios  Tiberios ntj-ḫw[e]  Tiberios Kaisaros,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt Tiberios Kaisaros, living forever | Left little impression on Egypt | [24] | ||
 | Caligula r. 37–41 | Horus name: kꜢ-nḫt jꜢḫ-stwt-RꜤ-JꜤḥ The strong bull, he of the lights of Ra and the rays of Sokar | Prenomen: Autokrator,Ep. ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw mrj-Ptḥ-Ꜣst Autokrator, beloved by Ptah and Isis | Nomen: Kaisaros Germanikos,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt Kaisaros Germanikos, living forever | Left little impression on Egypt; lifted the ban on Egyptian cults in Rome instituted by Augustus | [26] | |
 | Claudius r. 41–54 | Horus name: kꜢ-nḫt ḏd-jꜢḫ-Šw-(m)-Ꜣḫt The strong bull of the stable moon on the horizon  kꜢ-nḫt wḥm-ḫꜤw The strong bull of the golden offspring | Prenomen: Autokrator,Ep. ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw mrj-Ꜣst-Ptḥ Autokrator, beloved by Ptah and Isis  Kaisaros Germanikos  Kaisaros Sebastos Germanikos Autokrator | Nomen: Tiberios Klaudios  Tiberios Klaudios Kaisaros ntj ḫw | Left little impression on Egypt; rebuked requests from Alexandria to gain its own self-governing senate | [26] | |
 | Nero r. 54–68 | Horus name: ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ ẖwj-ḫꜢswt wr-nḫw-BꜢqt ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Nnw-Mrwr The sturdy-armed one who struck the foreign lands, victorious for Egypt, ruler or rulers, chosen of Nun who loves him  ṯmꜢ-Ꜥ ẖwj-ḫꜢswt The sturdy-armed one who struck the foreign lands | Prenomen: ḥqꜢ-ḥqꜢw stp-n-Ptḥ mrj-Ꜣst Autokrator, chosen by Ptah, beloved of Isis  Kaisaros Germanikos | Nomen: Neron  Neron Klaudios,Ep. ḫw  Autokrator Neron  Neron Klaudios Kaisaros ntj ḫw | Sent a small group ofpraetorian guards to explore along theNile river south of Egypt, perhaps intended as a scouting mission for a later conquests in the region | [26] | |
 | Galba r. 68–69 | Nomen: Serouios Galbas Autokrator | Left little impression on Egypt | [26] | |||
.png) | Otho r. 69 | Nomen: Markos Othon | Left little impression on Egypt | [26] | |||
| There are no known traces of the brief reign ofVitellius (r. 69) in Egypt.[8] | |||||||
| Vespasian r. 69–79 | Nomen: Ouespasianos  Ouespasianos ntj ḫw | First emperor to visit Egypt since Augustus; received a traditional pharaonic coronation | [27] | ||||
 | Titus r. 79–81 | Horus name: ḥwnw-nfr bnr-mrwt The perfect and popular youth | Prenomen: Titos  Autokrator Titos Kaisaros | Nomen: Ouespasianos | Left little impression on Egypt | [28] | |
 | Domitian r. 81–96 | Horus name: ḥwnw-nḫt jṯj-m-sḫm.f. The mighty youth, his power will become stronger | Golden Horus name: wsr-rnpwt ꜤꜢ-nḫtw Rich in years and great of victories | Prenomen: Ḥr-zꜢ-Ꜣst mrj-nṯrw-nb(w) Horus, son of Isis, beloved of the gods | Nomen: Domitianos  Domitianos ntj ḫw  Domitianos Sebastos Kaisaros | Introduced Egyptian deities on coins minted in Alexandria and founded temples dedicated to deities such asIsis andSerapis in Italy. Using the trappings of being pharaoh, he also sought to add further legitimacy to imperial rule. | [28] |
 | Nerva r. 96–98 | Nomen: Nerouas ntj ḫw | Left little impression on Egypt | [28] | |||
 | Trajan r. 98–117 | Prenomen: Autokrator Kaisaros Nerouas  Germanikos Dakikos,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt | Nomen: Nerouas Traianos  Nerouas Traianos,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt mrj-Ꜣst  Traianos ntj ḫw  Traianos ntj ḫw + Aristos Germanikos Dakikos | Egyptian sources from Trajan's time associate empressPompeia Plotina with the goddessHathor, the first known direct association between the imperial family (other than the emperor) and Egyptian deities | [29] | ||
 | Hadrian r. 117–138 | Nomen: Traianos Adrianos,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt mrj-Ꜣst  Adrianos ntj ḫw  Hadrianus Caesar | Paid a 8/10-month long state visit to Egypt in 130–131, visiting many sites of note and foundingAntinoöpolis. Hadrian's cult ofAntinous was influenced by Egyptian theology. Ruled during a period of RomanEgyptomania. | [30] | |||
 | Antoninus Pius r. 138–161 | Horus name: nfr-n(?)-tꜢ-nṯr ḥn-n-f-ŠmꜤw-Mḥw-m-nḏm-jb The perfect one of the gods, who rejoices with the two lands, in sweetness of heart | Prenomen: Autokrator Kaisaros Titos Ailios Adrianos | Nomen: Antoninos ntj ḫw + Eusebes  Antoninos Sebastos Eusebes ntj ḫw  Antoninos ntj ḫw Ꜥnḫ-ḏt  Antoninos ntj ḫw,Ep. šꜢj-n-BꜢqt | Celebrated in Ancient Egypt due to overseeing the completion of aSothic cycle in 139. His long reign saw the last significant temple constructions in Egypt. Visited Alexandria in the 150s to sponsor various new buildings. | [31] | |
| Lucius Verus r. 161–169 |  Loukio(s) Aurelio(s),Ep. wr-ꜤꜢ Ꜥnḫ-ḏt[f] | Joint emperor with Marcus Aurelius | [20] | ||||
 | Marcus Aurelius r. 161–180 |  Aurelios Antoninos ntj ḫw  Autokrator Kaisaros Mark(os) Aurelio(s) Antonin(os)  Aure(li)os,Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt + Antonin(os),Ep. Ꜥnḫ-ḏt  [Markos] Aurelio(s) Antoninos Sebastos | Faced with a native Egyptian revolt led byIsidorus in 171–175 and the revolt of the Egypt-supported usurperAvidius Cassius 175. Toured Egypt in 176, the province at the time badly affected by theAntonine Plague. ReplacedDemotic with Greek for official use in Egypt. | [33] | |||
 | Commodus r. 180–192 |  Markos Au(re)lios Komodos Antoninos  Komodos Kaisaros(?)  Komodos Antoninos ntj ḫw | Last emperor to be widely attested as pharaonic patron in Egyptian temples. Subsequent decline of representations of emperors is probably attributable to decreased resources available to the clergy and temples rather than a change in imperial attitude and policy. | [34] | |||
| Neither of the two ephemeral emperors of theYear of the Five Emperors (193) are attested by any pharaonic titles;[20]Pertinax was briefly recognized in Egypt, 22 days before his assassination, andDidius Julianus was not acknowledged in Egypt at all. The usurperPescennius Niger was the recognized successor of Pertinax in Egypt[35] but no known pharaonic titles of his survive either.[20] | |||||||
 | Septimius Severus r. 193–211 |  Seouēros ntj ḫw | Toured Egypt together with the imperial family in 199–200. Repaired old buildings and established senates in Alexandria and elsewhere. Religious division and controversy led to the first large-scale persecution of Christians in Egypt in 201. | [36] | |||
 | Geta r. 211 |  Geta(s) ntj ḫw | Briefly joint emperor with Caracalla | [20] | |||
 | Caracalla r. 211–217 |  Antoninos ntj ḫw | ExtendedRoman citizenship to all inhabitants of the Roman Empire through the 212Antonine Constitution; his name Aurelius[g] was then common, particularly in Egypt. | [37] | |||
| Macrinus r. 217–218 |  Makrino(s) n(tj) ḫw | Broke long-standing convention and sent a prefect and a senator to govern Egypt, though both were deposed and the senator killed after Macrinus's death | [38] | ||||
| Diadumenian r. 218 |  Diadoumenianos | Junior joint emperor with Macrinus | [20] | ||||
| Elagabalus (r. 218–222), who succeeded Macrinus and Diadumenian, is not mentioned in any surviving Egyptian sources.[35] His successorSeverus Alexander (r. 222–235) was recognized in Egypt,[35] but no pharaonic titles survive.[20] The ephemeral emperorsMaximinus Thrax (r. 235–238),Gordian I (r. 238),Gordian II (r. 238),Pupienus (r. 238),Balbinus (r. 238) andGordian III (r. 238–244) did little of consequence in Egypt and are unrecorded in surviving Egyptian documents.[39] | |||||||
 | Philip r. 244–249 |  Philippos ntj ḫw | Due to decades of mismanagement and civil strife Egypt had fallen into poverty by the time of Philip's reign. Last pharaoh to be commemorated at the great temple atEsna. | [40] | |||
 | Decius r. 249–251 |  Dekios ntj ḫw | Oversaw theDecian persecution of Christians. His reign saw southern Egypt being raided by theBlemmyes, the first time southern Egypt was attacked since the time of Augustus. | [41] | |||
| EmperorsTrebonianus Gallus (r. 251–253) andAemilianus (r. 253) were recognized in Egypt, as attested by official documents and coins minted inAlexandria,[42] but neither is attested by any pharaonic titles.[20] | |||||||
| Valerian r. 253–260 |  Oualerianos | Demonized by Christians for renewing persecutions, but popular among the Egyptian clergy | [43] | ||||
| After Valerian, Egypt was controlled by a sequence of usurpers:Macrianus Minor (r. 260–261),Quietus (r. 260–261) andLucius Mussius Aemilianus (r. 261–262),[44] though none of them are attested with any pharaonic titles.[20] The legitimate emperorGallienus (r. 262–268) was then recognized,[45] though there are likewise no known pharaonic titles from his reign.[20] Few records survive from Egypt from Gallienus's successors, with little evidence of the reigns ofClaudius Gothicus (r. 268–270),Quintillus (r. 270),Aurelian (r. 270–275) andTacitus (r. 275–276), though they were all presumably recognised. Near the end of 270 and throughout most of 271, Egypt was occupied byZenobia of thePalmyrene Empire, who declared herself queen of Egypt, although no pharaonic titles survive.[46] In any case, the province was retaken by Aurelian by the end of 271. The brief reign of emperorFlorian (r. 276) was explicitly rejected in Egypt, with the Egyptian legions backing Probus instead.[20][45] | |||||||
| Probus r. 276–282 |  Autokrator Probos (?)[h] | Seized the imperial throne with Egyptian support. Defeated the Blemmyes, who had penetrated as far north asCoptos. | [48] | ||||
| EmperorsCarus (r. 282–283),Carinus (r. 283–285) andNumerian (r. 283–284) are not recorded in surviving Egyptian sources.[20][45] | |||||||
| Diocletian r. 284–305 |  Diokletian(os) | Reforms removed much of Egypt's idiosyncrasy, further integrating Egypt economically and administratively with the other provinces. Lands in southern Egypt were abandoned during a state visit in 298. TheDiocletianic Persecution was particularly severe in Egypt. | [49] | ||||
| Maximian r. 286–305 |  Maksimiano(s) | Western Roman emperor, ruling jointly with Diocletian; did not actually control Egypt | [20] | ||||
| Galerius r. 305–311 |  Kaisaros Iouio(s) Maksimio(s) | Persecutions of Christians continued until adeathbed decree of religious toleration by Galerius | [20] | ||||
| Maximinus Daza r. 311–313 |  Kaisaros Oualerios Mak(sim)inos | Last emperor regarded to have been pharaoh by the Egyptians | [50] | ||||
| The last aggressively Pagan emperor to control Egypt, Maximinus Daza, was the last Roman emperor to be acknowledged in hieroglyphic texts. Although royal cartouches are recorded from later times (the last known cartouche being from the reign ofConstantius II in 340), the pagan Egyptians posthumously used cartouches of Diocletian, rather than acknowledging the later Christian emperors.[51] | |||||||