Imaginary history of Egypt

Before the language of Ancient Egypt was first decoded in the early nineteenth century, a period of Egypt's history was known as the Imaginary History of Egypt (Arabic: تاريخ مصر الخرافى). These histories were widespread throughout the Arab and Coptic realms of Egypt itself, and were based on biblical writings, mythical tales, and bad copywriting from the works of Greek historians like Manetho.

History

The beginning of the period of mythical history of Egypt

After Christianity had entered Egypt under the Eastern Roman Empire, the history of Egypt gradually disappeared from memory, and people were unable to read the letters of the ancient Egyptian language, such as hieroglyphics. After Islam entered Egypt after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the ancient Egyptian culture and monuments were further ignored and neglected. The Coptics were generally not interested in anything beyond the history of Christianity in their land, and they destroyed or covered up many ancient temples of the Egyptian religion. The Muslims, on the other hand, were generally quite ignorant of the Greek and Roman historians. They quoted from the other Arabs who, although they were interested in other Greek works like Manetho, did not look thoroughly into history, resulting in the books of Muslim historians including several fictitious accounts and stories.

The end of the mythological Egypt

Main article: Decipherment of ancient Egyptian scripts

After Jean-François Champollion and other scholars like Thomas Young were able to decipher the hieroglyphics and similar scripts like the hieratic scripts in the early nineteenth century, the true history of Egypt became widespread. Before this, it was widely believed that the Egyptian language was exclusively ideographic. They had succeeded in areas the previous historians had failed to succeed in, such as understanding the language of the ancient Egyptians.

The mythical rulers of Egypt

The mythical history of Egypt was divided into four periods, one before the Great Flood and one after it, another for the Amalekite rule, and the last one for the history of Egypt before the Arab conquest.

Before the Flood

• Mizraim, whose real name is Mizraim ibn Maraqil ibn Da'wil ibn Arabak ibn Adam, is said to be the first king of this period. He is then said to have been succeeded by son, Naqraush. Mizraim is credited with building towers and pillars in Egypt, before dying after a hundred and eighty years and being mummified.
• Khasalim, a king who first placed idols in Egypt to predict the intensity of the annual floods.
• Surid ibn Salhouk, who is later identified as being the same as the historically real ruler, Khufu. Surid is credited with building the Great Pyramid of Giza after he had a nightmare, later interpreted to be the coming of the Great Flood. So, he built the pyramids to store and preseve the information and knowledge of the world, as well as serve as his tomb. The Great Flood would not happen until 300 years later.

After the Flood

• Misraim, the son or grandson of Ham (who himself is the son of Noah) is said to be the first king ruling Egypt after the flood. He is credited with the construction of the historical city of Memphis. He dies after a reign of seven hundred years, succeeding him are his sons Qaft, Ashmoun, Atrib, and Sa.
• Qiftarim succeeds the Misraim dynasty, and is credited as the one who built the pyramids of Dahshur and the city of Dendera. During his reign, polytheism and idol worship returned to Egypt. His reign ended after four hundred years, and he was buried in a heavily-guarded tomb somewhere near the Arabian Peninsula. Qiftarim's grave was protected by two large copper idols which would scare off grave robbers.
• Maliq al-Budshir ruled after Qiftarim. He was a distinguished scholar who specialized in talismans, magic, and the occult. He was able to perform miracles, including the creation of a miraculous tree. During his reign, thanks to this special tree, his people were satisfied with eating meat.

Hermes Trismegistus also lived during the reign of Maliq al-Budshir, and he was hired to discover the sources of the Nile and make some talismans there. Suddenly, Maliq al-Budshir disappeared after ascending to live in the clouds, and his voice summoned his soldiers to appoint his son Adeem as the new ruler of Egypt.

• Menaquish is another ruler, credited with dividing Egypt's tax into four parts; a quarter for his personal use, a quarter for the army, a quarter for infrastructural developments, and a quarter for medical needs. Egypt's revenue would exceed more than a million during his reign. After him, his son Mettaish ruled, who is credited with the invention of the Golden calf in Biblical and Islamic literature.
• Ashmoun is regarded as the longest reigning king of the legendary history of Egypt, with a reign of at least eight hundred years. During his reign, the tribe of Ad had invaded part of Egypt, but he was succesfully able to repel them after ninety years. Ashmoun's son, Menaquish, ruled after him and was the one who first tamed beasts for personal use in Egypt.
• Merqurah, said to have been a wise magician, was the next ruler after Menaquish. But Merqurah died early, leaving behind his young son Bilates as the Pharaoh. Due to his incapability to rule due to his age, his mother became his regent. She is said to have been a capable and just ruler, who gained the affection of her subjects by lowering the taxation fees. When Bilates reached manhood, he ditched his royal responsibilities and left all the rulership in her hands, and amused himself with hunting. After a reign of thirteen years he died of small-pox and the succession passed to his uncle Atrib.
• Tutis, probably Teti or Sanakht is the biblical Pharaoh who met with Abram and Sarai. After his repentance, Tutis gave the slave Hagar to Abram as a gift. Tutis' daughter Guriaq ruled Egypt after him, and during her reign the Amalekites invaded Egypt under the leadership of Salitis, known in the Arabian folklore as Al-Walid ibn Duma.

Amalekite period

The rule of the Hyksos in Egypt is known as the rule of the Amalekites in the legends.

• Al-Walid ibn Duma is the first of the Amalekite rulers. Identified with Salitis.
• Rayyan ibn al-Walid ibn Duma is the second of these mythical Amalekite rulers. He (or his son 'Ubayd) is believed to be the biblical Pharaoh which met with Joseph during his stay in Egypt. He is identified with Khyan.
• Darim is the third of these mythical rulers. He is said to be a miracle worker, and is credited with the invention of an ancient microwave oven and the predecessor to the modern farmhouse. Identified with either Yanassi or Apepi.
• Mo'dan is the fourth of the mythical rulers, and is said to have drowned in the Nile. Identified with either Yanassi or Apepi.
• Kasim ibn Mo'dan, known as Aksames, is the fifth of these mythical Amalekite rulers, and according to the legends, his death occured when he drowned in the Nile. He is identified as the last Hyksos ruler, Khamudi. Some have identified him with the Pharaoh of Moses.
• Al-Walid ibn Musab is the last of these mythical rulers. Muslim historians affirm him to be the Pharaoh of Moses, hence he is said to be the Pharaoh in the Qu'ran. His origins are disputed whether he is an Amalekite, Canaanite or a native Egyptian. He is also credited with the mass employment of sorcerers in his territory. In some sources, he succeeds a relatively unknown Qabus ibn Musab.

The remainder period after the Passover

After the Israelites had departed from Egypt, Egypt became a barren land. It was then ruled by a woman named Daluka for a hundred and thirty years. After Daluka's demise, a man named Darkun was appointed as the ruler of Egypt. But his reign was interrupted when Nebuchadnezzar II, known in the legends as Marnoush, sacked and raided Egypt. Then, Egypt became deserted and desolate for many years until the arrival of the Achaemenid Empire, who were defeated by Alexander the Great. After the Greeks had left Egypt, it was ruled by the Copts until the reign of Muqawqis, during whose rule the Arabs conquered Egypt.

See also

• Egypt in the Western imagination

References

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