Today, around 6:30 p.m. local time, 22 royal mummies will be transferred in a majestic parade from the place of its current display in the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to their new home in the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat (both cities are part of Cairo). The Pharaoh's Golden Parade will also feature fireworks, light shows and performances by Egyptian artists and popular stars.
The procession will begin around sunset with a 21-gun salute. Proceeding along a five-mile route that parallels the Nile, the mummies will pass murals of pharaonic scenes against a backdrop of fireworks and sound-and-light shows.
The parade can be seen online on YouTube here and here. Time in Cairo is 6 hours ahead of ET.
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization will open its main hall for visitors on Sunday April 4. It was partially opened in 2017. The Royal mummies will go on display on April 18. The mummies, which have lasted thousands of years, are carefully preserved in nitrogen-filled capsules.
Here is a fascinating video of the mummies and the preparations for the parade -
Here is a map of Cairo city. The royal mummies will be transferred from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat on a route along the Nile river.
A look at some of the chariots that will carry the kings and queens during the parade.
About the Pharaohs and Mummies
The 22 mummies were discovered in two cachettes. The first was unearthed in 1881 at Deir El-Bahari in Luxor’s West Bank in tomb TT320. The second cachette was found in a chamber in the tomb of King Amenhotep II (KV 35), by French Egyptologist Victor Loret in 1898, at the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
All 22 mummies date back to the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th dynasties, in the period known as the New Kingdom. FYI, the colossal pyramids/tombs were built by rulers of the Old Kingdom.
Here is a complete list of the 22 kings and queens, in chronological order.
# |
Name |
Years of Rule |
Dynasty |
Relationships |
1 |
King Seqenenre Taa |
~1558 BC |
17th |
|
2 |
Queen Ahmose-Nefertari |
|
18th |
Daughter of Seqenenre Taa, wife of Ahmose I (her brother)
Mother of King Amenhotep I
|
3 |
King Amenhotep I |
1525–1504 BC |
18th |
Son of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari |
4 |
Queen Meritamun |
|
18th |
Older sister and the wife of Amenhotep I, daughter of Ahmose I and Ahmose Nefertari
|
5 |
King Thutmose I |
1506–1493 BC |
18th |
Likely son of Amenhotep I |
6 |
King Thutmose II |
1493–1479 BC |
18th |
Son of Thutmose I and a minor wife, Mutnofret |
7 |
Queen Hatshepsut |
1479–1458 BC |
18th |
Daughter of Thutmose I and his primary wife Ahmose |
8 |
King Thutmose III |
1479–1425 BC |
18th |
Son of Thutmose II |
9 |
King Amenhotep II |
1427–1401 BC or 1427–1397 BC |
18th |
Son of Thutmose III |
10 |
King Thutmose IV |
1401–1391 BC or 1397–1388 BC |
18th |
Son of Amenhotep II and Tiaa |
11 |
King Amenhotep III |
1391–1353 or 1388–1351 BC |
18th |
Son of Thutmose IV |
12 |
Queen Tiye |
|
18th |
Daughter of Yuya and Tjuyu, wife of King Amenhotep III
Mother of King Akhenaten
|
13 |
King Seti I |
1290–1279 BC |
19th |
Son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II |
14 |
King Ramses II |
1279–1213 BC |
19th |
Son of Seti I |
15 |
King Merenptah |
1213–1203 BC |
19th |
Son of Ramesses II and Isetnofret I |
16 |
King Seti II |
1203–1197 BC |
19th |
Son of Merneptah and Isetnofret IIq |
17 |
King Siptah |
1197–1191 BC |
19th |
Son of Seti II or Merneptah or Amenmesse |
18 |
King Ramses III |
1186–1155 BC |
20th |
Son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese |
19 |
King Ramses IV |
1155–1149 BC |
20th |
Son of son of Ramesses III |
20 |
King Ramses V |
1149–1145 BC |
20th |
Son of Ramesses IV and Duatentopet |
21 |
King Ramses VI |
mid-to-late 12th century BC |
20th |
Son of Ramesses III and Queen Iset Ta-Hemdjert |
22 |
King Ramses IX |
1129–1111 BC |
20th |
Son of Mentuherkhepeshef, grandson of Ramesses III |
Note that Ramses is also spelled as Ramesses. This is not a complete list of Kings and Queens during the period.
Here is a list of the periods of ancient Egyptian history -
Here are some images and additional info about the 22 Kings and Queens
1. King Seqenenre Taa, “the Brave”, who reigned over southern Egypt some 1,600 years before Christ. His skull bears the marks of horrific wounds, almost certainly the result of battle against the Hyksos.
2. Queen Ahmose Nefertari was the first Great Royal Wife of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. The queen was revered as "Goddess of Resurrection" and was arguably the most venerated woman in Egyptian history.
3. King Amenhotep I. He revolutionized mortuary complex design by separating his tomb from his mortuary temple.
4. Queen Meritamun. She took over the role of God's Wife of Amun from her mother Ahmose Nefertari. She died fairly young.
5. Thutmose I became King after King Amenhotep I died without an heir. He came to the throne around the age of 40 and is thought to have ruled for a little over ten years. His principal wife was Ahmose, they were the parents of Hatshepsut.
6. King Thutmose II. His reign was secured through his marriage to his half-sister, Queen Hatshepsut.
7. Queen Hatshepsut was an accomplished builder, forceful leader, and one of ancient Egypt’s few female pharaohs. In ancient Egypt, a woman could not become pharaoh, Hatshepsut however, as the daughter of one pharaoh and the wife of another - claimed the purest of royal bloodlines - soon declared herself pharaoh despite her gender.
8. Thutmose III was too young to rule at the death of his father, so he began his reign as monarch in name only. His stepmother, Hatshepsut, served as his regent for several years and then declared herself pharaoh, relegating the young Thutmose III to the role of junior king.
9. King Amenhotep II ascended the throne at about the age of 18 and ruled for at least 26 years. The tallest of his bloodline, this king boasted of his athletic prowess, often representing himself performing feats of strength and skill. Remembered as a great sportsman, he also had a reputation as an excellent charioteer and displayed considerable skill with the bow and arrow.
10. King Thutmose IV. The “Dream Stela,” erected by Thutmose IV between the paws of the Great Sphinx at Giza, tells of how, as a young prince, he fell asleep in the shade of this colossal figure while hunting in the desert nearby. The Sphinx appeared to him in his dreams and instructed him to clear away the sand that covered its body and in return he would be made the next pharaoh.
11. King Amenhotep III. After ascending the throne as a teenager, Amenhotep III ruled for 37 or 38 years. His Great Royal Wife was Tiye, daughter of a powerful provincial family from Akhmim.
12. Queen Tiye. Some suggest that the queen's strong political and unconventional religious views might have been due not just to a strong character, but to foreign descent.
13. King Seti I ruled Egypt for at least 21 years. He commanded various campaigns to reimpose Egyptian authority abroad. He also led a battle against the Hittites. These military activities and victories were carefully recorded at Karnak, in the temple of Amun
14. King Ramses II is the most famous of the New Kingdom pharaohs, Ramses II succeeded his father Seti I and became king at the age of between 25 and 30. He enjoyed a long reign, ruling for 67 years and left a well-recorded legacy. Ramses II—often styled “the Great” and portrayed as the pharaoh mentioned in the biblical Book of Exodus. He had many wives, including the famous queen, Nefertari and built a temple for her besides the Abu Simbel temple. We all remember Yul Brenner’s portrayal of Ramses II as a vengeful tyrant.
15. King Merenptah. Due to his father’s very long reign, he ascended the throne at a more advanced age and ruled for only about 11 years.
16. King Seti II ruled for almost six years. His throne name, Userkheperure Setepenre, means "Powerful are the manifestations of Re, the chosen one of Re.”
17. King Siptah. He was not the crown prince, but succeeded to the throne at the age of 6 after the death of Seti II. Since he was too young to rule alone, his stepmother Tawosret, wife of Seti II, took on the role of regent. Siptah died at the age of 16 and may have suffered from polio.
18. King Ramses III. Despite his great victories and accomplishments, he fell victim to a plot devised by his secondary wife, Tiye, to put her son Pentawer on the throne.
19. King Ramses IV. Due to the three decade long rule of Ramesses III, Ramesses IV is believed to have been a man in his forties when he took the throne.
Most of the images above have been taken from tweets from ExperienceEgypt, which has been publishing individual tweets for these Kings and Queens, such as the one below.
20. King Ramses V ruled for only about four years and died without an heir to the throne. Studies showed that the king died between the ages of 25 and 35. The mummy of Ramses V seem to indicate that he suffered and subsequently died from smallpox, due to lesions found on his face.
21. King Ramses VI ruled for about eight years. Over the period spanning the reigns of Ramesses VI, VII and VIII, prices of basic commodities, in particular grain, rose sharply. With Egypt's economy getting weaker, Ramesses VI turned to usurping the statues and monuments of his forebears, frequently plastering and then carving his cartouches over theirs.
22. Ramses IX. His principal contributions were to the sun temple in Heliopolis. He also decorated the north wall of the Seventh Pylon of the complex of Amun-Re at Karnak. His reign is best known for the year 16 and year 17 tomb robbery trials.
Epilogue
I hope you find this mini-tour of Egyptian history interesting and fascinating. It is difficult to imagine what life must have been thousands of years ago in these advanced cultures, besides the building of pyramids, monuments and tombs. What sort of life did ordinary citizens live? How did they manage to built vast cities, farmland, industries and supply-chains without the aid of technology we take for granted today?
Have you visited Egypt, its museums and historical monuments? Pray tell us about your experience, stories and tips.
P.S
Here is the video of the event and a few images.