Abydos King List (Ramesses II)

Ramesses' list is in fragments, so that only some of the kings' names survive. Originally, the list was believed to have consisted of four rows of 26 cartouches (borders enclosing the name of a king) in each row. The upper three rows would have contained names of the kings (76 ancestors plus Ramesses prenomen and nomen for a total of 78), while the fourth would have row merely repeats Ramesses II's prenomen and nomen. The original top row was lost in antiquity, leaving the current 3 rows with 32 cartouches of different pharaohs surviving.

This list omits the names of many earlier pharaohs who were apparently considered illegitimate — those were Sobekneferu, pharaohs of the Ninth Dynasty, pharaohs of the Tenth Dynasty, the Hyksos, pharaohs of the Second Intermediate Period, Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Smenkhkare, Neferneferuaten, Tutankhamen, and Ay.

Contents of the king list

Row 1

Sixth Dynasty

Seventh/Eighth Dynasty

Row 2

Twelfth Dynasty

Eighteenth Dynasty

Nineteenth Dynasty

Row 3