DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.12654#0151
Sect. III.] ELEPHANTINITES AND SHEPHERDS.
123
King of the Fifth Dynasty, was contemporary with
Assa, the fifth King of the Fifteenth; and hence we
may make two very important deductions:—first, that
the Elephantinites did not reign at Memphis between
the Fourth and Sixth Dynasties; secondly, if we cal-
culate average Kings' reigns in the table of the hiero-
glyphic names of the Kings of the first seventeen
Dynasties, from the commencement of the Fourth
Dynasty to the reign of Assa, the result will show that
Eusebius's sum of thirty-one Kings of the Fifth Dy-
nasty is, at least, very near the truth. The sums of
the Fourth and Sixth Dynasties, and of the Fifteenth,
excluding the reign of the last King, is about 577
years, which would give an average of about eighteen
years for the reign of each King of the Fifth Dynasty,
supposing that Dynasty to have consisted of thirty-one
Kings. The contemporaneousness of Unas and Assa
thus proved on monumental evidence is of the greatest
importance, since it is one of the proofs of the contem-
poraneousness, in the manner which I have already
explained, of the Kingdoms of the Fifth and Fifteenth
Dynasties, and those between them; five out of the
seven columns of the table of contemporary Dynasties
being thus satisfactorily shown to be correct by this
one evidence ; in addition to which there is also a
variety of evidence, already adduced, by which the cor-
rectness of the arrangement of the first two columns is
proved. It seems to me to be probable that Assa
treated Unas with respect, although doubtless more
powerful himself, from motives of policy, as the latter
was a legitimate Egyptian King.
Before continuing this investigation in order, it is
necessary to consider the monumental lists of those
Dynasties whose history I am about to examine; and I
123
King of the Fifth Dynasty, was contemporary with
Assa, the fifth King of the Fifteenth; and hence we
may make two very important deductions:—first, that
the Elephantinites did not reign at Memphis between
the Fourth and Sixth Dynasties; secondly, if we cal-
culate average Kings' reigns in the table of the hiero-
glyphic names of the Kings of the first seventeen
Dynasties, from the commencement of the Fourth
Dynasty to the reign of Assa, the result will show that
Eusebius's sum of thirty-one Kings of the Fifth Dy-
nasty is, at least, very near the truth. The sums of
the Fourth and Sixth Dynasties, and of the Fifteenth,
excluding the reign of the last King, is about 577
years, which would give an average of about eighteen
years for the reign of each King of the Fifth Dynasty,
supposing that Dynasty to have consisted of thirty-one
Kings. The contemporaneousness of Unas and Assa
thus proved on monumental evidence is of the greatest
importance, since it is one of the proofs of the contem-
poraneousness, in the manner which I have already
explained, of the Kingdoms of the Fifth and Fifteenth
Dynasties, and those between them; five out of the
seven columns of the table of contemporary Dynasties
being thus satisfactorily shown to be correct by this
one evidence ; in addition to which there is also a
variety of evidence, already adduced, by which the cor-
rectness of the arrangement of the first two columns is
proved. It seems to me to be probable that Assa
treated Unas with respect, although doubtless more
powerful himself, from motives of policy, as the latter
was a legitimate Egyptian King.
Before continuing this investigation in order, it is
necessary to consider the monumental lists of those
Dynasties whose history I am about to examine; and I