Ramesseum king list

The memorial temple of Ramesses II, also called simply Ramesseum contains a minor list of pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The scene with the list was first published by Jean-Francois Champollion in 1845, and by Karl Richard Lepsius four years later.

The upper register of the second western pylon, shows a processions where ancestors of Ramesses II are honored at ceremonies of the festival of Min. It contains 19 cartouches with the names of 14 pharaohs. Notably, Hatshepsut and the Amarna pharaohs are omitted.

Drawing of the Ramesseum King list of Ramesses II

Kings names mentioned

The scene is divided in two parts, one with 14 statues of the ancestral kings being carried in a procession on the left side. The second part is a procession led by six kings, but only the name of five remain.

Left procession			Right procession
#	Pharaoh	Inscription (throne name)	#	Pharaoh	Inscription (throne name)
1	Thutmose I	Aakheperkare	15	Horemheb	Djeserkheperure-setepenre
2	Amenhotep I	Djeserkare	16	Amenhotep III	Nebmaatre
3	Ahmose I	Nebpehtyre	17	Thutmose IV	Menkheperure
4	Mentuhotep II	Nebhepetre	18	Amenhotep II	Aakheperure
5	Menes	Meni	19	Thutmose III	Menkheperre
6	Ramesses II	Usermaatre-setepenre
7	Seti I	Menmaatre
8	Ramesses I	Menpehtyre
9	Horemheb	Djeserkheperure-setepenre
10	Amenhotep III	Nebmaatre
11	Thutmose IV	Menkheperure
12	Amenhotep II	Aakheperure
13	Thutmose III	Menkheperre
14	Thutmose II	Aakheperenre

The scene remains in situ in the upper register of the second western pylon. The later Medinet Habu king list of Ramesses III is very similar in design, but only lists nine pharaohs.

Bibliography

• Jean François Champollion: Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie, II, plates 149bis-150 (Paris: 1845)
• Carl Richard Lepsius: Denkmaeler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien, III, plate 163, (Berlin: 1849)
• The Epigraphic Survey: Medinet Habu: Volume IV, OIP 51, Plate 213 (Chicago: 1940)
• Kenneth A. Kitchen: Ramesside Inscriptions, Vol V, pp. 205:9-11; 209:9-10 (Oxford: 1983)