Public Figures & Cultural Luminaries

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

24

🕯️ 0

Mentuhotep II

Nebhepetre Mentuhotep

Egypt

c. 2061 BCE – c. 2010 BCE (~51 years old)

Heroic Theban monarch who reunified Upper and Lower Egypt after decades of chaotic civil war, ending the First Intermediate Period and inaugurating the glorious cultural renaissance of the Middle Kingdom.

Deir el-Bahari, Luxor, Egypt

24 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

25

🕯️ 0

Menkaure

Men-kau-Ra

Egypt

c. 2560 BCE – c. 2504 BCE (~56 years old)

Eminent Fourth Dynasty pharaoh who completed the monumental architectural ensemble of the Giza necropolis by erecting the third pyramid, celebrated in classical antiquity for his justice, benevolence, and magnificent schist statuary.

Giza Plateau, Egypt

25 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

28

🕯️ 0

Khafre

Kha-f-Ra

Egypt

c. 2590 BCE – c. 2532 BCE (~58 years old)

Renowned Fourth Dynasty pharaoh who built the second-largest pyramid on the Giza plateau and commissioned the iconic Great Sphinx of Giza, the monumental lion-bodied guardian bearing his likeness.

Giza Plateau, Egypt

28 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

24

🕯️ 0

Khufu

Khnum-Khufu

Egypt

c. 2620 BCE – c. 2566 BCE (~54 years old)

Second Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt whose reign achieved the pinnacle of Old Kingdom architectural majesty through the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza, the sole surviving Wonder of the Ancient World.

Giza Plateau, Egypt

24 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

26

🕯️ 0

Sneferu

Snfr-w

Egypt

c. 2640 BCE – c. 2589 BCE (~51 years old)

Foundational Old Kingdom pharaoh and first ruler of the Fourth Dynasty who revolutionized Egyptian monumental architecture by building the Meidum Pyramid, the Bent Pyramid, and the first true smooth-sided pyramid, the Red Pyramid at Dahshur.

Dahshur, Egypt

26 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

25

🕯️ 0

Djoser

Netjerikhet

Egypt

c. 2700 BCE – c. 2649 BCE (~51 years old)

Visionary Pharaoh of the Third Dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom who, in collaboration with his architect Imhotep, commissioned the world's first colossal monumental stone structure: the Step Pyramid at Saqqara.

Saqqara, Egypt

25 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

25

🕯️ 0

Battus I of Cyrene

Βάττος

Greece

c. 660 BCE – c. 600 BCE (~60 years old)

Ancient Greek explorer and monarch who, guided by the Delphic Oracle, led colonists from the Aegean island of Thera to North Africa to found Cyrene, establishing the prosperous Battiad Dynasty and Hellenic civilization in Libya.

Cyrene, Libya

25 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

28

🕯️ 0

Sophonisba

صفنبعل (سوفونيسبا)

Tunisia

c. 235 BCE – 203 BCE (~32 years old)

Carthaginian noblewoman, daughter of Hasdrubal Gisco and Queen of Numidia, whose tragic suicide by poison to avoid Roman captivity became an immortal symbol of patriotic devotion in world literature.

Constantine, Algeria

28 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

27

🕯️ 0

Hanno the Navigator

حنون القرطاجي

Tunisia

c. 530 BCE – c. 450 BCE (~80 years old)

Carthaginian monarch and legendary naval explorer who commanded a sixty-ship expedition through the Pillars of Hercules, exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa as far south as Mount Cameroon.

Carthage, Tunisia

27 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

25

🕯️ 0

Queen Amanitore

Amanitore

Sudan

c. 5 BCE – c. 50 CE (~54 years old)

Illustrious Queen Regnant (Kandake) of Meroe who ruled alongside King Natakamani with equal royal sovereignty, constructing hundreds of temples, water reservoirs (Hafirs), and pyramids.

Royal Pyramids of Meroe, Sudan

25 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

23

🕯️ 0

Natakamani

Natakamani

Sudan

c. 10 BCE – c. 50 CE (~59 years old)

King of Meroe who presided alongside Queen Amanitore over the architectural and cultural Golden Age of the Kingdom of Kush, building the world-renowned Lion Temple at Naqa.

Meroe Pyramids, Sudan

23 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

36

🕯️ 0

Amanishakheto

Amanishakheto

Sudan

c. 45 BCE – 10 CE (~54 years old)

Mighty Queen Regnant (Kandake) of Meroe who ruled with absolute authority, defeated Roman punitive expeditions, and amassed the world-famous golden treasure of Wad ban Naqa.

Royal Pyramids of Meroe (UNESCO Site), Sudan

36 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

28

🕯️ 0

Shabaka

شباكا

Sudan

c. 745 BCE – 702 BCE (~43 years old)

Kushite Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty who consolidated full royal control over Memphis and the Delta, renowned for commissioning the 'Shabaka Stone' preserving the ancient Memphite creation theology.

el-Kurru, Sudan

28 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

28

🕯️ 0

Piye

بعنخي (بيي)

Sudan

c. 770 BCE – 716 BCE (~54 years old)

Kushite King of Napata who conquered all of Egypt in 728 BCE, founded the 25th Dynasty of 'Black Pharaohs', and recorded his epic triumph on the celebrated Victory Stela of Gebel Barkal.

el-Kurru, Sudan

28 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

28

🕯️ 0

Kashta

Kashta

Sudan

c. 785 BCE – c. 747 BCE (~38 years old)

King of Kush and brother of Alara who extended Kushite imperial power northward into Upper Egypt, peacefully installing his daughter Amenirdis I as God's Wife of Amun in Thebes.

el-Kurru (Karima), Sudan

28 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

19

🕯️ 0

Alara of Nubia

Alara

Sudan

c. 810 BCE – c. 765 BCE (~45 years old)

Foundational King of Kush who unified Upper Nubia from Meroe to the Third Cataract, founded the Napatan dynasty, and established the temple cult of Amun at Napata.

el-Kurru (Karima), Sudan

19 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

24

🕯️ 0

Bogud of Mauretania

ⴱⵓⴳⵓⴷ

Morocco

c. 110 BCE – 31 BCE (~79 years old)

Berber king of western Mauretania whose elite Moorish cavalry played a decisive role for Julius Caesar at the Battle of Munda, later dying in Greece as a loyal general of Mark Antony.

Tangier, Morocco

24 Full Record →

Monarchs, Kings & Royalty

21

🕯️ 0

Bocchus II of Mauretania

ⴱⵓⴽⵓⵙ ⵡⵉⵙ ⵙⵉⵏ

Morocco

c. 110 BCE – 33 BCE (~77 years old)

King of Mauretania who allied with Julius Caesar against Pompeian forces in Africa, reuniting all of Mauretania under a single crown upon his brother Bogud's death.

Meknes, Morocco

21 Full Record →