Karnak King List facts for kids

The Karnak King List is an ancient list of early Egyptian kings. It was carved into stone in the Festival Hall of Thutmose III at the Karnak Temple Complex in Luxor, Egypt. This list was made during the time of Thutmose III. It originally named sixty-one kings, starting with Sneferu from Egypt's Old Kingdom. Today, only thirty-nine of these names can still be read. One name is even missing its cartouche, which is a special border usually around a king's name.

This list is not a complete record of all Egyptian pharaohs. We know about other kings from different ancient lists. However, the Karnak King List is very important because it includes kings from the First Intermediate Period and Second Intermediate Period. These kings are often left out of other ancient lists.

An explorer named James Burton first wrote about the list in 1825. In 1843, a German team led by Karl Richard Lepsius visited Karnak. But one night, a French adventurer named Émile Prisse d'Avennes secretly took the stone blocks with the list. He sent them to France. The list was badly damaged during this process. Now, you can see it on display at the Louvre museum in Paris.

Understanding the Karnak King List

Drawing of the Karnak King List. The colored parts are still there, the white parts are mostly lost.

The Karnak King List shows the name of each pharaoh. Then it shows the actual name carved on the stone. The list has three main parts and is split down the middle. The kings are numbered starting from the sides and moving towards the center.

Images for kids

Detailed photos of the actual list in the Louvre

See also

In Spanish: Lista Real de Karnak para niños

• Abydos King List
• Manetho King List
• Palermo Stone
• Saqqara Tablet
• Turin King List or Turin Papyrus
• Medinet Habu king list