The Last Dynasty of Independent Egypt in the Medieval Islamic Scholar Tradition

Islamic Arabic tradition about ancient Egypt tells about its last native dynasty up to the legendary conquest of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar (the relevant plot was developed in pre-Islamic Coptic Egypt, merging the Egyptian campaign of Nebuchadnezzar in 568/567 BC and the campaign of Cambyses against Psammetichus III in 525 BC). Arab-Islamic texts provide a rather stable list of 9 successive representatives of this house, in most common or significant forms of names they are: Minakil, the father of the first king of the dynasty; his son Balutis, its first king, reigning after deposed criminal king Nemeris / Astumarus; his son Malus; his brother Minakil (the Younger); his son Baulah / N(a)ulah, who acted against the kings of Judea, Josiah and Jehoahaz (in reality it was Necho II); his son Marinus; his son Qarqurah; his brother Luqas / Niqas, under whom the temples and ritual protection of Egypt were destroyed, but the country prospered; his son Qumis, crushed by Nebuchadnezzar. It is shown that, despite the unrecognizable forms of names, this series consistently reproduces Manetho’s Dynasty XXVI of 9 kings; the last king, due to the said contamination of Cambyses’ and Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns, carries reminiscences of both their opponents, Psammetichus III and Apries; Luqas, under whom the temples were destroyed, corresponds to Amasis, an upstart usurper, alien to the state-religious hierarchy, etc.; the criminal Nemeris reproduces Manetho’s “Ammeris the Ethiopian,” a foreign conqueror. Thus, Islamic stories about the last dynasty of independent Ancient Egypt quite directly continue the ancient Egyptian ones.