Were pharaohs white or black?

Answer 1

Your Simple Answer:

That the Egyptians by and large were dark is certain, and many must have been what we today call "black."


More Detailed Answer:

*Being on the continent, Egypt has always been an African civilization though it straddles two regions, Africa and the Middle East. It's fairly clear that the cultural roots of ancient Egypt lie in Africa and not in Asia.

*Skulls have been measured and compared and DNA tests attempted in various forms, but conclusions are few. Skulls are more similar to those found in the Northern Sudan and less similar to those found in West Africa, Palestine, and Turkey. It seems that there has been some genetic continuity from Predynastic time through the Middle Kingdom, after which there was a considerable infiltration into the Nile Valley from outside populations. That the Egyptians by and large were dark is certain, and many must have been what we today call "black."

Answer 2

They were both...there were pharaohs that looked Arab, there were also pharaohs with European ancestry, and there were pharaohs from what is now northern Sudan and southern Egypt who were 'black'. These were rulers over the kingdom of Kush, which also (I believe) ruled over Egypt for a period of time.

Answer 3

There were some of both, and no, they were not all Egyptian.

Cleopatra, for example, was of Greek desent, being a member of the dynasty of Ptolemy, One of Alexanders generals, who was given that portion of the Empire to rule.

Early in Egyptian history, there were Pharohs from the upper kingdom (south in this case, as the Nile flows north into the Med.) and it is believed that many of these were black. Roman and Greek Pharohs came along VERY late in the history of Egypt.

There even seems reason to believe that there was a Hebrew Pharoh or two. Don't tell the egyptians this though, I doubt they would like the idea.

Answer 4

Most of you live in an obvious state of denial. If you met one of the pharoahs on the street today you would no doubt consider them to be black.

There was a study done on it and some 40% of the Pharohs were identified as *******. However the scientists were reluctant to use this identifier because race is a social distinction not a scientific one.

I doubt that the Egyptian aristocracy sat around wondering about the differences in color of their family members. Racial consciousness being an Anglo invention.

Answer 5

The Pharaohs were Egyptian and, like any Egyptian, those who went out in the sun to work every day were quite tanned and dark brown (but not black) and those who stayed indoors in the palaces were much fairer. So the answer has to be - a very light tan.

Answer 6

Pharaohs were Egyptian. They were tan, like an Arabic person. They were classified as neither white nor black.

Answer 7

Neither, they are ethnically Arabs. Interestingly enough, it has only been in the past 30 years of so that Egypt was considered a part of Africa, because of their culture. Before then they were considered part of the Middle East and therefore Asia.

Answer 8

The pharoah's of Egypt had Greek and Roman lineage, so I guess they were white, but with that hot Egyptian sun glaring down at them all the time they were very tan.

Answer 9

Somewhat in the middle, it is sort of like indian/mexican/african american skin. Dark, but not black

Answer 10

They weren't white.