Black Pharoahs?

Question

There is a belief that is becoming more popular in the U.S. and parts of Europe that the ancient pharoahs of Egypt were Black. The contradicting beliefs between historians and the media is causing a divide on whether or not this is true.

Many people believe that King Tut was black based on the fact that several statues of him found in his tomb were black. And they accuse the historians of distorting history and decieving people to believe that the pharoahs were white. (Which I don't believe because even if they were white they would be Arab not Black) There are many arguements for both sides of the debate.

First of all there is no proof of skin tone. (So it doesn't really matter what color they were; we'll never really know) Many of the pictures and statues of the kings and queens were several different shades and they were all based on political correctness and what the common belief of the ideal look was at the time.

Example: A hundred years ago in the U.S. pale women were considered more attractive than tan ones because it meant that you had the financial means to fritter your time away indoors. Now tan women are considered more attractive because it means that they are more active and spend more time outdoors.

Futhermore Ancient Egypt had many different cultures and colors within their society. Egypt was had Arabs to the north and Nubians (Blacks) to the south and there was a mixture within their culture so it is possible that several kings may have been black and there is proof that a particular dynasty was. But this doesn't pertain to king Tut.

King Tut's predecessor was King Akhenaten. During Akhenaten's reign a mini renessaunce took place where the royal family was depicted exactly as they were not as they wished they were. Therefore Akhenaten's statues look drastically different to most other pharoahs.

He had a much longer face and his lips and nose were very large which leads people to believe that he might be black. But it is arguable that this is because it is suspected that he had a cleffed lip and many people with cleffed syndrom have long faces and larger lips and noses. His wife Nefertiti is also subject to speculation the debate isn't as heated as it is with Akhenaten and Tutankamun.

I would also like to mention that I once heard someone talk about how the racism toward African Americans cannot be compared to the Israelites in Egypt because they were the same color but that's not true. Rameses the Great is said to have depicted Nubians (Blacks) as slaves to scorn the King of Nubia.

As an answer to Christians making Jesus white. Every culture has made Jesus appear like them.

Example: In France, Jesus looks French. In Mexico, he looks Mexican. In India he looks Indian.

As an answer to Cleopatra being potrayed as white. Newsflash she was white. She was Greek and a decendant of Ptolemey, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Histories description that she was a seductive beauty is probably false because her image on her coins doesn't look that different to Queen Elizabeth's coins

I apologize for my bad spelling. I didn't feel like looking up how to spell everyone's names so bear with me.

And just because Egypt is on the African Continient doesn't make everyone who lived there black. Egypt is much closer to the Arabs than it is to the African tribes. Yes, Nubia is a Black nation but there is hardly anything there. They don't have a river to support life so they are relatively poor country and have always been so. That's why Egypt made slaves of their people; they were an easy target.

I do believe that some pharoahs were Black and considering the diversity of the people in Egypt that is to be expected but I don't believe that King Tut was Black. Is it just coinsidental that Black people lay claim to the most famous pharoah of all time. King Tut wasn't even that rich. He was a minor pharoah and the only reason average people know about him is because his tomb wasn't robbed like all the others.

Answer 1

**actually you can tell skin tone by bone structure of the corpse.
*reality is some pharaohs were black, some werent. It wasnt just one dynasty that ruled egypt for all those centuries. Akhenaten was most likey black, but he had a bone disease. marfans syndrome? (i think, i could be something else)
This was the dynasty that Tut is under. Nefertiti was black. nefertari, Rameses wife is belived to have been of another ethnicity than black.
it is believed that Ramses & Seti 1 etc were not black but, 'middle eastern'. and the BIGGEST mistake people make are concerning the Ptolemaic Dynasty. (i.e., the one that Cleopatra Vii was the last of) .... they were greek. So Cleopatra and her brothers Ptolemy Vii & Viii were not black at all.
so as far as history tells us, the pharaohs were as diverse as the nation.

The reason is that the pharoahs intermarried as to keep the blood-line. so that it was usually a brother-sister/husband-wife type of a thing. this preserved the individual 'families' right to the throne (even though pharaohs were supposed to be gods) etc. but they often had a whole lot of wives. And there were tons of dynasties, not one 'family' kept it for all those thousands of years.

Answer 2

I don't know why this has come up. This has been an open question for anthropologists for years and, you'd never get an answer that was correct. Of course Jesus was an Ethiopian decent, from that area. What's the argument and, I'm not hyperventilating by the way.
It's accepted in many Churches if you know anything about Christians, Jesus is portrayed as being almost ******* or, black short, curly hair, a short stubble for a beard with a flaring nose. And, of course dark skin, this is of that area of the world.

What are we suppose to do, go around smashing all the statues and tearing up all the paintings? it's the way it is so, accept it. What;'s the problem.

I would guess all ancient peoples including the Egyptians would be swarthy or dark skinned, where, for Pete's sake, are they from, not Sweden, that's for sure. One only needs to know a little about geography to know these questions.

Answer 3

The Nubian from Sudan did conquer Egypt once & the dynasty lasted over 100 yrs. However most Pharoahs were not Haplotype L (predominate sub Saharan African DNA group) as many would like to suggest & Cleopatra was greek, since her grandfather was one of Alexander's generals. The Greeks did not interbreed with Egyptians & in fact incest was common to keep their "Royal Bloodlines" pure.
Chuckle... the Politically correct ignorance perpetrated about Egypt is just plain amazing. Try looking up the DNA map of human migration in & out of Africa.
To the idiot that gave me the thumbs down... if the truth hurts you, get off the board.

Answer 4

The Sudanese ruled the later Kingdom for about 100 years and that is the only time that could be said Egypt was under a Black Pharaoh; strictly. Egyptians were of Semitic stock, as has been confirmed genetically. There are no arguments and there is no two sides of this debate. The truth is the truth and ambiguous anthropology does not change that.

Answer 5

I agree with all beans4brains said except for bone structure. You cannot determine skin shade beyond a doubt from bone structure. You can however determine ethnicity (i.e. european, asian, african). This does not give skin tone. There is a broad range of "shades" within every ethnicity. Structure just aids in narrowing the field.

Answer 6

Some Egyptians were black. Some were Arab or similar to semitic. African is not a race. It is indicative of just how ignorant Jesse Jackson is and those that use the term African American are. Arabs and Caucasians have lived in Africa for a very long time.

Answer 7

if you happen to appear on the drawing at the egyptian monuments, you're going to discover men and women with each dermis colour, gentle and darkish.. now in Egypt thats what you spot these days, you're going to discover Egyptians with gentle dermis colour and darkish one.. in higher Egypt, close Sudan like Luxor, Aswan, Egyptians have quite darkish dermis colour and will get lighter as you progress to the north with a few exceptions of direction :)

Answer 8

Diedre is quite correct. Just look at the location of Egypt, this is one of the earliest civilizations so I seriously doubt they were white. I personally believe they were a sand color, just like christ.

Answer 9

What I find interesting is that white Christians hyperventilate at the mere idea that Jesus the Christ was quite swarthy as well. They just don't like the idea of their spiritual guide to not be lily white. Facts are facts look at the geography and the race you are dealing with. Cleopatra had lovely brown skin despite how Elizabeth Taylor portrayed her.

Answer 10

What's surprising about the pharoahs being black? Egypt is in Africa, after all. Excuse me, on the African continent...ahem.