Indicating that <span>Menes </span>was the first pharaoh of Egypt is a controversial subject and continues to be a highly debated subject. In fact, some Egyptian books mention that Narmer was the first pharaoh and this theory is also accepted today. Yet others say that Menes and Narmer was one and the same person. But due to some historical documents and more current theories, there are experts that insist on giving this title to Menes. Although there is a disagreement among experts as to which of these men was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, it should be noted that there were other pharaohs before Menes and Narmer but not much is known about them. So with all this information at hand, who was the first pharaoh to rule Egypt?
It is important to note there is no real evidence of who actually ruled Egypt first, but rather it’s a conjecture from experts. It is theories that have been piecemealed from information that is minimal. There is no tomb, no monument, or no mummy that proves that Menes was the first pharaoh to rule Egypt. In fact, most of what our modern society relies upon for the first pharaoh came from the Ptolemaic time era, around 300 BC and an ancient list of pharaohs discovered in Egypt. The first pharaoh is believed to have started their reign around 3100 BC, roughly three thousand years before the Ptolemaic era. Three thousand years is a huge span of time and information could have easily been altered and changed; especially due to the fact that most pharaohs tried to erase and outdo a previous pharaoh’s accomplishments before them.
So why is Menes often given the title of being the first pharaoh? This can be attributed to the Turin King List, a document discovered in Luxor that lists all the kings in chronological order. The other account of proclaiming the first pharaoh is from Manetho, a historian of Egypt from the Ptolemaic era. According to these two sources Menes is the first king of Egypt. It is said that Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt and for this reason he becomes a prominent figure and therefore given the title of first pharaoh by many experts. from kingtutone.com
