1.80 .' On the Elucidation of 



-of Josephus in the first century of the Christian sera, and by 

 the Greek authors above named of the third and fourth cen- 

 turies, contain matter, which, if entitled to confidence, is of the 

 highest historical value, viz., a chronological list of the succes- 

 sive rulers, of Egypt, from the first foundation of monarchy, to 

 Alexander of Macedon, who succeeded the Persians. . This 

 list is divided into thirty dynasties, not all of separate famihes ; 

 a memorable reign appearing in some instances to commence 

 a new dynasty, although happening in the regular succession. 

 It originally contained the length of reign as well as the name 

 of every king ; but in consequence of successive transcriptions, 

 "variations have crept in, and some few omissions also occur in 

 Ihe record, as it has reached us through the medium of different 

 authors. The chronology of Manetho, adopted with confi- 

 dence by some, and rejected with equal confidence by others, — 

 his name and his information not being even noticed by some 

 of the modern systematic writers on Egyptian history, — has 

 received the most unquestionable and decisive testimony of its 

 general fidelity by the interpretation of the hieroglyphic inscrip- 

 tions on the existing monuments : so much so, that by the 

 accordance of the facts attested by these monuments with the 

 record of the historian, we have reason to expect the entire 

 restoration of the annals of the Egyptian monarchy antece- 

 dent to the Persian conquest, and which, indeed, is already 

 accomplished in part. 



Before we pursue this part of our subject, we must conclude 

 our brief review of the original authorities in early Egyptian 

 history, by a notice of Eratosthenes. He was keeper of the 

 Alexandrian library in the reign of Ptolemy Evergetes, the 

 successor to Ptolemy Philadelphus, under whose reign Manetho 

 wrote. Amongst the few fragments of his works, which have 

 reached us transmitted through the Greek historians, is a cata- 

 logue of thirty-eight kings of Thebes, commencing with Menes, 

 (who is mentioned by the other authorities also as the first 

 monarch of Egypt,) and occupying by their successive reigns 

 1055 years. These names are stated to have been compiled 

 from original records existing at Thebes, which city Eratos- 

 thenes visited expressly to consult them. The names of the 

 two first kings in his catalogue are the same with the names 

 of the two first kings of the first dynasty of Manetho ; but the 



