Exploring Egyptian ethnicity shows how deeply intertwined ancient and modern identities are.
Egyptian Ethnicity: Ancient & Modern Insights
Most people living in the Nile Valley and Delta are similar in physical appearance. This is because they are a mix of the indigenous African population and those with Arab ancestry.
The Egyptian ethnic group is classified as Afrocentric. Modern Egyptians share the same ethnicity as the ancient Egyptians and are primarily located in North Africa.
What ethnicity are Egyptians?
Modern Egyptians undoubtedly belong to the same ethnic group as their ancient counterparts, commonly known as the Egyptian ethnicity. Most of Egypt’s populace proudly identify as Egyptians and adhere to the Muslim faith. It is important to note that alongside the Muslim population, there exists a significant Christian community known as the Copts. This continuity reflects the enduring legacy of the Egyptian race throughout history.
What ethnicity were ancient Egyptians?
The race of the ancient Egyptians is considered a contentious issue in ancient Egypt scholarship. As a result, this debate primarily unfolds in the public sphere, focusing on a limited set of specific issues.
The consideration of ancient Egyptian ethnicity presents a complex issue for which a singular response must encapsulate their diversity’s breadth.
The Ethnicity and Identity of Ancient Egyptian Figures
Tutankhamun
Many scholars, including Diop, have argued that King Tutankhamun was of black ethnicity. They have criticized the reconstruction of Tutankhamun’s facial features, such as the one on the cover of National Geographic magazine, for portraying the king as “too white.” Chancellor Williams was among those who asserted that King Tutankhamun, along with his parents and grandparents, belonged to the black race.
Forensic artists and physical anthropologists from Egypt, France, and the United States used a CT scan of Tutankhamun’s skull to create busts independently. Susan Anton, a biological anthropologist leading the American team, found determining the skull’s race challenging. The cranial cavity suggested an African origin, while the narrow nostrils of the nose opening were considered a European characteristic. As a result, the skull was concluded to be a North African, reflecting the broader spectrum of the Egyptian ethnicity. However, other experts have argued that neither skull shapes nor nasal openings reliably indicate race.
King Tutankhamun
Cleopatra
The race and skin color of Cleopatra, the last ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, have been debated. Scholars identify her as primarily of Greek ancestry, with some Persian and Sogdian Iranian heritage. Michael Grant suggests Cleopatra likely had no Egyptian blood and would have identified herself as Greek.
Cleopatra was born in Alexandria, Egypt, but her ancestry was primarily Greek, with no direct Egyptian ethnicity, according to historical records. Some scholars suggest she might have had some local Egyptian cultural influence, but she was not ethnically Egyptian.
Cleopatra’s bloodline
Egyptian Queen Tiye
Tiye, whose parents were Yuya and Thuya, was the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was also the mother of pharaoh Akhenaten and the grandmother of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Tiye lived from approximately 1398 BC to 1338 BC. Her identity as the mummy known as “The Elder Lady,” discovered in Amenhotep II’s tomb (KV35) in 1898, was verified by DNA tests in 2010.
Amenhotep III and queen Tiye
