Ancient Egyptians and their African ancestry

Ancient Egyptians have a black history that goes past the famous 25th dynasty of Pharaoh Piye from the Kush kingdom. Most scholars, including white scholars, do agree that Egypt's ancestry was initially black African, more specifically, black Africa South of the Sahara.

Pharaoh Tutankhamun, 18th dynasty 

The word ‘Egypt’ is a name that the Ancient Greeks gave to the country and is still used today. Before Europe’s involvement with Egypt, the people of Ancient Egypt had many names referring to their country. The original names included ‘Ta Mery’ (the beloved land), another name was ‘Kemet’, which meant ‘the black land’. You will realize that those who oppose the black roots of Egypt claim that 'the black land' might have meant the land's soil. However, it is a universally accepted fact that for example, we call Europe a white land, we refer to its people and not the land. The same applied to Kemet.

One more thing is that the ancient Egyptians called Punt Land (which is present-day East Africa), the Divine Land or the Land of Gods because of its position towards the rising Sun. They also recognized it as the Land of their ancestors. We all know that Africans in the diaspora call Africa the land of their ancestors. This means that they originated from Africa. Well, the ancestors of the Kemites originated mainly from the interiors of Africa.

Renowned Scholars on Ancient Egyptian History 

In 1974, Cheikh Anta Diop published a book, "The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality", in which he argued that ancient Egypt was an African civilization and that the ancient Egyptians should be classified as Negroes. His affirmation of ancient Egypt’s blackness or Africanness was motivated by the attempts of Eurocentric historians to cast ancient Egyptians in popular movies as white characters. Let it also be known that Dr. Diop carried out melanin tests on some of the mummy's skins and discovered that they have the same amount of melanin as Africans south of the Sahara.

Scholar Cheikh Anta Diop

Diop insisted that the history of Kemet is very crucial if one needs to understand the history of the continent. In his publication, Dr. Diop indicated that the African historian who dismisses the history of Egypt is just but ignorant. To Diop, ignoring ancient Egypt is likened to a Western historian writing European history without referring to Greco-Latin's ancientness.

Diop was also among a group of professionals at The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conference held in Cairo, Egypt, in 1974.  At the conference, he presented his discoveries that would challenge the existing school of thought about ancient Egyptian racial identity. Dr. Diop confidently presented the cultural similarities between Ancient Egyptians and Africans south of the Sahara. 

After a heated debate, he finally got to convince the judges that black Africans were key figures in the history of Ancient Egypt. Diop also took part in writing a chapter entitled 'Origin of the Ancient Egyptians,' in a publication by UNESCO on the general history of Africa.

Later in 1987, 13 years after the appearance of Diop’s work, Martin Bernal, a white British scholar published his work, "Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization", where he pointed out the African ancestry of Ancient Egyptian civilization. He also affirmed that most powerful Egyptian dynasties in Upper Egypt were made up of black pharaohs.

What makes the ancient Egyptians Black?

The work of Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop was to challenge the false Eurocentric and Asian-centric views on African history in Egypt. Apart from conducting melanin tests on the Egyptian mummies and presenting cultural similarities between the two acclaimed distinct societies on the same continent, Diop also provided other physical proof. He added that most of the skulls/ busts of the Egyptians have features similar to those of contemporary Black Nubians and other people of East Africa, proving that they were Black and African. 

Pharaoh Senusret I, 12th dynasty 

The following is a simplified discussion drawn from Dr. Diop's findings and other scholars' rebuttals of the discourse.

DNA testing – Analysis of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun and his family by DNA shows that the closest living relatives of the mummies are sub-Saharan Africans. 

Historically – Several historians of ancient Greece agreed that ancient Egyptians had skin that was “melancholy” which means Black or dark-skinned with woolly hair.

Scholars' opinions – Some of the most respected scholars in the world have asserted that Egyptians were Black Africans. Scholars such as W. E. B. Du Bois supports the theory that Ancient Egyptian society mainly was Black. This is also agreed upon by Guyanese scholar Ivan Van Sertima who has it out that Egypt was one of the geniuses of black people. Something else to note is that scholars of the 20th century notably use the terms “Black,” “African,” and “Egyptian” switchable.

Royal depictions – Several of the most prominent ancient Egyptian kings and queens have been described as Black. Queen Ahmose-Nefertari, for example, is most often described as a "woman of color." Her Black skin color is derived from the principles of Black being the color both of the fertile earth, the Neter world - the dead world.

Pharaoh Ahmose and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari 

Princes Kemsit the wife of Pharaoh Mentuhutep II was also black. Her name ‘Kemsit’ means 'the black lady.' If you look at all the royal figures of Kemet, you will notice that almost all have black facial characteristics and scholars agree that the royal family came from the south, Nubia. If it is not from their thick lips or skin colour, you will notice their broad noses. Generally, something will just confirm that they were Africans.

Tongue similarity – According to Diop, there are similarities between other African languages and the language of ancient Egypt. He compared the Egyptian language with the Wolof language of West Africa. Diop concluded that the Egyptian language has its origins in the African lingoes. In 'The General History of Africa,' Diop wrote; “The kinship between ancient Egyptian and the languages of Africa is not a hypothetical but a demonstrable fact which scholarships can't thrust aside.”

What did early historians write about ancient Egyptians?

The earliest historians known to us are the Greeks and Romans who were the first from the white race to visit Africa, especially Egypt. Having seen the Egyptians, they had this to say in their records:

HERODOTUS (the father of history) states that the Egyptians were black-skinned with woolly hair. Most of us black folks can relate that to our hair when short and unkempt.

LUCIAN observed an Egyptian boy and notes that he was not merely black but had thick lips, which is a facial characteristic of negroes.

DIODORUS says that the majority of Nile-dwelling Ethiopians were black and flat-nosed. He adds that Ethiopians were the originators of many customs practiced in Egypt for the Egyptians were a colonist of the Ethiopians. Also, note that Ethiopians is a Greek word for black people.

APOLLODORUS calls Egypt the country of black-footed ones which translates to black limbs.

The Sphinx of Pharaoh Khafre, 4th dynasty

While it is true that Egypt later became white through various factors, Ancient Egypt was a black African civilization founded and run by Africans until it was invaded. In conclusion, studying ancient Egyptian history is very important to any African. It will invoke the pride that their ancestors (the Negros) are founders of one of the world's most astonishing civilizations.

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