Regencies in Egypt

Regencies in Egypt date back to Pharaonic times. Throughout Egypt's long history, there have been several instances of regents assuming power due to the reigning monarch's minority, physical illness or poor mental health. There have also been several cases of coregencies where two monarchs ruled simultaneously.

Ancient Egypt

Female Regents

Regencies were very frequent during the Pharaonic era, particularly in cases where the new king was too young to rule. In such instances, it was usually the young king's mother (or sometimes step-mother) who would act as regent until the king was old enough to rule by himself. The most famous Ancient Egyptian regent is probably Hatshepsut, who initially served as regent for her young nephew Thutmose III before taking the throne herself and reigning for more than twenty years.

1. Neithotep ruled as regent on behalf of either her son Hor-Aha or grandson Djer
   (c. 3050 BC)
2. Merneith ruled on behalf of her son Den (c. 2970 BC)
3. Nimaathap possibly ruled on behalf of her son Djoser (c. 2670 BC)
4. Khentkaus I likely ruled as a regent, but her son or sons are unknown.
5. Khentkaus II possibly ruled as a regent for one of her sons (Neferefre or Nyuserre Ini).
6. Pepi I
   (c. 2332 BC)
7. Pepi II
   (c. 2278 BC)
8. Ahhotep I ruled as a regent for her son Ahmose I (c. 1550 BC)
9. Ahmose-Nefertari ruled as a regent for her son Amenhotep I (c. 1541 BC)
10. Hatshepsut initially ruled as a regent for her step-son Thutmose III (c. 1479 BC) before becoming Pharaoh in her own right and co-ruling Egypt alongside Thutmose III.
11. Mutemwiya ruled as a regent for her son Amenhotep III (c. 1388)
12. Twosret ruled as a regent for her step-son Siptah (c. 1197 BC) and later became Pharaoh in her own right after his death.

Male Regents

While less common, male regents are known to have taken power during the Pharaonic era.

1. Horemheb – Regent during the reign of Tutankhamun.^[1]
2. Tjahapimu – Regent of Egypt while Teos was on a military expedition against the Achaemenid Empire

Co-rule

Coregencies were also very common, and aging monarchs often appointed their sons and heirs as coregents towards the end of their reigns. Most Pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty until Amenemhat III had a period of co-rule with their eventual successors.^{[citation needed]}

Ptolemaic Egypt

The

Timeline of Rulers of the

Medieval Egypt

During the

Regents of the Ikhshidid dynasty

1. Abu al-Misk Kafur (946-966) – de facto regent during the reigns of Unujur and Ali before becoming the de jure ruler of Egypt after the latter's death in 966.
2. Ja'far ibn al-Furat (968, 969) – regent during the early part of Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ali's reign before being deposed by Al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Tughj. He later resumed his duties after al-Hasan left Egypt.
3. Al-Hasan ibn Ubayd Allah ibn Tughj (968-969) – regent during the reign of Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad ibn Ali until he decided to leave Egypt in February 969.

Regents of the Fatimid Caliphate

1. Barjawan (997-1000) – de facto regent during the reign of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.
2. Ali az-Zahir
   .
3. Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara'i (1036-1045) – Assumed the regency during the early part of Al-Mustansir Billah's reign.
4. Rasad (1045-1062) – While never formally regent, she wielded a great deal of power during the reign of her son Al-Mustansir Billah and was the effective head of state following the death of Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara'i in 1045.
5. At-Tayyib Abu'l-Qasim before At-Tayyib's disappearance or death, and was later overthrown by Kutayfat in 1130. Returned to power in December 1131 after Kutayfat
   was murdered and later proclaimed himself Caliph in January 1132.
6. Fatimid
   forces loyal to the caliph in 1131.
7. Tala'i ibn Ruzzik (1154-1161) – Regent during the reigns of Al-Fa'iz bi-Nasr Allah and Al-Adid.

Regents of the Ayyubid dynasty

1. Shajar al-Durr (1249-1250) – de facto regent in the aftermath of As-Salih Ayyub's death and before the official accession of Turanshah. Later ruled as Sultan in her own right in 1250.

Regents of the

1. Izz al-Din Aybak (1250-1254) – Regent during Al-Ashraf Musa's reign. Briefly ruled as sultan before him and later deposed and replaced him as sultan in 1254.
2. Al-Mansur Qalawun (1279) – Regent during Badr al-Din Solamish
   's reign. Later deposed Solamish and became sultan.
3. Al-Adil Kitbugha (1293-1294) – Regent during Al-Nasir Muhammad's first reign. Later deposed Al-Nasir and became sultan.
4. Baibars II (1299-1309) – Regent during Al-Nasir Muhammad
   's second reign. Later replaced him as sultan.
5. Sayf al-Din Salar (1299-1309) – Regent during Al-Nasir Muhammad's second reign.
6. Qawsun (1341-1342) – Regent during Al-Ashraf Kujuk's reign.
7. Yalbugha al-Umari (1361-1366) – Regent for the entirety of the Al-Mansur Muhammad's reign and the early part of Al-Ashraf Sha'ban's reign.
8. As-Salih Hajji
   before becoming Sultan himself.

Modern Egypt

The

Regency during Muhammad Ali's illness