why did the Muhammad Ali dynasty not revive the title of "Pharaoh"?

The Term “Pharaoh” is heavily associated with the Ancient Past, and by this point, it’s a pagan title for Muslim Egyptians. They could’ve used the Coptic term for king", ⲉⲣⲣⲟ (erro) / ⲟⲩⲣⲟ (ouro), which is derived from "pharaoh" but again, it’s a Coptic term, and the Dynasty was Muslim and a whole slew of ethnicities by this point, including Arab, Turkish, and Albanian
Taking into account the history of Moises isnt the title Pharoah heavely associated with tiranny? Is like Napoleon III just called himself Dictator.
 
was just researching the history of Egypt when a strange question hit me. background on this (sorry if this is redundant for you) from 1805 to 1953; modern Egypt was ruled as a monarchy by Muhammad Ali Pasha and his descendants. the monarch's title was Wāli from 1805 to 1867, Khedive from 1867 to 1914, sultan from 1914 to 1922, and king from 1922 to 1953. this is a thing that confuses me, did no one ever think of reviving the ancient and prestigous title of pharoh during that period. I am particularly suprised that Fuad I didn't do that. it seems like a perfect opportunity. was the idea considered but rejected in some way I am unaware of?


You must also remember that the majority of Egyptians are Arabs. Modern Egpytian nationalism that uses the legacy of Ancient Egypt as a boost to the pride of the locals of the region who inhabit a region once inhabitated by the Egyptians of old (those people have survived to this day, known as the Egyptian Copts, but they are only 15% of Egypt). During the early 19th century, while that was indeed the beggining of European Egyptology, it was not until a little more than a century later that one saw an increase in a romantic nationalist inspired Egyptian nationalism that involved the Pharoahs and Ancient Egypt in general. Do note that Nasser was an Arab nationalist, not an Egypt exclusively nationalist who emphasized his people as being the people of the pharoahs rather than being leaders in the Arab world. It's comparable to how there are still plenty of Berbers left in the Maghreb, but a majority of Maghrebis are Arabs and identify as such. Shared geography does not mean the same people.

Besides, Muhammad Ali labelling himself in a Muslim majority society as a God amongst men who needs to be worshipped like the Pharaohs of old and like the Emperors of Japan would not go well: the public would be incensed.
 
The word Pharaoh in Arabic (فرعون) has quite negative connotations due to its association with the tale of Musa/Moses. Egypt is a majority Muslim nation and has been a epicenter of Islamic thought (particularly due to Al-Azhar University) that has produced modernist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and contributed to rise of Salafism.

It is unlikely the use of an obsolete title such as Pharaoh would be well received. Particularly as the Muhammed Ali dynasty was already quite unpopular throughout their rule of Egypt.
 

Halrin16

Banned
In muslim world the pharaoh name is even used as an insulting word. Basically in malaysia there some who dont like Mahathir and accused him as a dictator and label him as Maha Firaun ( Most Pharaoh). No muslim leader should ever have in their brain sane nor insane enought to ever claim as pharaoh.
 
You must also remember that the majority of Egyptians are Arabs. Modern Egpytian nationalism that uses the legacy of Ancient Egypt as a boost to the pride of the locals of the region who inhabit a region once inhabitated by the Egyptians of old (those people have survived to this day, known as the Egyptian Copts, but they are only 15% of Egypt). During the early 19th century, while that was indeed the beggining of European Egyptology, it was not until a little more than a century later that one saw an increase in a romantic nationalist inspired Egyptian nationalism that involved the Pharoahs and Ancient Egypt in general. Do note that Nasser was an Arab nationalist, not an Egypt exclusively nationalist who emphasized his people as being the people of the pharoahs rather than being leaders in the Arab world. It's comparable to how there are still plenty of Berbers left in the Maghreb, but a majority of Maghrebis are Arabs and identify as such. Shared geography does not mean the same people.

Besides, Muhammad Ali labelling himself in a Muslim majority society as a God amongst men who needs to be worshipped like the Pharaohs of old and like the Emperors of Japan would not go well: the public would be incensed.
Most modern Egyptians do descend to a large extent from the Ancient Egyptian population, including the Arabic-speaking Muslim majority.
They generally identify as Arabs, nowadays, but that has not been always the case even though they obviously speak a form of Arabic, and have been for over a Millennium (Christian Copts also speak Arabic and often identify as Arabs too).
 
According to Monarchy and Modernity in Egypt the title of Pharaoh to denote Kings in Egypt was highly considered when Egypt gained full independence in the 1920s. The British were the ones to dissuade Cairo of taking the option, due to the fact that it would not sit well with British colonialism in Sudan and the Italians didn't look favorably to such an idea either. The Egyptian government and royal family, however, were all for it.
 
Most modern Egyptians do descend to a large extent from the Ancient Egyptian population, including the Arabic-speaking Muslim majority.
They generally identify as Arabs, nowadays, but that has not been always the case even though they obviously speak a form of Arabic, and have been for over a Millennium (Christian Copts also speak Arabic and often identify as Arabs too).
Genetic descendance and group identity are two very different things. There is no Celtic race, Germanic race, Slavic race, only various Celtic, Germanic and Slavic groups for instance. Same thing with the Arabs. There is also no genetically pure Han Chinese or Yamato Japanese; they are just distinct groups. Group does not equate to genetic homogeneity. Arabs in Lebanon have Phoenician blood, Arabs in Egypt have Egyptian blood, and Arabs in the Maghreb have Berber blood. Yet none of those Arabs belong to those respective other groups, but are instead part of the larger Arab family, the umbrella group called Arabs. In fact, genetically, all humans are very similar, so genetic descendancy matters very little.

A number of Copts identify as Arabs due to the fact that the majority of the residents of the land of Egypt are Arabs, and have been for around thirteen centuries, and thus the culture is such that many do. But the majority don't, and the people of Ancient Egypt have survived in the population of Egyptian Copts, at least the majority who don't identify as Arabs.
 
According to Monarchy and Modernity in Egypt the title of Pharaoh to denote Kings in Egypt was highly considered when Egypt gained full independence in the 1920s. The British were the ones to dissuade Cairo of taking the option, due to the fact that it would not sit well with British colonialism in Sudan and the Italians didn't look favorably to such an idea either. The Egyptian government and royal family, however, were all for it.

A good point to raise, though by then, there were many more westernized Egyptian elites than during Muhammad Ali's time.
 
According to Monarchy and Modernity in Egypt the title of Pharaoh to denote Kings in Egypt was highly considered when Egypt gained full independence in the 1920s. The British were the ones to dissuade Cairo of taking the option, due to the fact that it would not sit well with British colonialism in Sudan and the Italians didn't look favorably to such an idea either. The Egyptian government and royal family, however, were all for it.
As long as Farouk doesn't insist to be announced as "Farouk, Mighty Bull, he of the Two Ladies, Enduring in Kingship, Farouk, Powerful of strength, Sacred of appearance, He of the Sedge and the Bee. Farouk. Son of Ra, Foremost of kings, Farouk, the Devine, Beloved of the Gods" it might've worked.
 
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You must also remember that the majority of Egyptians are Arabs. Modern Egpytian nationalism that uses the legacy of Ancient Egypt as a boost to the pride of the locals of the region who inhabit a region once inhabitated by the Egyptians of old (those people have survived to this day, known as the Egyptian Copts, but they are only 15% of Egypt). During the early 19th century, while that was indeed the beggining of European Egyptology, it was not until a little more than a century later that one saw an increase in a romantic nationalist inspired Egyptian nationalism that involved the Pharoahs and Ancient Egypt in general. Do note that Nasser was an Arab nationalist, not an Egypt exclusively nationalist who emphasized his people as being the people of the pharoahs rather than being leaders in the Arab world. It's comparable to how there are still plenty of Berbers left in the Maghreb, but a majority of Maghrebis are Arabs and identify as such. Shared geography does not mean the same people.

Besides, Muhammad Ali labelling himself in a Muslim majority society as a God amongst men who needs to be worshipped like the Pharaohs of old and like the Emperors of Japan would not go well: the public would be incensed.
Egyptian Nationalism is a complex thing. To say that they were always arab nationalists is wrong, in fact we have writings from other pan-arabists in the early 1900s lamenting the fact that the egyptians do not consider themselves Arab. It is not out of the question for Egyptians, particularly with a different history in the 19th century to have a different national consciencess form, and a different form of Nationalism that looks to the past more.
 
I was not nessecarily talking about Muhammad Ali personally; I am talking about the succesors of him within the dynasty he founded that ruled egypt for roughly 150 years
There really is no reason to do so, Egypt by that point had nearly one thousand years of being at the center of Islamic empires that ended only under Ottoman rule. If You're a foreign Muslim dynasty in a Muslim land, that's the past to which you harken back, not the era of pagan rule during which the ancestral language of your Christian minority was dominant.
 
As long as Farouk doesn't insist to be announced as "Farouk, Mighty Bull, he of the Two Ladies, Enduring in Kingship, Farouk, Powerful of strength, Sacred of appearance, He of the Sedge and the Bee. Farouk. Son of Ra, Foremost of kings, Farouk, the Devine, Beloved of the Gods" it might've worked.
Oh boy if that madlad tried lol. He would in for a nasty surprise lmao.
 
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