I hope you like this post, my sincere regards from Egypt ...

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This list presents the pharaohs and queens of Ancient Egypt as preserved in medieval Arabian and Coptic literature. It is a composite of Manetho transmitted through Christian chronographers, Qur’anic and Biblical sacred history, Coptic folklore, and popular legend.

It reflects a long chain of translation and linguistic mediation: from ancient Egyptian into Greek, then into Coptic during Greco-Roman period in Egypt, and finally into Arabic in the medieval period.

The list does not claim complete historical authenticity; it is just an attempt to show how ancient Egyptian rulers were transformed into legendary and religious names in Coptic Arabic memory.

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Arabian sources:

1. Futuh Misr wa al-Maghrib (The Conquest of Egypt and the Maghreb)

— Ibn Abd al-Hakam (c. 801–871 CE)

1. Muruj al-Dhahab wa Kitab Al-Tarikh (Meadows of Gold and Book of History)

— Al-Masudi (Herodotus of Arabs) (c. 896–956 CE)

1. Mujam al-Buldan (Lexicon of Countries)

— Yaqut al-Hamawi (c. 1179–1229 CE)

1. Al-Nujum al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa al-Qahira (The Shining Stars Concerning the Kings of Egypt and Cairo)

— Ibn Taghribirdi (c. 1411–1470 CE)

1. Husn al-Muhadara fi Tarikh Misr wa al-Qahira (The Agreeable Discussion of the History of Egypt and Cairo)

— Al-Suyuti (c. 1445–1505 CE)

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The Arabic name Misr - Masr (مصر)

Misr is an ancient Semitic name, not originally Egyptian: it appears in Akkadian as Musur and Hebrew as Mizraim or Mitsrayim, likely meaning "settled land" or "protected borderland." Pre-Islamic Arabs used it, and it became the standard Arabic name for Egypt, while the ancient Egyptians called their land Kemet ("Black Land"). In religious tradition, the name is linked to Misrayim, son of Ham son of Noah, the biblical ancestor of the Egyptians.

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The Antediluvian Pyramid Builders (Before biblical flood)

Khaslim (خصليم)

Khaslim is an early legendary king of Egypt credited with building a Nilometer. He placed two bronze eagles—male and female—at the site. Priests read incantations; if the male eagle whistled, the Nile flood would be good and high, but if the female whistled, the flood would be disastrous and drought would follow.

Etymology and reasoning: The name Khaslim may be an alteration of Khasekhemwy (Egyptian Ḫʿsḫmwy). The reasoning is phonetic but weak: the consonantal skeleton kh-s-kh-m could be reduced and reshaped in Coptic/Arabic transmission as kh-s-l-m, with l replacing the second kh. The identification is supported mainly by narrative structure: Khasekhemwy was an early Memphite ruler associated with unification and control of the Nile, and Arabic tradition assigns Nilometers and waterworks to early kings.

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Surid ibn Salhuq (سوريد بن سلهوق)

In Arabian literature, Surid is the great antediluvian king of Egypt who foresaw the Flood in a dream and ordered the building of the Pyramids of Giza to preserve knowledge and serve as his tomb. He is often linked with Idris/Enoch or Hermes Trismegistus.

Historical identification: Khufu (Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid.

Etymology and reasoning: The identification is phonetic. Surid maybe was derived from Souphis, which is the name the Egyptian historan Manetho gave for Khufu.

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Hujib (هوجيب)

In the same tradition, Hujib is the brother of Surid and is said to be buried in the second, western pyramid at Giza.

Historical identification: Khafre (Chephren), builder of the second pyramid.

Etymology and reasoning: The identification rests mainly on structural mapping. Arabic tradition assigns the three Giza pyramids to a father/brother/son sequence.

Historically, the second pyramid belongs to Khafre, a son of Khufu. The name Hujib is maybe altered from Hotep, but its narrative role as second pyramid builder and royal relative fixes the identification with Khafre.

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Karuras (كروراس)

In Arabian literature, Karuras is the son of Hujib and is buried in the third, smaller pyramid at Giza, often called the “Colored Pyramid.”

Historical identification: Menkaure (Mycerinus), builder of the third pyramid at Giza.

Etymology and reasoning: The structural reason is decisive: Arabic tradition makes the third pyramid belong to the son of the second pyramid’s builder. Historically, the third pyramid belongs to Menkaure, son of Khafre (Hujib) and grandson of Khufu (Surid).

Manetho’s form was Menkheres. In the long oral and written transmission, the initial Men- was lost or weakened, and the remaining consonants (kheres / kherres) were reshaped in Arabic as Karuras.

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After the Flood

Tutis (طوطيس)

The first of the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Pharaoh of Abraham. He tried to seduce Sarah, Abraham's wife; his hand withered when he reached for her, and after repenting he returned her and gave her Hagar as a maidservant who bore him Ishmael, the father of Arabs. Some versions say he embraced Abraham's faith.

Historical identification: Proposed candidates include Sanakht (Third Dynasty) and Nebkaure Khety IV (Tenth Dynasty), but he appears in no ancient Egyptian king-list.

Etymology and reasoning: The name has been linked to the Egyptian Taautos or Tet/Teta, and to a suggested Semitic root meaning "to light" or "set on fire." The reasoning is phonetic and comparative, not a direct derivation. The tradition also explains the title "Pharaoh" itself: Ṭūṭīs was the first called Pharaoh because he was cruel and bloody. 

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Joryaq (جورياق)

According to Arab historian al-Maqrizi, Joryaq was the daughter of the first Pharaoh, Tutis, and seized the throne after killing her father Tutis. She is described as a powerful ruler who promoted priests and magicians. Joryaq ruled Egypt after her father Toutis, and in her reign, the Amalekite king of Syria sent an army against Egypt led by Jirun, but in the (alternative) version, it is more likely that the Amalekite "Al-Walid bin Dum'a" was the one who invaded Egypt.

Historical identification: No single historical counterpart. She may be a legendary composite drawing on memory of figures such as Nitocris or Sobekneferu.

Etymology and reasoning: The name does not correspond to any known Egyptian queen’s name and appears to be a literary invention within the Arabic legendary cycle.

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The Amalekite / Hyksos Dynasty

Al-Walid ibn Duma' (الوليد بن دومع)

In Arabic chronicles, al-Walid ibn Duma' is the first of five Amalekite kings who ruled Egypt after its native rulers weakened. He is described as a Syrian conqueror who ruled for about a hundred years before being killed by a wild beast.

Historical identification: No direct Egyptian counterpart. He is best understood as a legendary refraction of the Hyksos period, when foreign rulers from the Levant controlled Egypt.

Etymology and reasoning: The name Duma' has no Egyptian etymological root. Arabic tradition remembers a Syrian conqueror founding a foreign dynasty, which mirrors the Hyksos takeover. The name itself is likely derived from a real Hyksos pharaoh name. especially since Arabs thought that Amalekites were the Hyksos and thought of them as one of the "The Extinct Arabs". So it is not strange that he got an Arabic name

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Al-Rayyan ibn al-Walid (الريان بن الوليد) sometimes called Nahraus (نهراوس)

Al-Rayyan succeeds his father and is remembered as the Pharaoh of Joseph. He is presented as a just ruler who appointed Joseph over the granaries and eventually embraced his monotheistic faith.

Historical identification: Apepi (Apophis) or Khyan, a Hyksos kings.

Etymology and reasoning: The name al-Rayyan has a strong, monumentally attested phonetic link to the name Ra-i-a-n associated with the Hyksos king Apepi. The alternative name Nahraus has been linked, on phonetic grounds, to the Hyksos king Khyan according to the modern Egyptian scholar Ahmad Kamal. Kamal read the cartouche of the Hyksos king Khyan as Ne Re Ous and argued this is the origin of Arabic Nahraus.

The Hyksos-era setting also fits the prophet Joseph story.

The Wadi Al-Rayyan nature reserve in Fayoum is said to be named after Al-Rayyan ibn al-Walid, based on a legend where the king and his army sat down there to rest.

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Darim ibn al-Rayyan (دارم بن الريان)

Darim succeeds his father al-Rayyan. Arabic sources say prophet Joseph died during his reign.

Historical identification: No direct historical counterpart (Maybe unknown Hyksos king)

Etymology and reasoning: The name Darim has no known Egyptian royal root. It appears to be a literary/genealogical invention bridging Pharaoh al-Rayyan and the later Pharaoh of Moses.

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Kaimis ibn Ma'dan (كامس بن معدان)

Kaimis is the fourth Amalekite king in this sequence, ruling after Darim and before the Pharaoh of Moses.

Historical identification: No direct historical counterpart.

Etymology and reasoning: Like Darim, the name has no Egyptian etymological root. It functions as a narrative placeholder in the Arabic king-list.

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Al-Walid ibn Mus'ab (الوليد بن مصعب)

This is the name most commonly given to the Pharaoh of Moses, the archetypal tyrant who opposed prophets Moses and Aaron, and oppressed the Israelites and was drowned in the Red Sea during his chasing of them with his counselors and army.

Historical identification: Most widespread identification is Ramesses II, though Merneptah and Thutmose III are also mentioned. But some say that the Pharaoh of Moses was a Hyksos or Amalekite.

Etymology and reasoning: The reasoning is not etymological, since the name is Arabic. It rests on narrative convergence: Arabic tradition places the Exodus in a period of monumental building and imperial power, matching the Ramesside era. The Qur’anic phrase "dhu al-awtad" (“possessor of the stakes”) has been linked by some to obelisks and massive constructions of Ramesses II. also in the Bible in Exodus 1:11, which states: "So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh."

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Queen Figures Around the Exodus

Assiya (آسية)

Assiya in Islamic tradition is the righteous wife of Pharaoh who secretly believes in God, rescues the infant Moses from the Nile, and is venerated as one of the four perfect women. She is a figure of faith and moral resistance within Pharaoh’s household.

Historical identification: She is a theological and literary archetype, not a specific historical queen.

Etymology and reasoning: The name Asiya is Arabic and serves a moral and salvific purpose in the Qur’anic story. No etymological link to a historical Egyptian queen is intended.

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Daluka (دلوكة)

Daluka is a legendary warrior-queen who rules Egypt after the drowning of the Pharaoh of Moses. She is credited with building a massive wall around Egypt, the “Wall of the Old Woman,” and with constructing the Lighthouse of Alexandria and a Nilometer at Memphis.

Historical identification: Tausret (Tawosret), last ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

Etymology and reasoning: The reasoning is literary preservation of memory. Tausret’s reign was remembered into the tenth century CE in Egyptian tradition, and in Arabic chronicles she appears as Daluqa. The name Daluka is a transformation of Tausret through oral and written transmission. The legendary elaboration is secondary; the core identification rests on continuity of a female royal memory from the New Kingdom into Islamic-era literature.

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Al-Maqrizi’s Later Dynastic List

Al-Maqrizi preserves twenty-seven “Coptic kings” said to have reigned after Daluka. Their names are altered transmissions of Manetho’s list. Examples include Sumanas (possibly Sneferu), Sesunakhosis (Senusret), and Uafris (Apries).

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The End ...

Zambia has launched a new gold refinery to process the metal locally and increase value from its natural resources.

The refinery can produce gold with purity levels between 99% and 99.99%, supporting efforts to formalize and expand gold mining.

Several African nations, including Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, and Ethiopia, have recently inaugurated gold and precious metal refineries.

Copper dominates Zambia's export economy, while gold currently accounts for just 2% of export earnings.

In just this part of the city alone, I saw a few hundred apartment and mixed-use buildings under active construction. While any increase in the supply of housing is good, the economic boom in Addis as well as the security challenges outside of it mean residents are still paying some of the highest rent prices in Africa.

A 22-year international manhunt concluded this week after law enforcement authorities in Ghana repatriated an elderly South Korean national wanted for orchestrating one of the most lucrative maritime drug trafficking conspiracies in South Korean history.

I left West Africa for Europe about 4 years ago. When I first arrived, I was freezing all the time. Now I've gotten used to the European climate, and going back home is a completely different experience.

I usually go back to my home country twice a year to see my family, but every time I do, the heat feels unbearable. I honestly feel like I'm suffocating sometimes. It's weird because I used to handle it just fine, and now I keep wondering how I ever lived in that climate in the first place.

Maybe I'd readjust if I stayed longer, but I usually don't spend more than three weeks back home, so I never really get the chance.

I've also noticed that my perspective has changed in other ways. Things like chaotic urban planning, poor sanitation and the general state of public spaces stand out to me much more than they used to. It's not that I never noticed these things before, but they bother me more now.

I'm not trying to bash my home country. It's still home, and I know living abroad has probably changed the way I see things. I'm just curious whether other Africans living abroad have experienced something similar when returning home.

Does your home country feel different after spending a few years abroad? And did you eventually get used to the climate and your surroundings again, or did that feeling never really go away?

The Minister of Industries, Mines and Energy, Modestus Amutse, last week announced that Namibia is positioned to claim the third spot among global uranium producers as development at the Etango Mine accelerates toward targeted production in late 2028.

Speaking at the official launch and progress update at the Etango Mine site in the Erongo Region on Friday, Amutse highlighted the strategic importance of the project, which is designed to produce approximately 3.5 million pounds of uranium oxide annually once operational

“Namibia occupies an important position in the global uranium industry, being ranked in the 3rd position in the world for uranium production and willing to bypass Canada when the Etango comes into production,” Amutse stated during his official address.

Looking at these statistics is a strong reminder of how much work remains to be done. Seeing nations where fewer than a quarter or in some cases, fewer than one in ten young girls are enrolled in secondary education shows just how steep our collective mountain still is.

The situation across the continent is far from being uniform. Several African countries have shown what dedicated investment, reform, and cultural shifts can achieve.

Nations such as Mauritius, Seychelles, Algeria, South Africa, Botswana, and Cabo Verde have secondary gross enrollment rates for girls well above 80% to 90%, with many achieving gender parity or even seeing girls outnumber boys in secondary classrooms. Others, such as Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda, have made strong progress through universal secondary education policies, bursaries, and community programs designed to keep girls in school.

Yet, this infographic reflects an undeniable truth: the road ahead is long. When countries like Somalia (2.7%), South Sudan (7.8%), the Central African Republic (12.5%), Chad (17.9%), and Niger (21.6%) are leaving the vast majority of their young girls behind, our entire continent feels the cost. Prolonged conflict, deep poverty, child marriage, lack of sanitation, and cultural barriers continue to deny millions of girls the basic dignity of an education.

Years ago in Niger, I spoke with an old man about why his daughters were not in the classroom, and he gave me an answer that has stayed with me to this day: "Why send a girl to school? It is like watering your neighbour's garden. You spend your money, you tire yourself out, and in the end, another man harvests the fruit. Her only true school is her husband's compound."

Hearing those words was dumbfounding, but it's still a shock to realise that even now, in 2026, millions across our continent still live, raise families, and make decisions guided by that exact mindset. Until that worldview is confronted and replaced, the road ahead will remain steep.

If we want a better, self-reliant future, things have to change. Our girls and future women are just as important as our boys and future men. You cannot develop an economy, build resilient healthcare systems, drive scientific progress, or foster good governance while leaving half the population behind. Educating a girl transforms entire communities and directly breaks cycles of poverty across generations.

I'm hoping to hear from people living in countries or communities with traditional/conservative views on LGBTQ+ issues.

If you are openly gay or married, how have you handled coming out and setting boundaries with family, friends, and co-workers?

For those who got married (especially in places like South Africa where it’s legally recognized but societal homophobia still exists), how did your family and friends handle the wedding/marriage? Did you receive support, and how did you navigate any pushback?

I’m looking for practical advice and personal experiences on handling these situations politely while keeping healthy boundaries and safety in mind.

Ifeanyi Menkiti argued in "Person and Community in African Traditional Thought" (1984) that you aren't born a full person. You become one through moral growth within a community. Kwame Gyekye pushed back, arguing this undermines individual rights. I find Menkiti's view surprisingly compelling, but I can't tell if it collapses into "only virtuous people have moral status." Has this debate been developed further, and are there Western thinkers who defend something similar?

Are there political parties in any African countries whose main goal is the unification of the continent into one national entity?

The world is evolving, with various spheres striving for self sufficiency and autonomy, yet our continent just seems to be a passenger, with no say or input or influence, and where resources are extracted for cheap to enrich other countries and a few profiteers amongst us.

So are there any active movements anywhere, or are we just perpetually dormant?

A foreign national has been beaten to death by a crowd of about 50 people in Durban, South Africa, police say.

According to police, the unidentified man, believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was first approached by two men by the roadside before being assaulted by a larger group. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have launched an investigation into the murder, with the motive yet to be established.

The killing follows a wave of protests against immigrants in South Africa this year, some of which have turned violent. Earlier this month, shops and cars were set on fire in Durban, as well as Soweto, near Johannesburg.

• Mali has expanded the legal grounds for stripping citizenship from individuals accused of acting against the state's interests.

• The new law allows revocation of nationality for actions such as allegiance to another country, supporting separatism or terrorism, and financing terrorist activities.

• This measure cannot be used if it would render a person stateless.

• The move comes after Burkina Faso reinstated the death penalty for crimes like terrorism, treason, and espionage.

Welcome to the family, Ayo, the mascot of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. He takes centre stage as we approach the Opening Ceremony next Saturday (31 October).

Since their introduction in Singapore 2010, the Youth Olympic Games have their own mascots. For Dakar Ayo was born. The name means “joy” in Yoruba, a language widely spoken in West Africa, mainly Nigeria.

Ayo is a smiley young lion with a mane. He wears a Tingandé, the traditional hat worn by the Fulani ethnic group, who are spread across several African countries. He also wears a white T-shirt bearing the Dakar 2026 emblem and red, yellow and green shorts. His outfit blends contemporary fashion with traditional clothing.

Ayo symbolises the joyful and courageous soul of the African youth, embodying celebration, hospitality and the unity in diversity.

➡️ The other members of the family are:

▪️Singapore 2010: Lyo and Merly

▪️Innsbruck 2012: Yoggl

▪️Nanjing 2014: Nanjinglele

▪️Lillehammer 2016: Sjogg

▪️Buenos Aires 2018: Pandi

▪️Lausanne 2020: Yodli

▪️Gangwon 2024: Moongcho

📎 All about the mascots in one document: https://library.olympics.com/Default/digital-viewer/c-161818

Automation has completely revolutionized environmental stewardship in gold processing. Older, legacy mining methods relied heavily on blunt-force extraction, manual chemical dosing, and massive, poorly contained tailings dams that posed serious ecological risks.

Today, automated CIL circuits driven by real-time SCADA telemetry control reagent dispensing to the exact milliliter. Combined with lined tailings storage facilities and continuous piezometric monitoring, modern automated plants minimize chemical waste, eliminate guesswork, and ensure strict compliance with environmental protection agencies like EMA. Technology hasn't just made mining more profitable; it has made it vastly cleaner.

I’ve been watching the protests happening in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and even Albania, and it got me thinking: why don’t we see the same level of sustained mass mobilization in West Africa?

People in these European countries generally have much better living standards than the majority of West Africans, yet they still take to the streets to demand better from their governments. Meanwhile, many West Africans are dealing with corruption, unemployment, poor healthcare, unreliable electricity, and inadequate infrastructure.

I know West Africans DO protest, but why is it so difficult to turn that frustration into lasting political change?

The Dangote Refinery IPO is turning into a test of cross-border investing on the continent. The company says investors from 51 of Africa's 54 countries have applied. That's remarkable when most Africans have never been able to buy shares outside their own country

But how you get in depends a lot on where you live:
•Nigeria: buy directly, from as little as 10 shares, with small applicants promised priority in allotment.
•Kenya: buy Global Depositary Receipts, each backed by one share, with trading on the Nairobi exchange targeted for December.
•Uganda: open only to high-net-worth and professional investors, with no public marketing allowed.
So the same company is a retail investment in one country and restricted to wealthy investors in another.

Then there's the price. At ₦525 a share, the valuation seems to assume this year's record refining margins will last. I ran a comparison against several groups of listed refiners using more normal margins, and every one suggested it's expensive. GTI Research reached a similar conclusion, valuing it below the offer price. For non-Nigerians there's also currency risk on top: you're betting on the naira as well as the refinery.
None of that makes it a bad company. It may be one of the most important industrial assets in Africa. But "great company" and "great price" aren't the same thing.

Questions for the sub:
•Should more big African companies list across borders like this?
•Is Uganda right to restrict retail access, or is that paternalistic?
•If you're outside Nigeria, did you apply, and did the currency risk factor in?