Summary

• The racial identity of ancient Egyptians has long stirred debate, driven by modern racial constructs rather than historical reality.
• Scholars agree that ancient Egypt was a diverse, multicultural civilization shaped by its geographic position between Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.
• DNA studies of mummies reveal northern Egyptians shared ancestry with Levantine and European populations, while southern Egyptians were closer to Nubians and other northeast African groups.
• Art, architecture, and burial practices further reflect the diversity of the ancient Egyptian society.
• Ancient Egyptians identified as a unique culture, not by race, and judged individuals by status and deeds rather than skin color.
• Modern interpretations, both Afrocentric and Eurocentric, often misrepresent Egypt’s true complexity.
• Genetic research confirms Egypt’s population was multi-ethnic, with deep African roots enriched by Eurasian connections.
• Ancient Egypt was an African civilization at its core, influenced by centuries of trade, migration, and conquest, but never defined by modern racial boundaries.

A great anachronistic debate has surrounded the ancient Egyptian race for various ages among the media and laypersons. Most modern historians and biologists consider the concept of race to be an inaccurate way to describe human biological variation. The question first appeared in the 18th and 19th centuries as the product of early racial concepts that were linked to models of racial hierarchy adopted from Western civilization which was based on anthropometry, craniometry, and genetics, and attempted to interpret and understand the racial identity of the Egyptians and the source of their immortal culture.

Discover the Incredible Ancient Egyptian Race DNA Testing

A genetic study was conducted on 151 mummies in 2017 from northern Egypt using the highest-throughput DNA sequencing method and the DNA evidence suggested that lower (northern) Egyptians were closer in their DNA construction to middle easterners (Arab, Levantine, and Anatolian) and southern Europeans while the upper (southern) Egyptians were closer to northeast Africans like Nubians and Sudanese. There was a sub-Saharan African component in the ancestry from 6 to 15% within their genetic composition.

The DNA of the modern Egyptians is quite diverse as it carries traces from southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf at 17%, Jewish Diaspora at 4%, eastern Africa at 3%, and Asia Minor at 3%. Much greater levels of sub-Saharan African ancestry are located in current-day populations of southern as opposed to northern Egypt.

Explore the Epic History of the Race of Ancient Egyptians

Many scholars believe that Early Dynastic Egypt (3100 BCE) was the product of primarily indigenous development combined with prolonged small-scale migration from ancient Egyptian trade, military, and other forms of contact. The general theory concerning the ancient Egyptians was neither black nor white but simply Egyptian, a population of largely indigenous origins and a high degree of continuity across time.

Over the later generations of Egypt, it was invaded by foreign forces like the Persians, Assyrians, and Greeks, which had a minimal impact on the Egyptian identity. It is also known that the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans attached no form of stigma to the color of the skin, and the social pyramid was not based on hierarchical notions of race based on color.

Cultures of the Ancient Egyptian Race

It is accepted by many scholars that the dynastic Egyptians were indigenous to the Nile River area, about 5.000 years ago, the people of the Middle East entered the Nile valley bringing wheat, barley, goats, sheep, and different cattle. At that period (4800 BC – 4300 BC), Egypt was referred to as the two lands.

Various cultures flourished, like the Merimde culture in lower Egypt, which had a close link to the Levant in the Middle East, the Buto Maddi culture that excelled in pottery also had a close connection with the southern Levant. In the upper part of Egypt, known as Upper Egypt, the Badarian culture was followed directly by the Naqada culture.

Witness the Magical Art of the Ancient Egyptian Race

Ancient Egyptian art was also a major clue in understanding the ancient Egyptians’ complexions. Many ancient Egyptian tombs and ancient Egyptian temples contain thousands of sculptures, written works, ancient Egyptian literature, paintings, and various artifacts, which provide evidence of the ethnicity of the ancient Egyptians who lived during their dynastic times.

The Nubian is depicted in the Egyptian paintings ranging from red to brown to black, which held distinctly different ethnic characteristics. The artworks of Ancient Egypt led Champollion to declare in 1832 that they are truly extraordinary, as they depict the sharply contrasted reddish brown Egyptians and black Nubians.

One of the biggest examples is the drawing of the book of the Gates of King Seti I depicting four groups: Libyans “Themehu“, Nubians “Nehesu“, Astiastic “Aamu“, and Egyptian “Reth“. The evolution of the ancient Egyptian culture can be traced back to unity, all the evidence that they judged every person according to their merits and actions, not certainly the color of someone’s skin. The ancient Egyptians achieved immortality by learning how to thrive in pure equality.

Are Egyptians Black?

The Egyptians did not classify themselves or others based on racial categories in the way that we do today. Ancient Egypt was a North African civilization situated in the Nile Valley, with a population that was diverse in its appearance due to Egypt’s geographic location as a crossroads between Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

Southern Egyptians in Upper Egypt and Nubia would have likely had darker skin due to their proximity to Sub-Saharan Africa, while northern Egyptians (from Lower Egypt, closer to the Mediterranean Sea) would have had a lighter skin tone due to their geographical location and interactions with Mediterranean populations.

They considered themselves primarily as a unique civilization with their own cultural and ethnic identity, not defined by race or the tone or color of the skin. The modern concept of “Black” or “white” did not exist.

Today, Egyptians are considered part of the Arab world, but ethnically they represent a mix of indigenous North Africans, Arabs (due to the Arab conquest in the 7th century), Europeans (especially after Alexander the Great’s conquest), and Sub-Saharan Africans (from historical interactions with Nubia and other African regions).

Therefore, while some Egyptians might be categorized as “Black” by modern standards, many are not. Egyptians see themselves as part of a unique national identity that doesn’t strictly fit into contemporary racial categories.

What Was the Ancient Egyptian Race Categorization

Ancient Egyptian race categorization is a modern debate, as ancient Egyptians themselves did not view race in the way we do today. Two of the most false hypotheses when it comes to the Egyptian race are the following:

The Afrocentric viewpoint argues that ancient Egyptians should be considered “Black” Africans due to Egypt’s location in Africa, depictions of dark-skinned people in Egyptian art, and its cultural and political ties with Nubia. Afrocentric scholars also highlight African features in mummies, statues, and art, which does not support this ridiculous theory.

Also happens to be wrong is the Eurocentric viewpoint historically downplays Egypt’s African connections, emphasizing its ties mostly to the Mediterranean world. This perspective has been criticized for diminishing Egypt’s African identity and being influenced by colonialist attitudes.

Many modern scholars recognize that the population of ancient Egypt was diverse and multi-ethnic. Egypt was a cultural and genetic crossroads due to its location, and its people ranged in appearance from light to dark skin tones. Genetic studies of ancient mummies show evidence of a complex ancestry, including African, Near Eastern, and Mediterranean influences.

Egyptologists and historians generally agree that ancient Egypt was fundamentally an African civilization but with significant influences from both African and Eurasian peoples.

The Marvelous Genetic Race of Ancient Egyptian Mummies

Advances in genetic technology in modern times have allowed researchers to analyze the DNA of ancient Egyptian mummies, which provides insight into the ancestry of the ancient Egyptians.  A groundbreaking study in 2017 analyzed the genomes of mummies from the ancient site of Abusir el-Meleq, which dates from around 1400 BCE to 400 CE.

The results indicated that these ancient Egyptians had a genetic profile more closely related to modern populations of the Near East (especially the Levant) than to modern Sub-Saharan Africans. The study suggested that ancient Egyptians had a mix of African and Eurasian ancestry, with a stronger affinity to people in the Near East, likely due to migration and trade routes.

Despite the 2017 study’s findings, there is evidence of significant African influence, especially in southern Egypt and Nubia. Ancient Egyptians had interactions with Nubians, and some Egyptian dynasties, like the 25th Dynasty, were of Nubian origin. Ongoing genetic studies suggest that earlier periods of Egyptian history, particularly before the New Kingdom, may have had stronger African influences.

The genetic composition of ancient Egyptians likely varied between regions. Egyptians from the northern part of the country (Lower Egypt) may have had more Mediterranean and Levantine ancestry, while those from Upper Egypt (in the south) likely had a greater African component due to their proximity to Nubia.

Modern Egyptians do share some genetic continuity with their ancient ancestors, and also show considerable influence from later migrations and conquests, especially by Arabs, Greeks, and Romans. As a result, the genetic makeup of modern Egyptians is more diverse, but they still retain elements of the ancient Egyptian gene pool.

Learn About the Epic Facts of the Ancient Egyptian Race

• Several scholars believe that ancient Egyptian culture was directly influenced by other Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in northeastern Africa, the Middle East, the Maghreb, and the various Nubian groups, as well as populations in Europe.
• Despite the diversity of the ancient Egyptian and present-day Egyptians and the fact that skin color varied between the peoples of upper and lower Egypt, some still argue the notion of a black or white Egypt hypothesis and that Ancient Egypt was completely homogeneous.
• The whole subject of black and white is viewed as a chimera, cultural baggage from Western society, and imposed artificially on Egyptian society.
• Throughout the years, the race of many great names of kings and queens was questioned, including Tutankhamun, Cleopatra VII, and even the great sphinx of Giza, which only shows how stupid the whole argument is when faced with facts.