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Nectanebo I in hieroglyphs: how to read the name and where to see them

1 November 2026

Nectanebo I’s throne name is ḫpr-kꜣ-rꜥ, read Kheperkare. His birth name is nḫt-nb.f, read Nakhtnebef. Both names are written in Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Monuments associated with his reign survive at Philae and Dendera. He also modified the processional route between Karnak and Luxor, where human-headed sphinxes bear his name.

Nectanebo’s throne name puts Ra first

The throne name ḫpr-kꜣ-rꜥ is often translated “The ka of Ra comes into being” or “The manifestation of Ra’s ka.” Its parts are ḫpr, “come into being,” kꜣ, a person’s vital force, and rꜥ, the sun god Ra. A throne name was one of a king’s formal names, used alongside his birth name.

The signs are N5, L1 and D28. N5 is the sun sign and writes rꜥ. L1 is the scarab and writes ḫpr. D28 is the raised-arms sign and writes kꜣ. The written sequence begins with N5, but the name is read ḫpr-kꜣ-rꜥ: a divine name could be placed before other signs out of respect.

Kheperkare is a conventional modern pronunciation of the consonants. Egyptian hieroglyphic writing records consonants rather than all the vowels of the spoken language, so Egyptologists supply vowels when reading names aloud. The transliteration ḫpr-kꜣ-rꜥ keeps the Egyptian consonants visible.

Sun Scarab beetle Raised arms

Write Nectanebo I’s throne name

The birth name writes nḫt with a two-consonant sign

Nectanebo I’s birth name is nḫt-nb.f, conventionally rendered Nakhtnebef. It means “Strong is his lord,” or “the strong one of his lord.” Its first element, nḫt, means “strong”. Nb means “lord,” and f is the suffix “his.”

N35, the ripple of water, writes n. M3, the branch sign, writes ḫt. Aa1 writes ḫ, and X1 writes t as phonetic complements, echoing sounds already represented by M3. D40, a forearm holding a stick, is a determinative associated with force or strength. It helps classify the word rather than adding another sound.

The final signs write nb.f. V30, the basket, writes nb, “lord,” and I9, the horned viper, writes f, “his.” Read the spelling as N35, M3, Aa1, X1, D40, V30 and I9. Not every sign contributes a separate sound: some write consonants, while others repeat sounds or clarify meaning.

Ripple of water Branch Placenta Bread loaf Forearm holding a stick Basket Horned viper

The heart and windpipe writes nfr

The Egyptian word nfr means “good,” “beautiful” or “perfect.” Its sign, F35, depicts the heart and windpipe and writes all three consonants, n-f-r, together. In this spelling the one sign gives the complete word. Transliteration preserves the consonants as nfr. Nefer is a conventional pronunciation supplied for modern readers.

Heart and windpipe

Nectanebo founded Egypt’s last native dynasty

Nectanebo I came from Sebennytos and founded Egypt’s 30th Dynasty, which ruled from 380 to 343 BC. He reigned from about 380 to 362 BC. Some chronologies give 363 as his final year. The 30th Dynasty was the last dynasty of native Egyptian rulers before Persian rule returned.

A Persian invasion followed soon after he took the throne. Nectanebo repelled it, and the rest of his reign was marked by an extensive temple-building programme.

The processional route between Karnak and Luxor was older than Nectanebo I: it had been used since the New Kingdom. He modified the route and is associated with its human-headed sphinxes. The roughly two-kilometre avenue connected the two temple centres and served processions.

Explore Karnak Temple

His kiosk stands at Philae and his birth house at Dendera

At Philae, Nectanebo I is associated with an early Isis sanctuary, including a kiosk or porch and a gateway. The gateway was later incorporated into the first pylon of the Ptolemaic temple. The monuments of Philae were moved to nearby Agilkia during the rescue campaign prompted by the Aswan High Dam, so the buildings visitors see at the site now stand on Agilkia.

At Dendera, a mammisi attributed to Nectanebo I is one of the early surviving birth houses. A mammisi is a temple building associated with the divine birth of a god. Dendera also has a later birth house built under Augustus, and its wider temple complex contains buildings from several periods.

The two sites preserve different parts of Nectanebo’s building activity: a sanctuary and gateway at Philae, and a birth house at Dendera. Both became parts of temple complexes that later rulers continued to enlarge and adapt.

Explore Philae Temple

Questions

Why did a king have both a throne name and a birth name?

A king had a birth name and took a throne name on becoming king. The two names identified the same ruler in different royal contexts.

How is the Egyptian sound ḫ pronounced?

It is a rough sound made at the back of the mouth, often compared with the ch in Scottish “loch.” It is different from the softer ẖ sound.

Can hieroglyphs be read from either direction?

Yes. People and animals face toward the start of the line, so read toward them. Signs may face left or right, and Egyptian writing can run in rows or columns.

Glossary

birth name: The name a king was given at birth, written in the second cartouche after the title "son of Ra". Egyptologists also call it the nomen.
determinative: A sign at the end of a word that is not read aloud. It shows what kind of thing the word means, such as a seated man for men and their jobs.
dynasty: A line of kings counted together, usually one family. Egyptologists number Egypt's kings in about 30 dynasties, following the priest Manetho.
hieroglyphs: The picture signs of ancient Egyptian writing, used from about 3200 BC to AD 394. A sign can stand for sounds, for a whole word, or for the kind of thing a word means.
New Kingdom: Egypt's age of empire, about 1550 to 1069 BC, the time of Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II.
phonetic complement: An alphabet sign written beside a sign for two or three sounds, spelling part of its sound again as a help to the reader.
pylon: The huge gateway of a temple: two sloping towers with a door between them, carved with scenes of the king.
scarab: The dung beetle, sign of the rising sun and of the word ḫpr, "to come into being". Carved scarabs were used as seals and amulets.
sphinx: A statue with the body of a lion and the head of a king, a guardian of temples and tombs. The Great Sphinx at Giza is the largest.
temple: The house of a god, where priests served the god's statue. Temples for dead kings kept up their offerings after death.
throne name: The name a king took when he came to the throne, written in the first cartouche after the title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt". Egyptologists also call it the prenomen.
transliteration: Writing Egyptian in Latin letters, one letter for each sound sign, such as ꜥnḫ for ankh. Egyptologists say the words with an e between consonants.

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Nectanebo I c. 380–362 BC