Thousands of people, pharaohs and ordinary people alike, are responsible for the successes—and failures—of ancient Egypt. To Cleopatra VII, who is considered the last of Egypt’s pharaohs, many of the people listed here were already ancient history. Over 3000 years separates her from the first pharaoh, Narmer. And it is true that she was born closer to the invention of the iPhone (2007 CE) than she was to the construction of the pyramids at Giza (c. 3200 BCE)—it’s a difference of over 1000 years!

Below you will find a timeline of influential pharaohs and figures, some of them kings, some of them queens, and one person who is neither. All played a part in the complicated, vast history of Egypt.