The Pharaohs

Who were the Pharaohs? Pharaohs were the kings of ancient Egypt. A couple were women, but most pharaohs were men. Although many people, including ourselves, refer to female pharaohs as queens, in ancient Egypt, whether the pharaoh was a man or a woman, all pharaohs were kings. Pharaohs were the leaders of government and religion. There were about 170 different pharaohs over time, but there was only one pharaoh at a time. In ancient Egypt, the people referred to a pharaoh not "the" pharaoh, but simply as Pharaoh. The word “Pharaoh” was Egyptian for “Great House”, and was not used to address a king until around 1300 B.C.E.

Pharaohs as Gods Pharaohs are referred to as living gods, or like gods, or as the go between mortal man and gods, and other god related positions. During the Old Kingdom, pharaohs believed themselves to be living gods. But they were mortal. During the Middle Kingdom, pharaohs no longer thought of themselves as living gods, but rather as the representatives of the gods on earth. Pharaoh, to the ancient Egyptian people, was simply Pharaoh, King of Egypt and High Priest of all temples. His (or her) power was absolute and overwhelming. He was not worshipped. He was obeyed.

The Wealth and Power of Pharaoh The ancient Egyptians believed that all the wealth of Egypt and all the wealth in the world belonged to Pharaoh. Every house, brick, stone, animal, amulet, jewelry, statue, man, woman, child, clothing, temples, store houses, tombs, eggs found along the Nile, everything, absolutely everything belonged to Pharaoh. In exchange for all Pharaoh owned and controlled, Pharaoh was responsible for Ma'at - the health and happiness of ancient Egypt. If Pharaoh did not do his or her job, the Nile would not rise and leave rich soil behind for planting as the waters receded. If the people did not obey Pharaoh, the Nile would not rise, and the people would starve.

The Vizier and Government In the early centuries of ancient Egypt, the people could talk directly to Pharaoh. As time went by, and the population grew and expanded, the Egyptian kings began to rely on their viziers to talk for them to the people. The vizier was the highest rank in government, next only to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh had many advisors and many government officials to help run the country. From the lowest to the highest, each adviser had to submit an oral or written (by a scribe) report each day to the official above him. Each day, the Vizier reported to Pharaoh everything the vizier had done, including all the decisions he had made in case Pharaoh wished to change anything, along with a recap of reports the vizier had received that day from lesser officials all over Egypt. It was an amazing system of government. And it worked for over 3,000 years!

Symbols of Office In honor of the god Osiris, the kings (pharaohs) of Egypt carried a crook and a flail, the signs of Osiris. The crook especially became the sign of rulers. The crook looked a great deal like a snake and was made out of wood. The ancient Egyptians used wood because wood was scarce. That made it even more special.