The Pharaoh
Egypt was always an absolute monarchy, the king or Pharaoh was belived to be a god living on earth who, after his apparent death, would return to join the other deities. He bore the title « Child of the Sun » and represented religious, political and military power throughout Egypt. He was assisted by a « vizir » who was the head of the executive. The word « pharaoh » is in fact a Greek distortion of an Egyptian word referring to the royal palace. It was only in the New Kingdom from about 1580 B.C. that « pharaoh » came to mean the person of the sovereign himself.
Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh |
Social and Administrative Constitution
The inhabitants of Egypt were divided into classes, the most respected being that of the priests charged with the upkeep of the temples. Rich and very influential, they were exempted from taxes and were maintained at the expense of the temple. The other classes were the nobility, charged with the higher levels of religious and political government of the provinces, the scribes or civil servants of the royal administration, and the people itself who were mainly peasants and artisans.
The Society of Ancient Egypt |
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