The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were seen by their people as God incarnate, that is they were thought of as the living son of the all powerful God Re. They were the privileged intermediary between the divine gods and the mortal humans and it was their responsibility to maintain the strict observance of Ma’at; the unchanging order of the universe which was based on trust, justice and above all truth.

Apart from being the son and servant of god, the pharaohs of ancient Egypt also had a number of other responsibilities. They were the head of the government but all of the important decisions regarding the country were made by their appointed vizier who was a bit like the Prime Minister of today. Many of the pharaohs did very little to govern their country although when the land and people prospered the pharaoh was credited with the success.

The pharaoh was also the head of the religious community and was often seen as the only intermediary between the pantheon of gods and the mortal subjects of ancient Egypt. Because he was thought to be the son of the gods and their representative on earth, only he was allowed to approach them. This was especially true in the Amarna Period when the rebel king Akhenaten outlawed all religions and gods that weren’t Aten. Only he could converse with Aten and the people of ancient Egypt had to worship a statue of Akhenaten as he saw himself as the living Aten.

The third title that was bestowed on the pharaohs of ancient Egypt was Supreme Commander of the Armies. This office was especially important during and after the 18^th Dynasty when Egypt embarked on a long war campaign to capture the foreign lands. The pharaoh was seen as an individual of heroic proportions that led the army into battle and always came out victorious, even when this wasn’t exactly true!

There were over 30 Dynasties throughout Ancient Egypt’s history and each individual Dynasty had anywhere up to 10 Pharaohs that ruled one after the other. The names of many of the Pharaohs have been lost through the course of time however some have become world famous i.e. Akhenaten, Ramesses and Tutankhamun.

Many of the famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt lived in times of upheaval and so much was written about their activities. For example, Akhenaten caused tremendous upheaval within the country by completely changing the established religions and the political basis of Egypt.

Ramesses II was one of six pharaohs with the name Ramesses but he is by far the most well known because his exploits into foreign lands and the battle campaigns he waged are described on various landmarks throughout Egypt. Ramesses is often shown as being a gigantic figure that kills a handful of his enemies with one swipe of his axe while clutching them by the hair. This and the descriptive writing that accompanies the incredible pictures make the pharaoh out to be invincible and he is sometimes seen being helped in his quest by the gods.

Tutankhamun is different in this respect. He only really became a well known pharaoh of ancient Egypt when his burial tomb was found in the early 1900s totally intact. It was the first royal tomb to be discovered that had not been plundered in earlier times and so brought the name of the little known ‘boy king’ firmly into the limelight.

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt numbered over a hundred but only a few are known to the layperson of today. They all must have done their job well though as the history of Egyptspans over 3000 years which in itself is an incredible feat.

For additional information on pharaohs of Ancient Egypt I recommended The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt