Vizier Weak Pharaohs

Pharaohs were the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled between 3150 B.C. and 30 B.C. The title pharaoh means the great house and refers to the royal palace. The pharaohs were at the top of the social class followed by nobles, scribes, craftspeople, farmers, and slaves. Each time another family took power over the throne, a new kingdom arises in Ancient Egypt. Because of this, rulers often married their daughters, granddaughters, sisters or brothers who helped keep the throne going in the family. Still, the throne always managed to shift hands at some point which helped create a more dynamic and complex pharaonic history. The throne of Ancient Egypt was supposed to go from father to son, but usually, it was interjected by murder, mayhem or mysterious disappearances. Some Dynasties ruled at the same time in different places of Ancient Egypt during the intermediate periods. Pharaohs played one of the most important roles in the evolution of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms.

As the central character of the Egyptian state, Pharaoh was the intercessor between the gods and humans. In temples, he was figured as equal of the gods, but he was primarily their servant. He was the only human allowed to interact with the gods. On Earth, the Pharaoh was the first priest, the foster father of the people, the valiant protector and the supreme legislator (“Role of the Pharaoh”).

Well, being a Pharaoh back in Ancient Egypt was being a Living God-or being considered one. It was the Pharaohs job to keep the people safe, and he was definitely rewarded for it, if you will. A pharaoh was a Living God, of course! How else would he be treated than with jewels, servants, exotic gifts? Well, that sounds nice, doesn’t it? Well, you that’s not the end of it, not even half of it. While being a pharaoh had its upsides, it is also very difficult. They were tasked with protecting everyone, not just a group of people, but everyone. Being considered a Living God is an honor, but also a burden. Everyone looks up to this one person for everything. Everything. Now, let’s lighten things

Explain the distribution of power in Old Kingdom Egypt and the first intermediate period, the social, political, and economic reasons for the constructors of pyramids, and Egyptian belief concerning the afterlife.

Hatshepsut, also known as the first female pharaoh to obtain full power and one of the most successful rulers of ancient Egypt. Hatshepsut accomplished many things during her reign. She successfully re-established trade routes and construction projects. She also had a successful military career and claims she fought alongside soldiers in battle. Thus making Hatshepsut one of the most successful rulers in ancient Egyptian history.

Kingship became necessary because they needed someone to please the gods and help keep people from doing the things the gods disapproved of. There are many similarities between Mahabharata and the Hymn to the Pharaoh, both see their leader as god like or a god pleaser, both their leaders help keep their people in position to please the gods. There are difference though, the Mahabharata talks about how the gods can lose power and get scared by the way their people act and that they need the king to help them out, the Hymn to the Pharaoh thinks the gods are all powerful all the time and also believe that their leader is a god and they fear him.

Since the first Ancient Egyptian, Pharaoh Menes, placed himself on the throne, the pharaohs were considered to be both divine deities as well as mortal rulers. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines prophet as “a member of some religion who delivers messages that are believed to have come from God” Did that make Pharaoh Amenhotep IV aka Akhenaten a prophet? Defying centuries of traditional worship of the Egyptians, the mid-14th century BCE Pharaoh Akhenaten decreed during his reign that his subjects were to worship only one god; the sun-disk Aten. Was this a direct message from the gods or were there other political reasons at play.

In New Kingdom Egypt, there were many pharaohs that were very important to Egypt. These three pharaohs —Ramses II, Amenhotep II, and Thutmose III— were the three most significant to our understanding of Egyptian civilization. They were significant because either they are the ones you think of when you hear “Ancient Egypt” (chariot battles, large temples, etc.), or because they were innovative, implementing new ideas and technologies that were important to Egypt’s success and had long lasting effects.

Akhenaten, also known as Amenhotep IV was an Egyptian Pharaoh in the 18th dynasty. He was married to Nefertiti and had six girls with her but, four of them died at a young age, from an unknown disease. However, they are believed to have passed away from a plague that was going around Egypt at the time. He also had a few other wives, but they were unnamed. He ruled Egypt for seventeen years and was known as a rebel king because he made some of the biggest changes in all of Egyptian history.

The greatest pharaoh of all ancient Egypt is Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was born in 1508 BC and died in 1458 BC. She became pharaoh in 1478 BC and ruled until 1458 BC and was a leader of the 18th dynasty. Hatshepsut was married to her half brother Thutmose II. She originally became regent, then soon asserted herself pharaoh (Ducksters: Ancient egypt). Soon after becoming pharaoh Hatshepsut began dressing as a king. The powerful woman proves herself worthy of such a position by leading troops into battle and creating large monuments to honor Egyptian gods. “Hatshepsut lead Egypt in a time of prosper and wealth. Hatshepsut also brought back many Egyptian traditions that pharaohs before her seemed to forget about.” (khan academy: egyptian pharaohs)

In ways of administering and ruling, the initial two civic establishments Mesopotamia and Egypt were indistinguishable. Leaders of Egypt were called Pharaohs, and Mesopotamia had a class framework wherein the most noteworthy class was the rulers simply like Egypt. The majority of the civic establishments each had their own Gods they addressed and some were fundamentally the same to one another, despite the fact that for Egypt, they trusted that their Pharaoh was their God on earth. In Mesopotamia, other than the decision families, the high class additionally included driving authorities, and devout ministers. The little working class had shippers, artisans, and lower ministers. Most of the individuals was at the base and was laborer ranchers.

Amenhotep IV known as the rebel pharaoh suddenly emerge, whose radical worldview would shake the empire to its foundation. Amenhotep IV’s unquenchable thirst for absolute power, spawn the construction of a new capitol city, and to engineered to position him as the center of the universe. Amenhotep IV wanted to be in control of everything, this started the classic struggle between church and state. During a journey north in the 50 years of his reign, Amenhotep came upon a barren patch of desert. Sheltered by towering limestone cliffs, something spoke to Amenhotep IV saying “this was where creation began.” Deeply moved by Amenhotep’s spiritual encounter, he changed his name to Akhenaten. Amenhotep/Akhenaten decided to abandon Egypt’s capitol, modern day Luxor to

Amenhotep IV was considered an "unusual ruler in the history of ancient Egypt". He reigned for 17 years, from c.1353 - 1336 BCE. He had changed his name around 1348 BCE to Akhenaten ("One Who Is Effective on Behalf of the Aten"). He would be considered a radical in our times, and had radically changed many aspects of the culture, some of which involved; the political, spiritual, and cultural life of the country. During this transforming time, there were radical changes in royal artisitic conventions, introducing the New Amarna Style.

Amenhotep IV was considered an "unusual ruler in the history of ancient Egypt". He reigned for 17 years, from c.1353 - 1336 BCE. He had changed his name around 1348 BCE to Akhenaten ("One Who Is Effective on Behalf of the Aten"). He would be considered a radical in our times, and had radically changed many aspects of the culture, some of which involved; the political, spiritual, and cultural life of the country. During this transforming time, there were radical changes in royal artisitic conventions, introducing the New Amarna Style.

Ramses had a harsh and profound life, yet he was able to accomplish, build, and expand so many ideas across Egypt and even into today. Ramses II made most decisions based on his involvement whether that was war, politics, or ruling. Egypt had to rely on Ramses II to be Pharaoh when his father died. This step in which Ramses had to take at the age of 19 was hard to fulfill with only some training by his father. Ramses was able to accomplish many innovations that have survived to be around today. As ruler Ramses was also the leader of his army and led many battles including the famous war between the Egyptians and Hittites. Ramses created the first treaty to be written down after a war. Ramses has been known to be one of the most profound