The Complex Institutions of Ancient Egypt
Government:
Egypt had all of its power devoted to one being, a Pharaoh. The name "Pharaoh", means "Great House", which described a palace or kingdom. The Pharaoh's wife, or Queen of Egypt, was also considered a powerful ruler. She was called "the Great Royal Wife". Sometimes women became the rulers and were called Pharaoh, but it was generally men. The son of the current Pharaoh would inherit the title and would often go through training, so he could be a good leader.
A Pharaoh was considered a near godlike being, and was given absolute power over their land and their subjects.
Each Pharaohs ruling was considered a dynasty, with a total of 31 dynasties, this meant that their were 31 notable pharaohs in the span of Egypt's 3000 year reign.
Some famous Pharaohs include:
Akhenaten: The father of the famous King Tut, he was famous for declaring there was only one god worth worshipping, the sun god, and closed all other shrines to the gods.
Tutankhamun: Also called King Tut, he was pharaoh at age 9, and was famous because he tried to bring back the gods his father had previously banished. His tomb was the most intact tomb ever found, and helped many learn about Ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut: Also called the "Fair Lady", she was a strong female Pharaoh. She was noted to be considered one of the greatest pharaohs of all time, and was extremely fair in her judgements. She was noted to often dress like a male pharaoh and even wore the ceremonial beard.
Amenhotep III: Amenhotep III ruled for 39 years of great prosperity. He brought Egypt to its peak of power. During his rule the country was at peace and he was able to enlarge many cities and construct temples.
Ramses II: Called King Ramses the Great, he was ruler for 67 years, and was famous for his age and the sheer amount of statues and monuments he built for the gods, for which he revered highly.
Cleopatra VII: Cleopatra VII is often considered the last Pharaoh of Egypt. She maintained power by making alliances with famous Romans such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
A Pharaoh was considered a near godlike being, and was given absolute power over their land and their subjects.
Each Pharaohs ruling was considered a dynasty, with a total of 31 dynasties, this meant that their were 31 notable pharaohs in the span of Egypt's 3000 year reign.
Some famous Pharaohs include:
Akhenaten: The father of the famous King Tut, he was famous for declaring there was only one god worth worshipping, the sun god, and closed all other shrines to the gods.
Tutankhamun: Also called King Tut, he was pharaoh at age 9, and was famous because he tried to bring back the gods his father had previously banished. His tomb was the most intact tomb ever found, and helped many learn about Ancient Egypt.
Hatshepsut: Also called the "Fair Lady", she was a strong female Pharaoh. She was noted to be considered one of the greatest pharaohs of all time, and was extremely fair in her judgements. She was noted to often dress like a male pharaoh and even wore the ceremonial beard.
Amenhotep III: Amenhotep III ruled for 39 years of great prosperity. He brought Egypt to its peak of power. During his rule the country was at peace and he was able to enlarge many cities and construct temples.
Ramses II: Called King Ramses the Great, he was ruler for 67 years, and was famous for his age and the sheer amount of statues and monuments he built for the gods, for which he revered highly.
Cleopatra VII: Cleopatra VII is often considered the last Pharaoh of Egypt. She maintained power by making alliances with famous Romans such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.
Buildings:
Due to the scarcity of wood, the two predominant building materials used in ancient Egypt were sun-baked mud brick and stone, mainly limestone, but also sandstone and granite in considerable quantities. From the Old Kingdom onward, stone was generally reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used even for royal palaces, fortresses, the walls of temple precincts and towns, and for subsidiary buildings in temple complexes. The core of the pyramids came from stone quarried in the area already while the limestone, now eroded away, that was used to face the pyramids came from the other side of the Nile River and had to be quarried, ferried across, and cut during the dry season before they could be pulled into place on the pyramid.Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers, were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial frescoes and carvings painted in brilliant colors. Many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab, or sacred beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. Other common motifs include palm leaves, the papyrus plant, and the buds and flowers of the lotus.[8] Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells. In addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that were fought and their beliefs. This was especially true when exploring the tombs of Ancient Egyptian officials in recent years.