Name:
Egypt’s Pharaoh
Date:
The Pharaoh in ancient Egypt was the political and religious leader of the people
and held the titles 'Lord of the Two Lands’ and 'High Priest of Every Temple’. In
3000 BCE the first dynasties appeared in Egypt with the unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt.
 What is a dynasty?
The rulers of these dynasties were compared with the gods and with the duties
and responsibilities due those gods. As supreme ruler of the people, the pharaoh
was considered a god on earth, the middle person between the gods and the
people, and when he died, he was thought to become Osiris, the god of the dead.
In his role of 'High Priest of Every Temple’, it was the pharaoh’s duty to build
great temples and monuments celebrating his own achievements and paying homage
to the gods of the land.
 Using context clues, explain what it means to “pay homage to.”
Additionally, the pharaoh would officiate at religious ceremonies, choose the
sites of temples and decree what work would be done. As 'Lord of the Two Lands’
the pharaoh made the laws, owned all the land in Egypt, collected taxes and made
war or defended the country against aggression.
The rulers of Egypt were usually the sons or heirs of the preceding pharaoh.
Early on, the rulers married female nobles in an effort to establish the legitimacy
of their dynasty by linking it to the upper classes of Memphis, which was then
Egypt’s capital. To keep the blood-line pure, many pharaohs married their sisters or
half-sisters and Pharaoh Akhenaten married his own daughters.
 Why do you think it was so important to link the line of pharaoh with the
upper class?
The chief responsibility of the pharaoh was to maintain Ma’at, universal harmony,
in the country. The goddess Ma’at (pronounced 'may-et’ or 'my-eht’) was thought to
work her will through the pharaoh but it was up to the individual ruler to interpret
the goddess’ will correctly and to then act on it.
Accordingly, warfare was an essential aspect of the rule of pharaoh, especially
when it was seen as necessary for the restoration of balance and harmony in the
land (as the Poem of Pentaur, written by the scribes of Rameses II, the Great, on
his valor at the Battle of Kadesh attests). The pharaoh had a sacred duty to
defend the borders of the land, but also to attack neighboring countries for
natural resources if it was thought that this was in the interest of harmony.
The Poem of Pentaur-- http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/kadeshaccounts.htm
 Would the poem of Pentaur be a primary source? ____________ why or
why not?
 Is this article a primary source?_______________ why or why not?
By the 3rd dynasty the Pharaoh Djoser commanded enough wealth, prestige and
resources to have the Step Pyramid built in honor of the prosperity of the land and
other Old Kingdom pharaohs then followed by creating the Great Pyramid at Giza.
With the collapse of the Middle Kingdom in 1640 BCE, Egypt came to be ruled by
the mysterious semitic people known as the Hyksos.
 Define semitic:
The Hyksos, however, emulated all the trappings of the Egyptian pharaohs and kept
the customs alive until their kingdom was overthrown by the royal line of the
Egyptian 17th Dynasty which then gave rise to some of the most famous of the
pharaohs such as Rameses the Great and Amenhotep III.
 What does emulated mean?
 Who do people emulate today?
Although pharaohs were predominantly male, Queen Hatshepsut of the 18th
Dynasty (also known as Ma’at-kare) ruled successfully for over twenty years and,
during her reign, Egypt prospered. Hatshepsut was responsible for more public
works projects than any pharaoh save Rameses II and her rule is marked by peace
and affluence throughout the land. When Tuthmosis III came to power after her
he had her image removed from all her temples and monuments in an effort, it is
speculated, to restore order to the land in that a woman should never have held
the title of the pharaoh and he feared her example might inspire other women to
'forget their place’ in the sacred order and aspire to power the gods had reserved
for males.
 What does the phrase, “it is speculated,” mean?
The prestige of the pharaoh waned considerably after the defeat of the Egyptians
by the Persians at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BCE and, still further, after the
conquests of Alexander the Great. By the time of the last pharaoh, the well-known
Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the title no longer held the power it once
did, fewer monuments were erected and, with her death in 30 BCE, Egypt became a
Roman province and the glory and might of the pharaohs of old faded into memory.
Ancient History Encyclopedia
Originally published by Joshua J. Mark
published on 02 September 2009
http://www.ancient.eu.com/pharaoh/
1. What were some of pharaoh’s duties?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
2. What was the chief responsibility of pharaoh?
3. What effects did that responsibility have?
4. How is pharaoh like our president today?
5. How is pharaoh different?
6. What type of text is this?
7. Should this type of text contain opinions from the author? Why or why not?