Transcript Land of the Pharaohs Rulers of Ancient Egypt

Land of the
Pharaohs
Rulers of Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs
 Pharaohs were the kings of Egypt
 Pharaoh was believed by the
Egyptians to be the supreme ruler
chosen by the gods to lead his
people
 They believed that when a man
became a pharaoh, he also became a
god
 According to Egyptian legend, the
first kings of Egypt were later some
of the most famous gods
Pharaohs
 The word “Pharaoh” was used
by the Greeks and Hebrews
 The title “Pharaoh” originated
from the Greek language and it
is used in the Old Testament
 The title originates in the term
"pr-aa" which means "great
house" and describes the royal
palace
Responsibility of Pharaohs
 Pharaohs ruled with absolute power
 Despite absolute power the
Pharaoh’s rule was subject to Ma’at
and was expected to govern
according its principles
 Ma’at was the goddess and symbol
of the equilibrium of the universe
 Any King that attempted to radically
change society would be seen as
destroying the equilibrium that was
so important to Egyptian tradition
resulting in civil war or a challenge
in his authority
Succession
 To keep the pure line of succession, a Pharaoh
passed on the throne to the eldest son born of the
Principal Queen, or Great Royal Wife
 Each king was usually keen to demonstrate to his
subjects that he was the “chosen” heir
 The Pharaoh owned all of the land, people, and
possessions in Egypt
 Any personal wealth enjoyed by Egyptians
people was considered a result of the generosity
of the King.
Key Pharaohs
 There were several Pharaohs of Egypt.
However, we will focus on the main male
Pharaohs:
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Menes
Khufu
Hatshepsut
Tuthmosis III
Akhenaton
Tutankhamen
Ramses II
Cleopatra
Nefertiti
Menes
(c. 3100 – 3050 B.C.E.)
First Pharaoh
to unify upper
and lower
Egypt into one
Kingdom and
wear the red
crown of lower
Egypt and the
white crown of
upper Egypt
Menes
(Ruled 3100 – 2850 B.C.E.)
 Ancient Egypt’s form of
a civilization began with
King Menes
 Founded the city of
Memphis because of its
good location and easy
to defend against
attacks
 During his reign he
expanded his kingdom
and developed
commercial trade links
Khufu (2589-2566 B.C.E)
 Ruthless ruler who
enslaved people and sold
daughter into prostitution
 Most remembered for
building Great Pyramid of
Giza
 The pyramid originally
stood 481 feet tall and
even today it’s still a
mystery to how it was
built
Hatshepsut (c. 1470 B.C.E)
 Remembered as history’s first great woman ruler
 Hatshepsut became regent when her husband Tuthmosis
II died and the new pharaoh was very young (son of a
minor wife)
 Several years later she declared herself “king” and began
wearing the false beard and garments of a pharaoh
 Egypt prospered while she was in power as she
established famous trade and economic expedition to the
land of Punt
 Prolific builder and commissioned many architectural
projects and the restoration of older temples
Tuthmosis III
(c. 1450 B.C.E.)
 When his father died his stepmother Hatshepsut, took
charge and he was pushed into the background as she
ruled Egypt over a 20 year period
 When Hatshepsut died he came to the throne and as an
act of revenge or retribution, he destroyed as many of
Hatshepsut's statues, monuments, and buildings
 He is remembered as “the Napoleon of Egypt;” a great
warrior king who expanded the empire to its greatest size
through his successful military campaigns
 Wealth of the New kingdom came from tributes paid by
people he conquered
Akhenaton (c. 1350 B.C.E.)
 Original name was Amonhotep IV but his name to Akhenaton
which means “he who serves Aton”
 This was the first attempt at radically changing the polytheistic
Egyptian religion with a monotheistic religion
 He wanted to change the Egyptian supreme god from Amon-
Re to Aton
 Built a new city called Akhetaton which contained new priests
and government
 More concerned with building his vision of a new society than
focusing on war and conquest
 Religious revolution led to tension and revolt in Egypt
Tutankhamen
(c. 1334 B.C.E.)
 Known as the Boy King of Egypt, he came to
the throne when his father Akhenaton died,
he became King around age eight
 Helped restore Egypt's old beliefs from when
his father tried to make Egypt a monotheism
society and moved the capital back to Thebes
 He died suddenly at the young age of 18 by a
blow to the back of his head
 Since his tomb had not yet been made, he
was laid in a tomb of a member of the
nobility
 He is famous today because of his tomb
being found intact by archaeologist Howard
Carter in 1922
Rames II (c. 1290 B.C.E.)
 Went to the throne at the age of 20 and
reigned for 67 years; the second longest reign
for any Egyptian King
 Considered to be the last great Egyptian King
bringing Egypt peace and stability
 Signed earliest known peace treaty in world
history after the Battle of Kadesh with the
new Hittite king
 Ramses is remembered for constructing many
architectural marvels including the two huge
temples at Abu Simbel
 Constructed more colossal statues, large
statues of human or human like figures, than
any other Egyptian King
 Ruled during the time of Moses and used
many Jewish slaves to build his monuments
and statues
Cleopatra (c. 30 B.C.E.)
 Last independent ruler of Egypt
 Not of Egyptian lineage; descended from Ptolemy who was a
general in Alexander the Great’s army (Greek Ptolemy family
ruled Egypt for 300 years)
 She is best known for her beauty who seduced Caesar and
fell in love with Marc Antony
 Committed suicide with Marc Antony when Octavian forces
invaded Egypt
 After her death, Egypt was ruled as a Roman province.
Nefertiti (c. 1370-1330 B.C.E.)
 Queen of Egypt, who was married to Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV)
and is known as the most beautiful woman in history
 In artwork, her status is evident and indicates that she had almost
as much influence as her husband
 For example, she is depicted nearly twice as often in reliefs as her
husband, at least during the first five years of his reign
 It is believed that Nefertiti was active in the religious and cultural
changes initiated by her husband (some even maintain that it was
she who initiated the new religion)
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 She also had the position as a priest, and she was a devoted
worshipper of the god Aten.
Discussion Questions
In your opinion, was it right for the Pharaohs to
rule with absolute power? Explain.
2) Do you think Egypt would be so well known
today if Pharaohs did not exist?
3) In ancient Egypt all property belonged to the
Pharaohs, would our society be successful if this
was true today about the Prime Minister.
1)