Ancient Egypt

By Chloe Allen

Government/ pharaohsAncient Egypt was ruled by a group of ministers responsible to the king. They helped him make good decisions and keep fit and healthy.Chief minister/ vizier was responsible for administration, justice and taxation. Egypt was divided into provinces each ruled by a government group.

Over taking of the governors

In 2400 BC the governors became extremely powerful and over took the pharaohs of Egypt. The governors built their own armies and raised taxes for themselves instead of pharaohs. The old kingdom was finally brought down when the Nile river flooded. In 2150 BC there were several years of low flooding causing reduced amount of food, which destroyed the power of the kingdom.

HierarchyHierarchy is a form of government. Slaves were on the bottom, farmers, soldiers and free people were above them. Scribes, priests and nobles were on the fourth level and the pharaoh on top. This was a way to keep the government organized.

PharaohsPharaohs were the political and religious leaders of Egypt, which meant they made laws and collected taxes. Taxes was where people would give the pharaoh a little of their belongings. Mostly they would give the pharaoh grain or livestock. The pharaoh was also the high priest of every temple, because he was also a religious leader. As the high priest, the pharaoh had to perform rituals and supervise the construction of new temples. Pharaohs were thought of as a human form of Horus, one of the most important Ancient Egyptian gods. In the tombs of pharaohs tombs they were usually shown carrying things or holding things that showed their power. Because women were not valued as much as men, they rarely ruled by themselves. There was an important and effective system of training the prince to become pharaoh. He had to train to be an amazing sportsman, and a winning war leader. Pepy the second was on the throne more than any other pharaoh. He started ruling at the age of six, and 94 years later was still ruling Egypt, at the age of 100 years old! Pharaohs had lots of assistance with ruling Egypt, family members, governors and more people! Pharaohs also had their own army and police force.