Bureaucracy is not a modern invention; it was conceived by the Egyptians over 5,000 years ago.
Introduction
Government and religion were inseparable in ancient Egypt. The pharaoh was the head of state and the divine representative of the gods on earth. Religion and government brought order to society through the construction of temples, the creation of laws, taxation, the organization of labour, trade with neighbours and the defence of the country’s interests. The pharaoh was assisted by a hierarchy of advisors, priests, officials and administrators, who were responsible for the affairs of the state and the welfare of the people.
Ancient Egypt could not have achieved such stability and grandeur without the co-operation of all levels of the population. The pharaoh was at the top of the social hierarchy. Next to him, the most powerful officers were the viziers, the executive heads of the bureaucracy. Under them were the high priests, followed by royal overseers (administrators) who ensured that the 42 district governors carried out the pharaoh’s orders. At the bottom of the hierarchy were the scribes, artisans, farmers and labourers.
Pharaohs
The word “pharaoh” comes from the Bible. It was first used by Joseph and Moses in the “Second Book of Kings” (ch.17). Although we use this word without distinction, it is an anachronism when used to refer to the Egyptian kings prior to the eighteenth dynasty.
The pharaohs began ruling Egypt in 3000 B.C., when Upper and Lower Egypt were united. During the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 B.C.), they considered themselves to be living gods who ruled with absolute power. They built pyramids as testimony of their greatness but left no official records of their achievements.
By the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs no longer considered themselves to be living gods, but rather the representatives of the gods on earth. They left records of their deeds, but these were no more than a string of titles and laudatory epithets.
To reinforce their image as powerful divine rulers, the pharaohs represented themselves in writings and sculptured reliefs on temple walls. They often depicted themselves as warriors who single-handedly killed scores of enemies and slaughtered a whole pride of lions. Similar depictions were repeated by one pharaoh after another, which leads one to question the validity of the scenes. For example, the war pictures of Rameses III at Karnak are exact copies of those of Rameses II. These deeds of heroism were, in part, designed for propaganda purposes. They reinforced the position of the king as head of state rather than reflecting historical reality.
In the fourth century B.C., a high priest and scribe of the sacred shrines of Egypt named Manetho compiled the first comprehensive list of the pharaohs. He grouped their reigns into dynastic divisions that to a large degree are still considered accurate today. The dynasties are grouped into several periods, starting with the Early Period (3000-2575 B.C.) and ending with the Graeco-Roman Period (332 B.C.- A.D. 395). The first dynasty began with the legendary King Menes (who is believed to have been King Narmer), and the last one ended in 343 B.C. when Egypt fell to the Persians. Nectanebo II was the last Egyptian-born pharaoh to rule the country.
Not all the pharaohs were men, nor were they all Egyptian. Before the Graeco-Roman Period, at least three women ascended the throne, the most important being Queen Hatshepsut. Over several periods, Egypt was dominated by foreign powers that appointed a king from their own ranks. Exactly how successive pharaohs were chosen is not entirely clear. Sometimes a son of the pharaoh, or a powerful vizier (head priest) or feudal lord assumed the leadership, or an entirely new line of pharaohs arose following the collapse of the former monarchy.
Royal Women
Royal mothers, wives and daughters derived their status from their relationship with the king. Kings had many wives and royal families were large. The most prolific was Rameses II, who had eight wives and over a hundred children. To keep the royal bloodline pure, kings often married within their family, a sister or half sister, for example. In a few cases, they married their daughters, although it is not clear whether or not these marriages were true conjugal unions.
The status of royal women is evident in Egyptian art. One of the oldest royal insignia worn by queens is the vulture headdress. The vulture’s wings and body were spread over a tightly fitted cap, and the head jutted out at the front. The uraeus (cobra) head could be substituted for the vulture head. Both the vulture and the cobra served to protect the wearer from harm. They were the most characteristic marks of kingship and may have also been, by association, a symbol of divine queenship.
Another royal symbol worn by women from the thirteenth dynasty onward was a pair of falcon plumes mounted on a circular support. Similar double-feather headdresses were worn by Min, the fertility god, Amun, the creator god, and Hathor, the powerful goddess who controlled the cycles of nature. Like deities and kings, royal women are seen holding symbols such as the ankh (symbol of life), the sistrum (rattle) and the menit necklace.
Girls born to royal wives were given the title “king’s daughters” to distinguish them from those of non-royal wives. Royal wives were called the king’s principal wives to distinguish them from the others, although the principal wife was not always of royal birth. An example is Queen Tiy, the wife of Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun’s grandfather. Daughters of foreign kings were sometimes wed to the pharaohs in diplomatic marriages. Not all these women had children by the king, however. Many were engaged in spinning, weaving and other household duties within the various palaces throughout Egypt.
Little is known about the queens, but there are exceptions. Ahmose-Nefertari, the wife, and sister, of the first pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, King Ahmose, became a very powerful queen. She was the first in the history of Egypt to be given the title of God’s Wife. When her son died, there was no obvious heir to the throne, so an army general, Thutmose I, became king. Upon his death, his son, Thutmose II, ruled with his half sister Hatshepsut. When he died, Hatshepsut took command and ruled Egypt as a pharaoh for 20 years. This was the first time a woman wielded such power and influence over the affairs of the state.
Nefertari, the beautiful wife of Rameses the Great, was an exceptional woman who played an important role in state and religious affairs. Loved by her people, she was called “mistress of two lands”, a title normally reserved for the king, the “lord of two lands”. She died in her late forties and was buried in a magnificent house of eternity in the Valley of the Queens. The portraits on the walls of Nefertari’s tomb depict her as an elegant and radiant young woman. The tomb’s dazzling paintings, a world treasure, have been restored by The Getty Conservation Institute because they had been damaged by centuries of water seepage.
During the Graeco-Roman period, Cleopatra VII was the most illustrious queen. Since the rulers of this period were of Macedonian (Greek or Roman) descent, they are not included in the list of Egyptian rulers of the pharaonic era.
Royal Symbols
Ankh
In the shape of a mirror or a knot, the ankh is a symbol of life. It was often carried by deities or people in a funeral procession, or offered to the king as the breath of life.
In the shape of a mirror or a knot, the ankh is a symbol of life. It was often carried by deities or people in a funeral procession, or offered to the king as the breath of life.
Cartouche
A cartouche is an elliptical outline representing a length of rope that encloses the names of royal persons in hieroglyphs. It symbolized the pharaoh’s status as ruler of all that the sun encircled. Napoleon’s soldiers gave the cartouche its name. The word is derived from the Italian cartoccio, meaning a cornet of paper (a piece of paper rolled into the shape of a cone). In Italian art, the names of the people represented in paintings were enclosed in a drawing of a cartoccio.
Crook and Flail
The crook and flail are two of the most prominent items in the royal regalia. Kings held them across their chest. The crook, in the shape of a shepherd’s staff, is a sceptre symbolizing government and that may be related to the concept of a good shepherd leading his flock.
Crowns and Headgear
Egyptian kings and gods are depicted wearing different crowns and headdresses. Before 3000 B.C., there was the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt. When Egypt was united, these two crowns were amalgamated into the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Starting in the eighteenth dynasty, kings also wore the blue crown, and the white crown with a plume on either side and a small disk at the top.
Kings are often represented wearing the nemes headcloth, a piece of cloth pulled tight across the forehead and tied at the back, with two flaps hanging on the sides. Cobra (uraeus) and vulture heads were worn on the forehead. Kings shaved their heads but had a prominent beard.
Gold
The Egyptian symbol for gold (nebu) is a collar with beads along the lower edge. Gold has long been associated with the gods and royalty. This imperishable metal reflects the brilliance of the sun and the hope of eternal life. Isis and Nephthys, two of the goddesses who protected the dead, are often shown kneeling on the gold sign at the ends of royal coffins.
Isis Knot
The Isis Knot (tyet) is similar to the ankh sign, but rather than having a horizontal bar, it has two arms that are bent downward. It is closely associated with the djed pillar that represents Osiris, Isis’s husband, and symbolizes the binary nature of life itself.
Lotus
The blue lotus was a symbol of the sun god and the pharaohs. Like the sun that sets in the evening and rises in the morning, the lotus flower blooms in the day and closes each night. In one version of the creation myth, the sun first rose out of a giant lotus flower that bloomed on the primordial mound. The lotus thus became a symbol of rebirth, the renewal of life and the promise of everlasting life.
Menit Necklace
This heavy beaded necklace with a crescent front piece and a counterweight at the back is associated with the goddess Hathor. It serves as a medium to transfer the goddess’s power to the pharaoh. The pharaoh’s wife is sometimes depicted offering the necklace to her husband, since she is the earthly representative of Hathor.
Papyrus
A water plant, the papyrus symbolizes the primeval marshes of the creation story. The heraldic plant of Lower Egypt, it was used to decorate columns in temples built by the pharaohs.
Reed and Bee
The Egyptian word nsw (he who belongs to the reed) is a symbol for Upper Egypt, and the word bit (he who belongs to the bee) is a symbol for Lower Egypt. When placed together, they represent the domain of the pharaoh, ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Scarab
The scarab’s habit of laying its eggs in a ball of dung, which is then rolled along the ground and dropped into a hole, made it an obvious symbol for the sun god. It represented the rising sun god and, through association, the pharaohs.
Sceptres
The sceptre, or rod, is one of the oldest and most enduring symbols associated with royalty and the deities. Two types of sceptres are found in Egyptian art. The was, a symbol of power and dominion, has a straight shaft, a crooked handle in the shape of an animal head and a forked base. The sekhem symbolizes divine power and has a straight shaft with an enlarged cylindrical end.
Shen Ring
The circular shen ring represents the concept of eternity, having no beginning and no end. It is associated with the solar disk, the serpent that bites its tail, and divine birds that are often shown holding the sign in their claws.
Sistrum
A ceremonial instrument, the sistrum is a rattle that is often shaped like the ankh symbol. It is associated with the goddess Hathor, and its sound is thought to bring protection and divine blessing through fertility and rebirth.
Uraeus
The uraeus represents a rearing cobra with a flared hood. The cobra is associated with the sun god, the kingdom of Lower Egypt, the kings and their families, and several deities. A symbol of protection, it guards the gates of the underworld, wards off the enemies of the royals and guides the deceased pharaohs on their journey through the underworld.
Vulture
The vulture was the symbol of Upper Egypt. Pharaohs wore the uraeus (cobra) and the head of a vulture on their foreheads as symbols of royal protection. The goddess Nekhbet was also portrayed as a vulture.
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy is not a modern invention; it was conceived by the Egyptians over 5,000 years ago. The creation of a bureaucracy in the Old Kingdom was a key factor in the inception of the Egyptian civilization. The king was the supreme head of state. Next to him, the most powerful officer in the hierarchy was the vizier, the executive head of the bureaucracy. The position of vizier was filled by a prince or a person of exceptional ability. His title is translated as “superintendent of all works of the king”.
As the supreme judge of the state, the vizier ruled on all petitions and grievances brought to the court. All royal commands passed through his hands before being transmitted to the scribes in his office. They in turn dispatched orders to the heads of distant towns and villages, and dictated the rules and regulations related to the collection of taxes.
The king was surrounded by the court, friends and favoured people who attained higher administrative positions. The tendency was to fill these positions on the basis of heredity. One of the most ardent wishes of these administrators was to climb the bureaucratic ladder through promotions and to hand their offices to their children.
Many concepts in modern bureaucracies can be traced to the Egyptians. The hierarchical structure and code of ethics of the Egyptian bureaucracy are echoed in modern governments. Ancient Egyptian bureaucrats, who aspired to higher positions, were counselled to obey their superiors and keep silence in all circumstances, in other words, not to contradict or challenge the wisdom of those in charge. They were expected to have tact and good manners, be faithful in delivering messages, and display humility that verged on subservience. It is perhaps for these reasons that Egyptian officials were called civil servants, a designation that governments have adopted down through the ages.
Military
The ancient Egyptians remained very conscious of social stratification, and barriers between the classes were quite rigid. Climbing the social ladder was difficult, but it could be achieved through outstanding accomplishments in professions such as that of the scribes and the military.
The military took part in warfare and trade missions, helping to maintain Egypt’s sovereignty and expand its territories. The deserts and the Mediterranean gave the country a natural means of protection. Still, invasions did occur. In the Old Kingdom, the small military units were reinforced by farmers when necessary. During times of internal instability, private armies were established, which included non-Egyptian mercenaries. During the reign of Ramses II (New Kingdom), vast improvements were made in military technology and tactics.
Although Egypt was sometimes ruled by foreign princes during the pharaonic period, it continued to maintain its independence. Over the centuries, the power of the pharaohs increased and decreased numerous times before Egypt came under foreign rule. Around 1000 B.C., Egypt was virtually bankrupt and its strength began to decline.
The Persians and the Macedonian Greeks were the first foreign powers to rule the country. In 350 B.C., a new Persian ruler, Artaxerxes III, attempted to invade the country but failed. Seven years later, Egypt did fall to the Persians, during the reign of Nectanebo II, the last Egyptian pharaoh. According to Greek accounts, the Persians were cruel masters, robbing temples, killing sacred animals and burdening the people with taxes.
The Macedonian Greek emperor Alexander the Great waged a campaign to destroy the Persian empire. When he entered Egypt in 332 B.C., he was hailed as a divine being and saviour. He hastened to Memphis, performed a sacrificial ceremony to the Apis Bull and was accepted as the new pharaoh. The founding of the city of Alexandria , on the Mediterranean coast, marked the beginning of the end for ancient Egypt.
Originally published by the Canadian Museum of History to the public domain.