The Kings of Ancient Egypt
The study of ancient history will never be complete without taking a closer examination at the history of ancient Egypt. This is because of how the Egyptians made a lasting impact on the lives of ancient peoples; from Africa, the Middle-East, India, Greece and Rome. Their greatness is seen in the pyramids that still existed today.
Their power can be seen in the treasures that archaeologists are still unearthing even in the 21st century. The explanation for ancient Egypt’s splendor, power, and influence can all be traced back to one source, the King of Egypt. This is because he is both a political leader and a divine ruler.
Background
The emergence of the Egyptian civilization was contemporaenous to that of Mesopotamia (Spielvogel, 2008, p.13). However, it can be argued that the development of Egypt’s culture and civilization developed in a very different way. It can also be said that this is because of the Nile River, the longest river in the world. Although the Mesopotamians benefited from its rivers – with flooding that deposited rich soil to the river banks and ensured bountiful harvests – the Egyptians had one advantage.
The Nile River’s flooding was gradual and predictable and at the same time the people can attest that their river is tame compared to others and therefore a true giver of life (Spielvogel, 2008, p.13). This is the reason why the Egyptians were able to build a kingdom that was known far and wide.
An economy based on agriculture is the reason for their prosperity. However, the long-term stability of the kingdom was due to their idea of kingship and how it can be used to their advantage. Just like the other kingdoms in the region the Egyptians were under a special kind of monarchial form of government. The King was not just a political leader, but he and the descendants after him can trace their genealogy to the gods of heaven. They were empowered by a divine appointment and therefore it is for the best interest of everyone to sustiain the line of succession and preserve the kingdom.
It has to be pointed out that compared to other kingdoms and civilizations, the Egyptian civilization “was characterized by a remarkable degree of continuity over thousands of years “ (Spielvogel, 2008, p.15). As long as the peole are happy, protected, and their needs met there is no problem with this set-up. But first, the people will have to fully understand the idea that their King is no ordinary human being and that he is part-man and part-divine.
Based on Mythology
It is a common practice in the ancient world to devise mythology that will explain the origin of things. The origin of the people, the land mass and the origin of the royal family, has to be articulated. In the case of Egypt it was a gradual process. The first thing that has to be done is for the emergence of a powerful family that can unite other tribes and from that successful partnership a kingdom can be established.
In the beginning there was no central government. The whole of Egypt consisted of numerous populated areas ruled by a tribal leader untile one day around 3100 B.C., the first dynasty was established under a king and he united bot Upper and Lower Egypt into one single Kingdom (Spielvogel, 2008, p.16).
The first six dynasties was an age of splendor characterized by prosperity and the construction of magnficient pyramids. This period lasted until 2181 B.C., and historians called it the Old Kingdom. It is during this period that the myth of the divine origin of the royal family began to take root.
The myth that supports the origin of the divine ruler begins with the story that in the past everything was ideal. It is best described throug the following ancient poem explaining the reason why there is chaos and trouble and the necessity of a king:
It happened that Re, the self created god,
after he occupied the kingship
when humans and gods were still together.
Then the people devised a plot against Re (Assmann, 2001, p.13).
There was a time when everything was perfect until man decided to rebel against Re, their supreme god. The gods punished mankind and from that day forward what was once united was split into two. There is now a division between man and gods. This created major problems because the relationship between mankind and the gods were broken.
This is not an ideal situation for the people but at the same time the gods were also not happy with the end result. One day, the gods hit upon the idea on how to mend the broken relationship between the realm of the humans and the realm of the gods.
The gods said that there must a divinely appointed leader, “a new king in whose hands rule over the world will be placed, one who will build temples to deities and increase their offeringss, and in whose time abundance and fertility will reign” (Assmann, 2001, p.16). After the myth was made clear the ruling family can go to the people and convince them that it is for their benefit to support the dynasty for it was blessed by the gods.
This will ensure good tiding for both the spiritual and the physical realms. An affront to the royal family is an affront to the gods. The claim was made more binding and serious when they perpetuated the second layer of the myth which is the explanation for the coming of the man-god, the first king of Eypt and it was made possible when a god impegranated an earthly queen. Their offspring became the first political and divine ruler of Egypt.
Hail the King
It is easy to understand why the royal family wanted to project themselves as descendants of gods. Egypt is not the only kingdom to ever utilize the power of mythology. However, in the case of Egypt they were so successful that there are historians who believed that the king has become more important than the gods (Silverman & O’Connor, 1995, p.95).
They were able to say this by explaining that, “The state was unthinkable without kingship. In ideology, kingship formed the unifying apex of a host of dualities that constituted society, as well as forming the point of connection among human society, the gods and the wider cosmos” (Silverman & O’Connor, 1995, p.95). It can be argued that it came to a point in time when the King was also considered as a god himself.
It is important to note that since ancient Egyptian history covered a long period of time, then there could never be a uniform ideology when it comes to hw the people interpret kingship. One has to accept the fact that change was inevitable. According to experts in ancient history, “Periodic re-examination of the subject of kingship over the years has shown that the ancient Egyptians seemed to have viewed this concept differently at different times” (Silverman & O’Connor, year, p.49).
They added, “While kingship as an institution may have continued fairly constantly throughout the more than three thousand year history of ancient Egypt, just what the office signified, how the holders of the position understood their role, and how the population received this individual did not constitute uniform concepts … without change” (Silverman & O’Connor, year, p.49). Nevertheless, it is clear from what they left behind, the artifacts and the massive structures tell a story as how they perceive their kings.
First of all the people easily accepted the fact that their king can be both man and divine. As a human being the king has the responsibility to demonstrate to the people that he indeed is the son of the gods. This means that rituals had to be performed from the coronation to the worship of deities. This is seen in the temples that were created and how they spent a great deal of time, energy, and money on building sacred structures in honor of the gods.
On the other hand the kings were typical political leaders. They had to contend with the issues that even a ruler from the modern world had to contend with.
It is all about security, watching over food supply, and keeping their subjects happy because a contented populace means stability while discontentment will bring strife. Therefore, the people saw the king as an administrator (Rice, 1999, p.8). A good example is the exploits of King Narmer in 3100 B.C., he became the first pharaoh and united the two lands – of Upper and Lower Egypt (Ruiz, 2001, p.10).
It is during this time when hieroglyphic writing was perfected and this made it possible to rule Egypt more efficiently (Ruiz, 2001, p.10). The pyramids were also part of the enduring evidence as to how the people saw their kings. They are builders, rulers, adminstrators and they are eternal (Deady, year, p.16) This is why the system worked because everything was handled by the king and the peope allowed him to be both a political leader and at the same time a divine ruler.
Conclusion
The ancient Egyptians wanted to believe that their kings descended from the gods. They also have no problem with the idea that their kings were warriors, conquerors, and administrators. They also believed that their king is part man and part divine. Their belief system is encouraged by the fact that Egypt became the most powerful and richest civilzation in the ancient world. They wanted continuity, they wanted stability, and progress.
Ancient Egypt just like the other kingdoms in the area had no problem with having a king that can unifty the spritual and the physical realm. In other words there was no issue with regards to the separation of Church and State. This belief system was perpetuated using symbols, rituals, and structures that were built not only to inspire people but also to tell rival kingdoms that there is something special within ancient Egypt and it woud be to the benefit of everyone if this political and religious structure remain until the end of time.
References
Assmann, J. (2001). The Search for God in Ancient Egypt. New York: Cornell University Press.
Deady, K. (2004). Ancient Egypt. MN: Capstone Press.
Rice, M. (1999). Who’s who in Ancient Egypt. New York: Routledge.
Ruiz, A. (2001). The Spirit of Ancient Egypt. New York: Algora Publishing.
Silverman, D. & D. O’Connor. (1995). Ancient Egyptian Kingship. MA: E.J. Brill.
Spielvogel, J. (2008). Western Civilization: A Brief History. MA: Wadsworth Press.