The pharaoh in ancient Egypt ran the country. He was seen as a demigod for a long time. The Egyptians believed that he was the reincarnation of Horus, the son of the god Osiris and the goddess Isis. His job was to help men and gods coexist. Over time, this idea changed, and the pharaoh ceased to appear as a god and began to be seen as a man, albeit a strong man.
The word “Pharaoh” means “the great homeland,” and it comes from the fact that the spirit of the Egyptian god Horus lived there. Horus was one of the most important deities in Egyptian mythology. Horus was the god of war. He had a human body and the head of a falcon, and wore a double crown, one for Upper Egypt and the other for Upper Egypt.
It was a divinely inherited right to be Pharaoh. Pharaoh ruled until he died, then his sons took over (in their absence, the priests chose their successor). It was a theocratic government, and it did not allow democracy (which did not exist at that time), so the people had almost no rights.
Every pharaoh had a great royal wife whose only job was to give birth to the pharaoh’s children. There were a few exceptions, like Akhenaten’s great royal wife Nefertiti, who helped her husband make all the decisions. There were also the “others” of course, and each pharaoh could sleep with as many women as he wanted.
The most important pharaohs of ancient Egypt
If we think of the hundreds of pharaohs who lived in the 33 ruling dynasties of Egypt, it is hard to put them all in one group. Yes, thanks to Egyptologists, they were able to learn the names of some important pharaohs in the history of Egypt. They are:
1- Menes
He was the first pharaoh of Egypt and was also called Narmer. He ruled in the twenty-ninth century BC. He is best known for uniting all the lands of the Nile Delta and starting the country’s first capital, Memphis, which was well positioned to control the lands of the lower Nile.
2- Hetepsejemuy
If Menes begins with the first Egyptian land, then this pharaoh who ruled from 2820 BC to 2800 BC was the one who united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt is the region that extends from Luxor to Cairo. Lower Egypt is the area between Luxor and Cairo (the area that stretches from Cairo to the Delta). He is a very important part of the country’s history, so he was obviously one of the most important pharaohs.
3- Djoser
Djoser was the second king of the Third Dynasty in Egypt. He ruled from 2665 BC to 2645 BC. He was the first pharaoh to order the construction of the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, one of the most famous buildings in Egypt. This is the main reason why he is remembered in history.
4- Cheops
Herodotus, a Greek historian and philosopher, said that Cheops was one of Egypt’s most ambitious and cruel pharaohs (although there are those who doubt that version). Even though the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the most famous buildings in the world, is his most famous work and what people know him for today.
5- Teti
He ruled Egypt from 2322 BC to 2313 BC. He is remembered as one of the most fair pharaohs. He tried to make a centralised government because he saw that the heads of local governments, called nomarchs, were getting more and more power. He also exempted Abydos from taxes because of weather and crop problems, which had never been done before.
6- Hatshepsut
She was the first pharaoh queen. When she was crowned, she wore a man’s clothes so she could get on the throne. She was queen of Egypt from 1490 BC to 1468 BC. She seems to have been one of the most mature, smart, and ambitious rulers of Egypt. But she wasn’t alone. Senenmut and the royal architect (who was probably her lover) both helped her a lot. Hatshepsut’s temple is one of the most interesting places to see in Egypt, even though there is almost no evidence of the queen left today. After she died, her brother Thutmosis III got rid of everything that reminded people of her.
7- Tutankhamun
Tutankhamen, also called the Child Pharaoh because he only ruled from the age of 9 to 19, is one of Egypt’s most famous pharaohs, but not so much for what he did in life as for his tomb. Howard Carter, an archaeologist, found Tutankhamen’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. It was still in good shape. From that point on, both people became part of history. The treasures of Tutankhamen can be seen at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo today.
8- Seti I
He was King of Egypt from 1294 BC to 1279 BC (19th Dynasty). He is remembered as a pharaoh who made sure that peace returned to the country after a few years of revolutions and wars. And he did it himself because he was one of the most important warriors of the pharaohs.
9- Ramses II
Ramesses II took power from his father, Seti I, and ruled for more than 60 years, until he died in 1213 BC. Today, he is one of the most famous pharaohs, especially because he built many temples. One of the most famous is Abu Simbel, which is a must-see at the end of any Nile cruise.
10- Cleopatra VII
She was the last pharaoh of Egypt. She was a descendant of the Ptolemies, and when she died, the country was taken over by the Roman Empire. Cleopatra VII was a very beautiful and intelligent woman, who shared the throne with her brother Ptolemy XIII and her husband Antony. She and he never got along, and Julius Caesar had to go to Egypt to “make things right” (Cleopatra persuaded him to present herself as a gift to him, naked and wrapped in a carpet). When her brother was finally defeated, she kept the throne and began a long relationship with Julius Caesar. Pierrot, after Julius Caesar was killed, Cleopatra fell in love with Marco Antonio. You know, this love also ended in tragedy.
