people, provide services, build buildings and monuments, to make Add your answer and earn points. Last modified October 13, 2016. why did egypt need an organized government? A standing army, loyal first to the king, encouraged nationalism and stronger unity. When Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he took Egypt in 331 BCE, had himself crowned pharaoh at Memphis, and placed his Macedonians in power. Tax collectors would follow the appraisal of the officials in the king's retinue and collect a certain amount of produce from each nome, province, and town, which went to the central government. A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J. His early police units were members of the Bedouin tribes who guarded the borders but had little to do with keeping domestic peace. From his palace at the capital, the king would make his pronouncements, decree laws, and commission building projects, and his word would then be implemented by the bureaucracy which became necessary to administer rule in the country. Stela of Ptahmayby Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA). Evidence shows that Egypt was a united kingdomwith a single ruler, which indicates that the first pharaohs must have set up a form of central government and established an economic system. Many of the devices, artifacts, and practices of the modern day originated in Egypt's more stable periods of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms when there was a strong central government which provided the stability necessary for the creation of art and culture. The first king was Narmer (also known as Menes) who established a central government after uniting the country, probably by military means. AOI has about 19,000 employees out … In most periods the offices were doubled, one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower Egypt. The government, then, would use that produce in trade. The later Egyptian writers characterized the time of the Hyksos as chaotic and claimed they invaded and destroyed the country. Mentuhotep II Headby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA) Scribes of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2040-1782 BCE) might look back on the time of the First Intermediate Period (2181-2040 BCE) as a "time of woe" but the period had no official name. Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians: Volume 2: Including their... Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Mentuhotep II reigned from Thebes. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. By the time of Amenhotep III (1386-1353 BCE), Egypt was a vast empire with diplomatic and trade agreements with other great nations such as the Hittites, Mitanni, the Assyrian Empire, and the Kingdom of Babylon. It was all Pharaoh's. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. This gave the nomarchs a great degree of power as the men's loyalties lay with their community and regional ruler. Despite concerns over recent secret arms deal with North Korea and human rights abuses, US aid to Egypt seen continuing. While Egypt certainly benefited from being a homogeneous nation, running a state (just like today) required a small army of bureaucrats to organise, manage and oversee projects and activities. Amenhotep I trained an Egyptian army of professionals and led them into Nubia to complete his father's campaigns and regain the lands lost during the 13th Dynasty. Well Organized Government Every complex society needs a well-organized government, and the Pharaoh, the concept of Ma’at, and some of the classes They hated the disorganised one. The duplication of agencies not only honored the north and the south of Egypt equally but, more importantly for the king, kept tighter control of both regions. However, the government did not approve of the Brotherhood's renewed influence (it was still technically illegal), and resorted to … A certain proportion went directly to state workshops for the manufacture of secondary products - for example, tallow and leather from cattle; pork from pigs; linen from flax; bread, beer, and basketry from grain. This duality was carried out in architecture as well, providing palaces with two entrances, two throne rooms, etc. What does it mean when there is no flag flying at the White House? In examining Egyptian history one needs to understand that these are modern designations; the ancient Egyptians did not recognize any demarcations between time periods by these terms. The British government initially refused mindful of the continued importance of Egypt as a strategic concern. The way in which the government worked changed slightly over the centuries, but the basic pattern was set in the First Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3150 - c. 2890 BCE). The temples throughout Egypt were not just places of worship but factories, dispensaries, workshops, counseling centers, houses of healing, educational and cultural centers. A theocracy is a type of government that God is recognized as a supreme civil ruler. Answer Save. Rather than trust a nomarch to accurately report his wealth to the king, he and his court would travel to assess that wealth personally. The vizier was the voice of the king and his representative and was usually a relative or someone very close to the monarch. Favorite Answer. 1 0. The army Ahmose I led against the Hyksos was made up of Egyptian regulars, conscripts, and foreign mercenaries like the Medjay. You did not own your home or your jewelry or your food or anything else. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. His successor, Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BCE) reversed his policies, returned the capital to Thebes, and reopened the temples but did not live long enough to complete the process. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (c. 2613-2181 BCE) the government was wealthy enough to build even larger monuments such as the pyramids of Giza. (103). Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. Historian Margaret Bunson explains their traditional role prior to the First Intermediate Period: The power of such local rulers was modified in times of strong pharaohs, but generally they served the central government, accepting the traditional role of being First Under The King. The pharaoh was in charge and had absolute power. Mentuhotep II's successor, Amenemhat I (c. 1991 - c.1962 BCE), moved the capital to the city of Iti-tawy near Lisht and continued the old policies, enriching the government quickly enough to begin his own building projects. They created laws, so that the Ancient Egypt stayed in order. (44-45). In the far north of Egypt, at Avaris, a Semitic people had settled around a trading center and, during the 13th Dynasty, these people grew in power until they were able to assert their own autonomy and then expand their control of the region. Ahmose I had first conceived the idea of buffer zones around Egypt's borders to keep the country secure, but this idea was taken further by his son and successor Amenhotep I (c. 1541-1520 BCE). The ancient Egyptians said "Pharaoh", not the pharaoh. Without the Nile River, all of Egypt would be desert. (2016, October 13). (207). The vizier would then delegate authority to lower officials who managed the various patrols of State Police. : //www.ancient.eu/Egyptian_Government/ see answer beithmckenzie is waiting for your help a culture that encouraged creativity and innovation was into... Government lasted, with little modification, from c. 3150 BCE to 30.... Became less vigilant as their own most periods the offices were doubled one! Considered to be a god the different districts and the nomarch then sent his men to fight, he his... The three classes were the Upper Class, Middle Class, Middle Class, Middle Class, and 525... 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