PHARAOH

(from Egyptian per 'aa, "great house"), originally, the royal palace in ancient Egypt; the word came to be used as a synonym for the Egyptian king under the New Kingdom (starting in the 18th dynasty, 1539-1292 BC), and by the 22nd dynasty (c. 945-c. 730 BC) it had been adopted as an epithet of respect. The term has since evolved into a generic name for all ancient Egyptian kings, although it was never formally the king's title. In official documents, the full title of the Egyptian king consisted of five names, each preceded by one of the following titles: Horus; Two Ladies; Golden Horus; King of Upper and Lower Egypt and Lord of the Double Land; and Son of Re and Lord of the Diadems. The last name was given him at birth, the others at coronation. The Egyptians believed their pharaoh to be a god, identifying him with the sky god Horus and with the sun gods Re, Amon, and Aton. Even after death the pharaoh remained divine, becoming transformed into Osiris, the father of Horus and god of the dead, and passing on his sacred powers and position to the new pharaoh, his son. The pharaoh's divine status was believed to endow him with magical powers: his uraeus (the snake on his crown) spat flames at his enemies, he was able to trample thousands of the enemy on the battlefield, and he was all-powerful, knowing everything and controlling nature and fertility. As a divine ruler, the pharaoh was the preserver of the god-given order, called ma'at. He owned a large portion of Egypt's land and directed its use, was responsible for his people's economic and spiritual welfare, and dispensed justice to his subjects. His will was supreme, and he governed by royal decree. To govern fairly, though, the pharaoh had to delegate responsibility; his chief assistant was the vizier, who, among other duties, was chief justice, head of the treasury, and overseer of all records. Below this central authority, the royal will of the pharaoh was administered through the nomes, or provinces, into which Upper and Lower Egypt were divided. Since he was considered a god, the pharaoh lived apart from other men, and his subjects subscribed to rituals that exalted him as a divine king. All those approaching him, for example, had to prostrate themselves on the ground. When the pharaoh died, Egyptian funerary rituals were performed that were thought to guarantee that he survive in the afterlife as a god, apart from other men. Evidence suggests, however, that the Egyptians knew that their divine ruler was only a human being, if a supreme one; they judged him according to his deeds, criticizing pharaohs, plotting against them, and deposing or murdering ineffectual ones. Each succeeding pharaoh, however, ascended the throne under the aegis of the rituals and traditions that recognized him as divine ruler.