Egyptian Political History - Research Paper Example

History and Political Science 24 May Egyptian Political History (Prehistory-1500) Introduction Egypt stands out a great historical country that was established in ancient times, rich in culture and one of the earliest countries to which religion played an important role in its ancient civilization. The political powers were associated with kings or Pharaohs in the time, who not only acted as gods of the people, but ruled the kingdoms. Over the period, Egypt went through a series of changes in power as the more kingdoms united, and the land was conquered by other empires and ruled by foreign leaders. It established a political organization structure early in time to serve its people and delegated roles for its future prosperity. Military force protected the empires and performed the orders of the kings. Records also show that Egypt expanded its authority over the empires it conquered and made certain alliances with other empires to fight their enemies. The political power was initially inherited by the royal family, which formed the sequence of establishing a monarchy based government that controlled the economic activities of the empire. Monarchical Governments The ancient Egyptian government was a form of monarchy and theocracy. Precisely, the kings were said to rule by divine decree and if lucky to keep the empire together, the power to rule was inherited by members with the royal blood. However, there are instances where the women became queens and situations where the leadership was taken away by the conquering dynasties. According to the ICR (6), for about three millennia, that is 3150 to 31BCE when the Roman Empire took the territories of Egypt, Pharaohs ruled ancient Egypt. Pharaohs occupied the top position of the social hierarchies and ruled with absolute power. Pharaohs as political and religious leaders would rule till their death, when their heirs inherited the throne. Some heirs would take the responsibility quite early in age, and sometimes where there were no princes, the royal women could be married off to a royal person in the linage, to make bear heirs of the throne and ensure no power was spilled outside the royal family. Some of the lady Pharaohs comprised of Hatshepsut and CleopatraVII, while male rulers were Akhenaten who passed down the thrown to his son king Tun (Tunankhamun at age 9). They exercised their powers without hardship, because the people had already accepted them as their gods, or mediators to the gods, as well as their associated immeasurable power that they used to command the people, head their military, and make critical decisions when required. The reign of the Pharaohs can be divided into 3 kingdoms according to the periods (2700 to 2200 BCE) Old Kingdom, (2052 to 1786 BCE) Middle Kingdom, and (1575 to 1087 BCE) the new Kingdom, in which the numerous Egyptian dynasties were established (Connors et al 22). Some rulers strived to accomplish the objectives of their former rulers as they defended their dynasties through the militaries, brought political and economic stability and prosperity, unified the Egyptians after the conquests, unrests, and riots. Political Structure The political organization and command of power was centered with the supreme authority that rested on the Pharaohs. Although there were subordinates to the royal power, the kings’ decision was final at any required situation. Some kings ruled through their heirs, making it possible to oversee and maintain order within the entire Egypt territory. According to Kaplan, the government of ancient Egypt looked like the structure of a pyramid with respect to the division of power; such that the king was at the top, and beneath him a pool of workers that varied in the ranks (13). The king, though an individual with enough power to make a decision that would affect the lives of the people, had a team of elite or royal people who acted as his advice council and could at times influence his decisions. The viziers as the executive heads of bureaucracy occupied the powerful positions next to the rulers, and the high priests who supported the rulers in their religious obligations, all completed the king’s major officials. In other words the kings relied on them for information and the promulgation of his reigning authority, while they looked forth to maintain their position and prestige (Spawforth 268). The viziers acted as the judges in the courts to solve disputes on the petitions brought forth by members of the societies, and were entitled to disperse royal commands passed from the king to the lower officials, administrators, and governors of specific areas within Egypt’s territories. The high ranking officials oversaw lower officials in different sectors, who in turn in the lower ranks ensured the workers in their respective roles performed and respected the law of the land. Organization of Small States In the era of the Old kingdom ancient Egypt, as early as the first several dynasties, the political leadership seemed to be served from particular capitals where the kings, royal house and officials like the Viziers and high priest resided. The chosen capital was where the highest commands and decrees were delegated from, to reach the dispersed populations in different states through their official representatives. During the first royal dynasty that lasted for about 400 years, Egypt was divided into numerous small states both in upper and lower parts of the Egypt, which later in the union of the two parts, made Thebes and Memphis principal capitals, the latter being regarded as the first capital and official center of the formed Egyptian government (Zhdanova-Redman edhelper.com). Basically, the states consisted of a main city (headed by a mayor), rural areas and were also headed by monarchs. Each of the provinces was responsible for paying taxes to the central government which was accomplished through the governorship of the provinces or sepats, which not only managed the small state on behalf of the central government or king, but ensured collected taxes were handed over to the king’s Viziers to be administered in the tax system. The work force, such as the farmers, craftsmen, and traders would delegate their produce according to the law and taxation system right from their villages and towns. The political events and cultural festivals at their capitals unified the Egyptian sepats and consolidated the people towards one common rule. The strong centralized government controlled most economical and political institutions within its empires, to retain authority among the provinces and steer the nation to prosperity. Military Organization The military of Egypt in prehistoric times evolved with the early civilization of the nation. Initially, before ancient Egypt was under the control of Hyksos, the army was formed when needed and did not exist as in permanent need. Through the king's decree, capable men could be gathered up and serve as the military for the purpose intended. However, after their encounter and liberation with the Hykos, the full time military force was necessary, trained, and organized to lead attacks of their enemies, for invasion, and to defend their country in case of external attacks. In the line of military command was the Pharaoh or the sons as the overall commander, followed by generals who could report directly to the overall commanders, battalion commanders, adjutants’ standard and bearers, lieutenants, and non-commissioned officers in charge of the numerous squads (Metwally20). The army force was split into upper and Lower Egypt lands just like the kingdom, but overseen by trusted officials of the royal leadership (chief deputies) who at times were promoted to other positions on king’s merit. The military was divided into three segments; the chariot force, army, and navy; where the navy was often involved in moving the fighting land troops to destined war zones. They engaged in warfare during their expeditions to bring victory to the Egyptian empire and reaffirmed sovereignty over their conquered empires by through such means as killing and decapitating some individuals, enslaving or displacing a population to mark their Egyptian Pharaoh’s rule and empire’s control over the captured. Invasion and Expansion of the Kingdom When the middle kingdom collapsed at the invasion of powerful military, the land of Egypt was characterized by war, which Egyptian army could not succeed hence had to consent to the invader’s rules. The Hyksos were Asiatic invaders who had taken control of Egypt after the fall in 1640 BCE, they were driven off the land of Egypt by the emerging power of the Egyptian Thebans who had joined forces with a group of Nubian allies (a fighting force) under the reign of Kamose, (previously initiated by his father and succeeded by his brother Ahmose) (Bunson, 246). As a military group, although there were more defeat and inescapable invasions by the foreign armies such as Hittites, Assyrians, Kushite and Persians that subjected Egypt under foreign rule, it also had its own conquest where it subjected its own authority to the other inferior empires. Towards the end of the Egyptian Dynasties, Queen Cleopatra VII had formed an alliance with Roman Marc Anthony (alienated general) against Octavian at the naval war at Actium, in an attempt to defend the independence of Egypt, but their armies were defeated by the opponent, which placed Egypt under the Roman rule for the next two centuries (Lockard 207). The captures of the tribe of Nubia and the city state of Canaan, driving off the Assyrians and Hyksos, and political campaigns against the rebellion by Egyptian rulers were most of the admired military and rulers’ performances in expanding the Egyptian empire, defending their homeland and building a great empire. Works cited Bunso, Margaret. R. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. New York: InfoBase publishing, 2002. Print Connors, R., Gobbett, B., Gow, A., and Macleod Rod. “World History 7: A Survey of World History Pre History to 1500.” curriculum.epsb.ca. 1999. Web. 24 May, 2013. ICR. “Powers that Be- Africa’s Most Influential Monarchs Report.” Report 2 (2009): 1-17. Web. 24 May 2013. Kaplan, L. C. Politics and Government in Ancient Egypt. New York: Rosen Publishing group, Inc. 2004. Print.  Lockard, C. A. Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History: To 1500. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. Print. Metwally, Yasser. “Ancient Egyptian Life”. yassermetwally.com. N.d. web. 24 may, 2013. http://pdf.yassermetwally.com/tut.pdf Spawforth, A. J. S., ed. “The Court and Court Societies in Ancient Monarchies.” npu.edu.ua. 2007. Web. 24 May, 2013. http://npu.edu.ua/!e-book/book/djvu/A/iif_kgpm_The_Court_and_Court_Societ.pdf Zhdanova-Redman, K. “Ancient Egypt History.” edhelper.com. n.d. 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