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Government Officials
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Several million people lived in ancient Egypt. The pharaoh owned everything. More importantly, he was in charge of everything. To help him do a good job, he had helpers. Some helpers were members of the royal family. Others were people who had worked their way up the government ladder. Each pharaoh had an organized army, a police force, and a huge number of ministers and government officials to assist him.
The ancient Egyptians loved titles. Government officials gave themselves all kinds of titles. But in ancient Egypt, the only title that mattered besides the title of Pharaoh was that of Vizier. The Vizier was Pharaoh's right hand man. Everyone reported to the official above them. The top officials reported to the Vizier. The Vizier reported to the Pharaoh every day on what was happening all over Egypt.
The Vizier was also the judge of the high court. If you had a problem and it was not solved in the local courts, or in the provincial courts, you could bring your problem in front of the Vizier on a first come, first served basis. It was dangerous. The Vizier's decision was final. You could end up in more trouble than you started with. But the Vizier tried to be fair. He had to explain aloud the reason for his decision in each case so that everyone who came to court that day could hear those reasons.
This system of government worked successfully in ancient Egypt for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Ancient Egyptian Government (Thinkquest)
Ancient Egyptian Government (student essay)
Free Presentations in PowerPoint format for Ancient Egypt
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