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.
