Egyptian Government & Laws

By Kayla Toohey

Pharaoh • Menes was the first pharaoh and his great accomplishment was he and his army

overthrew the king of Lower Egypt• There are two meanings for the word pharaoh they are 1. A great place in which

the rulers of Egypt live 2. all the rulers of Egypt were called pharaohs• The pharaoh had responsibilities such as governing the kingdom and making sure

it stayed prosperous, accepted and in many cases, expanded the customs of local governments, trade, and religion

• The pharaohs had religious duties and political power • Most food went to the pharaoh. He had so much food and crops that he needed

storage homes, to hold all the food. That meant that he had so much food, that he can feed the ten thousands of people in the city that needed it

• He increased his power or control over Egypt’s government by replacing regional leaders with governors.

Vizier • In charge of most things in the palace• Manages water supplies, behaviors of soldiers, visitors

entering the palace, being a judge, conducting behavior of government officers, farming in the kingdom, hiring oversees in the pharaohs palace, set land boundaries, supervised tax collections, and law cases

• He/she has a lot of power in the palace but not as much as the pharaoh

Laws • The Egyptians were very serious about their laws• Any person who shall take any person or who stole a slave belonging to Pharaoh

was punished by beating him with two hundred hits and five open wounds• Any inspector that crosses the line with the pharaohs house or belongings

would suffer his ears getting cut off and forced to be a farmer in the residence of the pharaohs palace.

• The laws were based on a common sense view of right and wrong. It depended on which crime the criminal did to figure out which punishment they would receive. Not only would it disgrace them, but it would disgrace their whole family.

• Other punishments included branding, exile, mutilation, drowning, beheading, and burning alive. The worst crime was tomb raiding because the treasures in the tomb were sacred. A lot of punishments were fatal, and the pharaoh usually decided what would happen to the criminal.

Key ideas • The Pharaoh ruled the palace or in other words was in charge

of the palace. • The vizier made the laws of Egypt and collected taxes from

the people in Egypt. • The pharaoh is first in the social pyramid and the vizier is

second. • The Egyptians took laws very serious

Questions • Who was the first pharaoh and what was his great accomplishment?• What are the two meanings of the word pharaoh?• How did the people het food from the pharaoh?• How did the pharaoh increase his power?• What were something's that the vizier was responsible for or managed? • Did the vizier have more power than the pharaoh?• Did the Vizier do farming in the kingdom?• What did the Vizier collect from people?

Summary • The first pharaoh was Menes was the first pharaoh and his great

accomplishment was he and his army overthrew the king of Lower Egypt. The two meanings of the word pharaoh are a great place in which the rulers of Egypt live ,and all the rulers of Egypt were called pharaohs. There is also a third meaning which is his title. The pharaoh got so much food that he needed storage homes to hold all of it so there was plenty for the people in Egypt. The pharaoh increased his power or control over Egypt’s government by replacing regional leaders with governors. At the social pyramid the Pharaoh is at the top and the vizier is second. So the pharaoh does have more power than the vizier. The vizier did do the farming in the kingdom. The vizier collected taxes from the people in Egypt.

The end

• I hope you enjoyed this power point and learned more about Egypt and their government and laws.

• By Kayla Toohey