The king

The title indicates kings. It is derived from the words ‘per aa’, which means ‘big house’ or ‘palace’.

The pharaoh was the replacement of the gods on earth, more specifically the god Horus, later of the supreme god Ra. The Egyptian state was an absolute monarchy. According to the law, everything that happened in the country went back to the ruler.

By virtue of his office he had sole legislative power. He issued laws and decrees. The written sources show us that the Pharaoh himself made all the decisions. There was a council, a certain royal novella, that could give the Pharaoh advice, but the Pharaoh himself decided whether to accept that advice. He appointed officials and priests, all of whom performed tasks in the country in his name and as his deputy. In addition, the pharaoh was also the commander of the armed forces. His personal presence during campaigns is in many cases demonstrable. He was the one who made the decision about war or peace and ordered the army to advance.

The king was not only ruler of Egypt, but at the time of the Egyptian expansion policy he also held sway over the conquered areas in Nubia and Pre-Asia. He maintained diplomatic relations with foreign states.

The clay tablet archive found in Amarna documents these relations best with the correspondence between Egypt and the Pre-Asian states. The king was also responsible for foreign trade ventures, the best known of which are the expeditions to Punt, which took place on royal orders. A military invasion of, or conquest of, Punt never took place.

The pharaoh had a number of crowns that he wore in different circumstances. The white crown or Hadjet is an elongated cap that tapers at the end and ends in a knob. This crown was worn when the monarch wanted to pose as a ruler of Upper Egypt. The red crown or Desjret consists of a red miter that continues on the back, and at the front there is a strip that jumps up diagonally and ends in a curl.

The red crown was worn when the monarch aimed to portray themselves as a ruler of Lower Egypt. The double crown or Psjent was a combination of the white and red crown. This crown is considered the crown of united Egypt. The war crown or Chepresh is a blue helmet. It has a gold edge. Ramses II and Seti II wore this war crown en masse. The Atef crown looks like the white crown with a gold sphere with ostrich feathers on either side. People wore this crown during religious rituals or special events.