Pharaohs are always portrayed as great leaders and warriors who do not fear death, and always worship the gods, but the truth may be much further than what people knew and believed. Researcher Gary Shaw navigates us on the human side of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and paints for us a picture of an ordinary day in the life of one of the pharaohs of the modern state
The ancient Egyptians were afraid of sleep because they believed that a person moves during sleep to the world of unconsciousness, including the living and the dead, and gods who watch him sometimes and struggle with each other at other times. At the same time, the body of the sleeping person is in a state of complete surrender that makes it vulnerable to the forces of evil that try to enter the bedroom to attack it. And Pharaoh - although he embodies the divine authority on earth - was not exempt from feeling that night terror, which requires several protective measures. Amenhotep the third, for example, used to open his eyes every morning to the guardian goddess Nekhbet, who is depicted on the ceiling of his bedroom, and if he moved his stable head over the headrest - engraved on the image of the god “But” the god that repelled the forces of evil - and opened his eyes, he would see more pictures on the walls of the room The god “Bs” is topped with drawings of the key to life “Ankh” and the protective “Tate” contract. As for outside his bedroom, his bodyguard would stay awake all night to protect him from any assassination attempt. And because the forces of evil could not penetrate this powerful realm of protection, Pharaoh was reassured that he would have a quiet sleep.
In the morning, Amenhotep the Third was starting his daily activities in his palace with a trowel on the western mainland in Luxor, by moving first from his bedroom to his dressing room, where the head of the secrets of the royal morning palace supervises his bathing rituals and wears his clothes according to prevailing norms and with the help of a specialized team of assistants, including “Pregnant”. Towels, and the Royal Linen Robe Holder, and the Crowns and Headwear Holder.
If the pharaoh’s program did not include an official occasion or a special ritual, then the dress he wore was not much different from the clothes of senior members of the courtiers, and it consisted of a simple linen shirt sometimes decorated with some woven decorations, a scarf around the waist, and an open shoe (sandal). As for official occasions and rituals, he wears a finely woven garment decorated with drawings of sacred animals, plants, or cartouches. As for the large crowns that he used to wear on special occasions, he replaces them in ordinary days with a simple crown of gold or silver that he adorns at the front of the head with a cobra snake.
When the pharaoh finishes bathing and putting on his clothes, his assistants begin to roll, draw his eyes and massage his skin with aromatic oils, and then go to eat his breakfast in a part of the palace called "the Palace of Life."
Although the royal palace used to include bakeries and kitchens, the king’s food - and it was called “Ankh Neswat” - was prepared in a temple close to the palace, according to the same rituals in which the food offered as sacrifices to the gods was prepared and he was in charge of some servants - They are called "cleansers" - serving food and drink to the king.
While Pharaoh was preparing to start his daily duties, senior courtiers arrived at the palace, passing first through the outer gate, to the section devoted to administrative affairs and support (Bir-Nsu), which is similar to the outer palace area of medieval palaces in Europe. This section contained the minister's offices, senior state officials, archives, and archives, followed by a part called the Great House and finally the residential part.
Inside the big house there is a zone of silence that as soon as an employee of the royal court enters it, he is met by the "pioneer of the palace", and he is the person who supervises the protocol and etiquette, who organizes the employees in two rows according to the rank, and when the moment of entry comes he invites them to advance in order and in order inside The throne room, as they respectfully bowed to open the doors as they passed by.
The scene of the throne room was majestic, at the end of which the foreigners were prostrating, and the enemies were handcuffed, staring at everyone in silence, and the throne was placed on a platform that was accessed by two opposite sets of side stairs, next to each of them a number of trained lions that were controlled occasionally and left for another time Let their sharp teeth erupt in the heads of the helpless enemy victims. The throne was a large gilded booth, on which cartouches bearing the name of the king were painted and the qabbh, and topped by several rows of cobras. And inside the gilded kiosk was the throne seat for the Pharaoh of Egypt, the son of the god Ra.
When the scene is completed with the entrance of the court officials and the gathering in the throne room, Pharaoh enters from the back of the palace - the residential part - and passes quietly between the trained lions and ascends the steps of the platform to sit on the throne chair in steps and rituals symbolizing the sunrise at dawn. And as soon as Pharaoh sits down, the members of the courtiers throw themselves on the ground, prostrating and raising their arms in worship and respect for him, then they sit down in their session to start the meeting in which Pharaoh is informed of the important and urgent issues in the affairs of government, so each employee takes his role in speaking according to his rank while the others listen in silence And respect, a tradition that was transferred historically to all countries of the world later.
It is difficult to know what was being discussed in those daily meetings, but the Egyptian royal texts indicate that Pharaoh was making all the laws and only the members of his entourage would implement them.
There are only a limited number of decrees bearing the personal signature of Pharaoh, which indicates that he was often sufficient to stamp them only with a rubber seal bearing his name.
It was the right of any member of the people to petition the Pharaoh carrying a complaint or an appeal. However, the minister was the one who dealt with the people and settled in disputes.
Pharaoh did not attend the trials despite his knowledge of the disputes going on in the courts, and it was necessary for his permission before imposing the death penalty. Also, during the daily meeting, Pharaoh was discussing the issue of appointing employees, and he used to personally appoint senior statesmen, and he used to choose them from nobles and sometimes from his childhood friends.
After the morning work session, Pharaoh heads to a nearby temple to perform some religious rituals (the temple of Ptah, for example if he was staying in Memphis or the Temple of Amun in Karnak if we are talking about Luxor), and it is difficult to know how Pharaoh used to visit all these temples, as the wall scenes indicate only He used to perform religious rituals himself in all temples at the same time, which is impossible of course, as it is known that local priests used to represent him in these matters, and Pharaoh often performed rituals of worship for the special god of every city he visited, and it is permissible for him to visit several regional temples while he was on the move in Nationwide to make offerings to local deities.
Pharaoh used to participate in festivals related to the monarchy, especially the “Opt” festival in Luxor, which was held to renew the “Ka” meaning the divine power of the monarchy, and the “Dam” festival which is held 30 years after the pharaoh seated on the throne of Egypt to confirm his right to continue ruling . This is other than the "Sokar" festival, and it was one of the most prominent official occasions that the Pharaoh attended.
The first royal wife also played an important role in the rituals, sometimes equivalent to the role of the king, and she accompanied him in his visits to the temples and accompanied him on his visits and lived with him permanently, unlike his other lesser wives, and they lived with servants and bridesmaids in the harem palaces scattered around the country, and they moved Only within the scope of those palaces and the areas close to them.
Unlike his subjects, Pharaoh was able to marry any number of women he liked, even his half-sisters, and this was to ensure the abundance of offspring and the continuation of the ruling dynasty. The infant mortality rate in all parts of the ancient world, including Egypt, was high .. That is why having more children meant a higher chance of one of them surviving until adulthood to sit on the throne and wear the double crown of the throne of Egypt. And Pharaoh often marries the daughters of kings. Foreigners to consolidate diplomatic relations with their country.
Life was not all politics and devotional rituals. Entertainment also represented an important part in the life of Pharaoh, who enjoyed practicing sports activities such as archery, so that one of the 18th family pharaohs boasted of his skill in shooting arrows with a force that made him pierce a copper target three toes thick. Amenhotep II also challenged his troops to a shooting competition, which is the only time that Pharaoh had scored such a challenge.
Hunting was also very popular in all eras, so Tuthmosis the first and the third hunted elephants in Syria during their military campaign there .. However, some pharaohs preferred to spend their leisure and entertainment times in a quieter atmosphere. The "Senet" - similar to chess - with a harem.
The royal court used to use physicians to provide health care to the pharaoh. In the Old Kingdom, there was a team of palace doctors who took care of the health of the Pharaoh and the palace’s employees all. With the advent of the New Kingdom, the Pharaoh had his own medical team alone, a doctor who took care of his eyes and another with his teeth, and so on in all other specialties. In the past, doctors mixed traditional remedies with magic to heal their patients, especially when they suspected that evil spirits might be the cause of disease.
When we examine royal mummies of the modern state, we see that the palace doctors did their job well. The pharaohs of that era rarely suffered from serious diseases in their time, and we also note the absence of the so-called "Harris" lines (transverse lines appearing in the bones as evidence of stunted growth due to malnutrition or disease in the growth age). Among the interesting cases is the mummy of Ahmose the first, who was apparently weak in structure, and perhaps this is why he was not circumcised. As for the mummy of Amenhotep the second, it indicates that he was suffering from inflammation in the vertebrae that made him suffer from stiffness in the spine. As for Amenhotep the third, he was obese, and he was suffering From dental abscesses, Tutankhamun was suffering from malaria, and perhaps Ramses V was the least fortunate of the pharaohs in health, as he suffered from smallpox and inguinal hernia, and perhaps also from bubonic plague.
When evening comes, Pharaoh will have completed his political and religious mission, and he would spend his evenings, perhaps sitting with the queen, or meeting with his private doctor to check his health, or perhaps he was practicing some sports and entertaining games.
In the royal banquets attended by the pharaoh, he was surrounded by senior guests and members of the royal family. The invited unmarried men and women would sit separately, while the husbands would sit side by side together. The servants provide wines and delicious foods that are sometimes formed in molds in the form of animals or snails to entertain and impress the guests. During the meal, a group of musicians and dancers entertain the guests, and sometimes a narrator narrates the biographies of the late kings.
As is the case in the morning, Pharaoh used to eat only the food that was prepared for him in the temple in the morning, and if he wanted to celebrate an important guest, he would give him some of that special food and full of blessings.
At the end of the ceremony, Pharaoh leaves his guests, returning to his bedroom at the back of the palace, safe and reassured that his special guard and magic will protect him from the evil and malevolent forces when he succumbs to sleep.
And upon awakening, the pharaoh begins his day again as the sun that shines every morning.
Comments