Minister position in ancient Egypt
It was customary for the ancient kings of Egypt to place the burden of governmental administrative, judicial, financial and military procedures on the shoulders of the most senior official in the state, the minister, and it was called in the ancient Egyptian language (that).
Whoever occupies the position of the minister had a great deal of importance and authority because the minister was the first statesman who followed the king directly in importance, influence and power and because the minister was a link between the king and the various departments, whether in the capital or the regions.
Because of the minister’s importance, he was elected from the oldest families loyal to the throne and dedicated to their loyalty and service to him. He was sometimes appointed by the crown princes or the king’s sons or relatives in some eras, and in other eras, the minister’s job was hereditary. In special circumstances, some ministers gathered Between the minister’s position and the position of the chief priests of the official state god.
The oldest of the mentioned ministers is the Minister of King Mina (Ta’omer): the first unifier of ancient Egypt and the founder of the ancient state (the era of the first monotheism). It was customary in the early ages of the ancient Egyptian civilization to be a single minister for the king and the state.
With the beginning of the second monotheism era (the middle state), we likely find a new phenomenon in the history of the ancient kings of Egypt, which is that two ministers assist the king at the same time. Still, the texts of this era do not show us a specification of jurisdiction. Still, it is established that the ancient Egyptian affairs of the Pharaonic kingdom increased In this era due to the increase in foreign conquests, which indicates that the need was urgent for more than one minister.
As for the third unification era (the modern state), we have received many inscriptions and texts that give us an idea of ​​the minister’s duties. Egypt had two ministers, one of them to the north. His jurisdiction was the region that extends from north Assiut to the Mediterranean; The other is to the south, and its area extends from the south of Assiut to the southern borders of Egypt. The first centre was Ain Shams, Memphis, or Tans (Bar Ramses), and the second was Thebes.
The most important information about the minister’s position can be gleaned from the inscriptions and texts written on the walls of the tomb of Rahmi Ra, who was a minister to King Thutmose III. In the early era of King Amenhotep II, you conclude from them that the king has the right to appoint a minister, and just as the king has the right to appoint a minister, he has the right too. In his isolation, as indicated by other texts.
Interestingly, King Thutmose III, when appointing Rahmi Ra to the position of minister for the south, guided him and gave him great advice. , uncle, Minister Rekhmi Ra, on texts that support that, as we found them addressed to Minister Habu, the vizier of King Tuthmosis IV, for example: “Be alert to everything that is going on in the ministry, and if you complain, you must search for yourself in his complaint. Act according to the law, follow the truth and know that the wrath of God descends on those who prefer favouritism…
In addition to the king’s instructions to his minister to rule with justice and not favour anyone, he guided him on what should be taken daily. The minister began his work every morning by meeting the king and presenting him with government issues to express his opinion. From this, we see that the king was the head of the supreme thinker that ran country policy.
During the minister’s meeting with the king, the finance chief is waiting at one of the palaces. If the minister goes out, he deals with him in the affairs of the state. After that, the chief of finance enters the king and presents him the financial affairs and the shortage or excess of the state treasury (naturally, it was in the form of raw materials such as wood, vegetables, leather, fabrics, and the like).
After that, the king ordered the opening of the offices of government departments, which indicates that the king was guiding each minister on the matters that he should decide on of matters that concerned him and the ancient Egyptian state.
In addition to the King’s supervision over the Minister of Finance, he was also under the supervision and leadership of the Prime Minister, who was then considered the Prime Minister now. The texts indicated that he was constantly writing reports to the Prime Minister to inform him of the state’s general financial situation.
The position of the Prime Minister of the State in these ancient times was of great importance and prestige as the position of the Prime Minister in current times, as he was the Supreme Chief of the Judiciary. In his capacity as the Grand Judge (Sab Sebkhti), he sits in the courthouse in one of the public sessions. (Noting that the last reference for criminal matters was the king, and the last reference for civil matters was the minister).
He was also Minister of War; In this capacity, he supervised the army and the fleet; in other words, he was the supreme chief of the land and sea armies. Egypt had a great fleet written in the historical record of great victories. The minister was also the supervisor of internal affairs, and in this capacity, he was chief of the police in his area of ​​jurisdiction and governor of the capital.
Then he was finally the supervisor of agricultural affairs.
From all of the above, we see the extent of what ancient Egypt was in terms of sophistication and civility in civilization, order and organization in administrative affairs, and accuracy and skill in adjusting and disposing of matters.