The vizier () was the highest official in
ancient Egypt to serve the
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
(king) during the
Old,
Middle, and
New Kingdoms.
Vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian , etc., among
Egyptologists
This is a partial list of Egyptologists. An Egyptologist is any archaeologist, historian, linguist, or art historian who specializes in Egyptology, the scientific study of Ancient Egypt and its antiquities. Demotists are Egyptologists who special ...
. The ''Instruction of Rekhmire'' (''
Installation of the Vizier The Installation of the vizier, alt. Instruction of Rekhmire, Regulation laid upon the vizier Rekhmire, is an ancient Egyptian text dating to the New Kingdom found in Rekhmire's tomb at Thebes. It describes the office of the Egyptian vizier, his ...
''), a New Kingdom text, defines many of the duties of the , and lays down codes of behavior. The viziers were often appointed by the pharaoh. During the
4th Dynasty and early
5th Dynasty, viziers were exclusively drawn from the royal family; from the period around the reign of
Neferirkare Kakai
Neferirkare Kakai (known in Greek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he ...
onwards, they were chosen according to loyalty and talent or inherited the position from their fathers.
Responsibilities
The viziers were appointed by the
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
s and often belonged to a pharaoh's family. The vizier's paramount duty was to supervise the running of the country, much like a
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
. At times this included small details such as sampling the city's water supply. All other lesser supervisors and officials, such as
tax collectors
A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern ...
and
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
s, reported to the vizier. The judiciary was part of the civil administration, and the vizier also sat in the High Court. At any time, the pharaoh could exert his own control over any aspect of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
, overriding the vizier's decisions. The vizier also supervised the security of the pharaoh and the palace by overseeing the comings and goings of palace visitors. The viziers often acted as the pharaoh's seal bearer as well, and the vizier would record trade. From the Fifth Dynasty onwards, viziers, who by then were the highest civilian bureaucratic official, held supreme responsibility for the administration of the palace and government, including jurisdiction, scribes, state archives, central granaries, treasury, storage of surplus products and their redistribution, and supervision of building projects such as the royal pyramid. In the New Kingdom, there was a vizier for
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient ...
and
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...
each.
[Jane Bingham, Fiona Chandler, Jane Chisholm, Gill Harvey, Lisa Miles,Struan Reid, and Sam Taplin "The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of the Ancient World" page 80 ]
Installation of the Vizier
According to the
Installation of the Vizier The Installation of the vizier, alt. Instruction of Rekhmire, Regulation laid upon the vizier Rekhmire, is an ancient Egyptian text dating to the New Kingdom found in Rekhmire's tomb at Thebes. It describes the office of the Egyptian vizier, his ...
, a New Kingdom document describing the office of the vizier, there were certain traits and behaviors that were required to be a vizier:
*Act by the law
*Judge fairly
*Do not act willfully or headstrong
List of viziers
Early Dynastic period
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period
New Kingdom
Third Intermediate Period
Late Period
See also
*
Vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
*
Shogun
References
External links
The vizierate
{{Ancient Egyptian royal titulary
Ancient Egyptian titles
Noble titles
Positions of authority