Pharaoh

Pharaoh
/fair"oh, far"oh, fay"roh/, n.
1. a title of an ancient Egyptian king.
2. (l.c.) any person who uses power or authority to oppress others; tyrant.
[bef. 900; ME Pharao, OE Pharaon < L pharao < Gk pharaó (s. pharaon-) < Heb phar'oh < Egyptian pr house + " great; orig. a designation for the palace, but used to refer to the king from the time of Akhenaton (14th cent. B.C.); -h restored from Heb]

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Epithet applied to Egyptian kings from с 1500 to 343 BC.

The term later evolved into a generic term for all ancient Egyptian kings. Pharaohs were regarded as gods, retaining their divine status even after death. A pharaoh's will was supreme, and he governed by royal decree, with the assistance of viziers. The common people nevertheless judged a pharaoh by his deeds; many were criticized, plotted against, and even deposed and killed. See also Akhenaton; Amenemhet I; Amenhotep II; Amenhotep III; Ramses II; Thutmose III; Tutankhamen.

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▪ Egyptian king
 (from Egyptian per ʿaa, “great house”), originally, the royal palace in ancient Egypt (Egypt, ancient); the word came to be used as a synonym for the Egyptian king under the New Kingdom (Egypt, ancient) (starting in the 18th dynasty (Egypt, ancient), 1539–1292 BCE), and by the 22nd dynasty (Egypt, ancient) (c. 945–c. 730 BCE) it had been adopted as an epithet of respect. The term has since evolved into a generic name for all ancient Egyptian kings, although it was never formally the king's title. In official documents, the full title of the Egyptian king consisted of five names, each preceded by one of the following titles: Horus, Two Ladies, Golden Horus, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Son of Re. The last name was given to him at birth, the others at coronation.

      The Egyptians believed their pharaoh to be the mediator between the gods and the world of men. After death the pharaoh became divine, identified with Osiris, the father of Horus and god of the dead, and passed on his sacred powers and position to the new pharaoh, his son. The pharaoh's divine status was portrayed in allegorical terms: his uraeus (the snake on his crown) spat flames at his enemies; he was able to trample thousands of the enemy on the battlefield; and he was all-powerful, knowing everything and controlling nature and fertility.

      As a divine ruler, the pharaoh was the preserver of the god-given order, called Maat. He owned a large portion of Egypt's land and directed its use, was responsible for his people's economic and spiritual welfare, and dispensed justice to his subjects. His will was supreme, and he governed by royal decree. To govern fairly, though, the pharaoh had to delegate responsibility; his chief assistant was the vizier, who, among other duties, was chief justice, head of the treasury, and overseer of all records. Below this central authority, the royal will of the pharaoh was administered through the nomes (nome), or provinces, into which Upper (Upper Egypt) and Lower Egypt were divided.

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  • Pharaoh — Pha raoh, n. [Heb. par[=o]h; of Egyptian origin: cf. L. pharao, Gr. ?. Cf. {Faro}.] 1. A title by which the sovereigns of ancient Egypt were designated. [1913 Webster] 2. See {Faro}. [1913 Webster] {Pharaoh s chicken} (Zo[ o]l.), the gier eagle,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pharaoh's — pharaoh s; Pharaoh s; …   English syllables

  • pharaoh — title of the kings of ancient Egypt, O.E. Pharon, from L. Pharaonem, from Gk. Pharao, from Heb. Par oh, from Egyptian Pero , lit. great house …   Etymology dictionary

  • pharaoh — an ancient Egyptian king, is spelt aoh, not oah …   Modern English usage

  • pharaoh — ► NOUN ▪ a ruler in ancient Egypt. DERIVATIVES pharaonic adjective. ORIGIN Greek Phara , from an Egyptian word meaning great house …   English terms dictionary

  • Pharaoh — [far′ō, fer′ō, fā′rō΄] n. [ME Pharaon < OE < LL(Ec) Pharao (gen. Pharaonis) < LGr Pharaō < Heb paro < Egypt pr ʿʾ, great house: cf. Coptic prro, pouro] [sometimes p ] the title of the kings of ancient Egypt: often used as a proper… …   English World dictionary

  • PHARAOH — The Egyptian expression per aʿo ( the Great House ), transcribed and vocalized pirʿu in Akkadian and parʿo in Hebrew, did not originally designate the king of Egypt, but rather his palace, and was used in this sense in Egyptian texts until the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Pharaoh — For other uses, see Pharaoh (disambiguation). After Djoser of the third dynasty, pharaohs usually were depicted wearing the Nemes headdress, a false beard, and an ornate kilt …   Wikipedia

  • Pharaoh —    The official title borne by the Egyptian kings down to the time when that country was conquered by the Greeks. (See Egypt.) The name is a compound, as some think, of the words Ra, the sun or sun god, and the article phe, the, prefixed; hence… …   Easton's Bible Dictionary

  • Pharaoh — Стиль этой статьи неэнциклопедичен или нарушает нормы русского языка. Статью следует исправить согласно стилистическим правилам Википедии …   Википедия

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