Divine Kingship
The king’s role originally developed out of the
de facto custom in predynastic Egypt that the most powerful of the
tribal leaders became the leader of the country. By the Archaic
Period when he took up residence at Memphis and the political
structure began to be established, the king was already regarded as
an absolute monarch, identified with the royal hawk god, Horus.
Each ruler was believed to be the god’s earthly embodiment and carried the title of Horus during his lifetime. When he died, he handed on this title to his successor. The concept that the country was ruled by a god-king was central to Egypt’s political and religious development. Every king was believed to be the offspring of the chief state god, and this unique origin was thought to endow him with special qualities to enable him to exercise the kingship. It allowed him to mediate between the gods and men and to perform the rituals for the gods in the temples. It also separated the king from his subjects, not only in his lifetime but also after death when, at least in the Old Kingdom, he alone could expect to experience an individual eternity. At that time, and even later when concepts of immortality had become more democratic, the king was expected to spend his afterlife in a different set of circumstances from those experienced by his subjects: He encircled the heavens, sailing in the divine bark in the company of the gods. Also, because of his divinity, the king was believed to own Egypt, its resources, and its people and, at least in theory, he had the freedom to dispose of them as he wished. However, in principle, even the king was subject to Ma‘at, the goddess of truth, in reaching his decisions and taking action, and he had to obey the principles of balance and order that she personified. In reality, he usually acted upon the advice of his counselors and administrators. The concept of the god-king is most clearly defined in the Old Kingdom when it was emphasized in the burial customs the king rested in his pyramid while his subjects were placed in tombs and graves. The relationship between the kings and the gods was never entirely comfortable, and the chief god and his priesthood always presented a threat to royal supremacy. When the kingship was strong this was less apparent, but even when the kings were powerful and successful, as in early Dynasty 18 when they presented the god Amen-Re with booty from the military campaigns, their actions were ultimately increasing the god’s wealth and influence at their own cost. The landmarks in the relationship between the king and the gods give some indication of the power struggles and the actions that both sides took in order to gain advantage. Although the king was omnipotent in the early Old Kingdom, he took the additional title of “Son of Re” in Dynasty 2, indicating that his relationship with the sun god was already becoming filial rather than one of equal partners. By Dynasty 5, when the priests of Re may have helped to place that line of kings on the throne, it is clear that the cult of Re became preeminent, and the kings ceased to prepare well-constructed pyramids for themselves but instead channeled their resources into building sun temples for the god’s worship. In the Middle Kingdom, when there was democratization of religious beliefs and customs and Osiris achieved widespread acclaim, the new rulers replaced Re (the royal patron deity of the Old Kingdom) with Osiris. This god was featured in the Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom), supporting the king’s personal resurrection. These kings may have given Osiris royal patronage then in order to counterbalance the power of the priests of Re. In the Middle Kingdom, however, Osiris became the supreme royal god, closely associated with the divine rituals performed at the kings’s accession and coronation, and whereas the living king was regarded as the incarnation of Horus at death he now became Osiris, god and judge of the underworld. By the New Kingdom when Amen-Re (Amun) had been elevated as chief god of the state, the early Theban kings honored their god with campaign booty and a magnificent temple at Karnak. Because the high priest of Amun had the power to approve the royal heir on behalf of the god, he had direct control over the kingship. Toward the end of Dynasty 18, Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) introduced a monotheistic cult centered around the Aten (sun’s disk), perhaps in the hope of destroying the priests’ power (the cults of all other deities were terminated and their priesthoods disbanded). He and his immediate predecessors took their principal wives from outside the royal family. The experiment was a failure, and the traditional gods and their priesthoods were restored. In Dynasty 21 a line of high priests of Amun gained virtual autonomy in the south, although they acknowledged the nominal supremacy of the dynastic kings who now ruled from the north. In effect, however, the country was split and the two lines had their own mutually recognized rights of succession. In Dynasty 21, a new role was introduced for the Divine Wife of Amun. Originally this title had been borne by the principal queen, but now it was the king’s daughter who assumed this position with its extensive power and possessions. She was required to live at Thebes, the cult center of Amun, where she had great power and endowments; in many respects her status equaled that of her father. Her influence was limited to the Theban area, however, and as the god’s wife, she was forbidden to take a human husband. Her court was also subject to the rule of chastity since these women were Amun’s concubines. By the start of Dynasty 25, this position had become an instrument of great political power. It allowed the king to keep control over Thebes through his daughter’s status there. Each divine wife adopted as her successor the daughter of the next king. Their main function was to prevent seizure of political power at Thebes by a man who could threaten the king’s supremacy, and they prevented any repetition of the division of the kingdom. The use of this role and title became another royal attempt to limit the political aspirations of the priesthood. .
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Divine Kingship
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