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Palaces
Palaces, like houses, were built of mud brick and
fragile materials, and consequently only a few examples have
survived. These include the palaces of Sethos I at Abydos, Ramesses
II at Qantir, Merenptah at Memphis, and Amenhotep III at Malkata,
Thebes. The palaces at Tell el-Amarna are the ones that provide the
most complete source of evidence, since there was only one level of
occupation at this site.
The kings each had several palaces in different parts of the country that they visited regularly. Some palaces were built near temples such as those of Ramesses II and Ramesses III on the west bank at Thebes. The palace of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu features a towerlike structure uncharacteristically built of stone, which has ensured that this part has survived while the remainder of the mud brick palace has not. This residence was known as the “Pavilion of Medinet Habu.” The king’s palace was called per-aa, meaning “great house,” and this was also the title used for the ruler himself pharaoh from the New Kingdom onward. The main palace had a double function: It was the king’s residence and also the administrative headquarters of the government. These buildings were very large with many rooms and were divided into two main sections. The outer wide walled enclosure contained the state rooms including corridors, courts, and porticos, while the inner area, a narrow and elaborately decorated building that lay at the back of the enclosure, housed the king’s apartment, chambers belonging to the royal family, and the harem. A main door and two side doors led into the antechamber of the state apartments. Above this was a wide, open balcony (known as the Window of Appearances) that overlooked the street where the king and his family showed themselves to the people. The balcony was lavishly decorated with gold, lapis lazuli, and malachite and provided a place from which the king could inspect the tribute piled up below and the slaves who were paraded before him. It was also the place where he could hand out honors and collars to favorite courtiers as a mark of recognition for their services and achievements. Behind the three antechambers were the staterooms. In the Broad Hall, which featured many columns, the king held his council meetings and had audiences with the chief government officials. There was also the King’s Room, where access was allowed only to his sons, close friends, and the governor of the palace the lord chamberlain a prince or close personal servant of the king who controlled the royal residence. A feature of both palaces and houses in Egypt was the inclusion of an area that we designate as a “harem.” This special part of the master’s house, however, was not a place of restriction. It was an area reserved for the women where they carried out their own activities and undertook the early education of their children. In addition to the harem there were dining halls, bedrooms, and a kitchen. There were also royal residence towns, visited periodically by the king, where queens and other women lived; these towns are known to have existed at Memphis and Gurob (in the Fayoum, where the king went for hunting), among other places. (At Gurob the women and their female servants produced high-quality textiles, including the royal garments, on a large scale.) These considerable communities were administered by a male bureaucracy that included a director, scribes, tax collectors, traders, and guards. Colorful, attractive wall decorations and elegant furnishings lent both sophistication and comfort to the royal homes. The state apartments, with their columned halls, would have provided impressive settings for audiences with the king. It was regarded as a great honor to enter the god-king’s presence, and people who had this privilege recorded the fact with considerable pride in their tomb inscriptions. Etiquette before the king was strictly observed. There was a particular order in which these men were allowed to approach the king; this order was jealously guarded by the officials who presented them. In earlier periods the nobles kissed the ground in front of the king when they approached him. In the New Kingdom they simply bowed, with their hands held at their sides or raised in acclamation. Servants, however, continued to kiss the ground whenever they saw the king. In this period the councillors also addressed their ruler with an introductory eulogy when they discussed business with him. The palaces, with their impressive chambers, would have been appropriate settings for such formal audiences. .
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Palaces
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