Imagine what it must have been like to be an ancient king of Egypt. You have total and absolute power over everyone and everything! The crops grown by farmers, the crafts created by artisans, and the lands conquered by soldiers all belong to you. All the wealth of the country is yours! If you want an impressive temple built in your name, just give the order and your people will build it. You (and everyone else) believe that Ra, the falcon-headed god of the sun, is your father- so you are a god, too! Mere humans have to kneel with their foreheads on the floor to show their respect to you. Because you are a god, they are forbidden to talk to you or even say your name. So instead of addressing you directly, they have to call you pharaoh, which means "the great palace." That way, they are referring to your grand home instead of your person. From the moment you become pharaoh, planning and construction on your burial tomb begins. As a god, you'll need special accommodations for the inevitable day when you go on to join with Osiris, the god of the afterlife. There is a downside to being a pharaoh, though. Since no one outside your family has divine royal blood, you'll have to marry one of your sisters. Yuck!
After a pharaoh died, his oldest son would inherit the position. But what if he didn't have any sons? This wasn't usually a problem since pharaohs had many wives, who bore many children. In fact, Ramses II had over 100 children! The throne would be handed down throughout the family, generation after generation.
There were exceptions, though. A dynasty (family of rulers) could end if a pharaoh had no male heirs to inherit his throne. Or a rival could conquer a reigning pharaoh and establish himself as the new king. Even foreign invaders could come in and take the throne. In all, Egypt had 31 dynasties until the Greeks took over in 332 BC. The Greeks ruled as pharaohs, blending their culture with that of Egypt.
Historians divide Egypt's history into several major time periods, where particular events mark the end of one period or the beginning of the next. Most dates are approximate and may vary from one source to another:
Predynastic Period (5200 BC to 3100 BC): First settlers of the Nile Valley hunt and fish, later switch to farming.
Archaic Period (3100 BC to 2700 BC): Many kings rule the several districts
Ancient Greeks and Roman historians recorded that during the siege of Syracuse in 212 BC, Archimedes constructed a burning glass to set the enemy Roman warships on fire. They call this contraption the death ray.
Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government whose main purpose is to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions in order to strengthen its financial sector. It was signed by President George W. Bush on October 3.
The early school of psychology known as functionalism was developed by James. William James was a psychologist known as the 'father' of functionalism, which is another branch of theory of consciousness. According to functionalism, we store new information daily, and acquire skills, which we may alter and modify depending on the situation, if we want to make our lives easier.
