Money and Taxes

Except for the use of gold, some silver, and other metals such as copper and bronze, whose value was determined by weight, there was no money in ancient Egypt.7 Payment for work on the huge building projects was in the form of rations and goods distributed by the government. Buying and selling between ordinary individuals and traders was mainly by barter. A jar of fat and lumps of metal

Discover Ancient Egypt

The kings of the first two dynasties of the Old Kingdom established the basic form of central government rule by an absolute king that lasted throughout the history of ancient Egypt. “Pharaoh” meaning “king,” came into use in the late New Kingdom. Before that, it referred to the “great house” of the king.1

Menes, the first king of Egypt, unified Upper and Lower Egypt. Unification came about through domination of Lower Egypt by Upper Egypt. Upon unification, Memphis became the capital city for all of Egypt. Memphis remained one of the capital cities throughout the rest of ancient Egypt’s history.

King Merenre of the Sixth dynasty sent expeditions into Syria and Palestine. He also expanded Egypt’s rule into northern Nubia to the south of the Third Cataract. Otherwise the Old Kingdom remained mostly at peace.

The reign of Pepi II, the last king of the Old Kingdom, lasted from fifty to seventy years. The growth of the number of governors, or nomarchs, during this period was significant.