Horemheb, the first to develop legislation & laws to regulate public life in history

CAIRO - 7 June 2020: Pharaoh and military commander Horemheb was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty in ancient Egypt.

Not much is known about the background of Horemheb, but he was the commander in chief of the army of King Akhenaten.

According to Hussain Abdel Bassir’s book "The Pharaohs of War", the importance of Horemheb was highlighted during the reign of the young pharaoh, King Tutankhamun, as he appeared as a military commander at the side of the king in his cemetery which was built by Horemheb in the Saqqara region before he became the ruler of Egypt. He played the role of the external royal spokesman for Egypt.

Horemheb personally led a diplomatic mission to visit the Nubia governor. Accordingly, the visit of Nubia’s ruler to King Tutankhamun took place.

Horemheb [Left] with Horus - ET
Moreover, Horemheb rose in importance during the reign of Tutankhamun, and became the commander in chief of the army and a consultant to the Pharaoh in foreign affairs.

Tutankhamun appointed two ministers, the divine father Ay and the military commander and great general Horemheb.

King Ay received the reins of power for a short period, before the arrival of his archenemy and his competitor General Horemheb, who in his reign had systematically destroyed most of the effects of the reign of Tutankhamun and King Ay.

"The Pharaohs of War," explained that Hormoheb restored stability to Egypt after a period of chaos. He struck with an iron fist at all the corruption that prevailed in the Egyptian state at the time.

King Horemheb was the first to develop legislation and laws to regulate public life in history.

He was interested in issuing laws that regulate the relationship between the individuals and the ruling authority. Horemheb began a comprehensive series of internal reforms to prevent abuse of power. He destroyed the privileges that were in the hands of a few officials, which prevailed during Akhenaten’s reign. He also restored centralization and prestige to the state.

Also, when Horemheb took over, he restored discipline to the government administration, appointed judges and restored the local religious authorities. Horemheb divided the rule of Upper Egypt and the Delta between the ministers of Thebes and Menf, respectively.

The book added that Akhenaten's policies had caused Egypt to lose its empirical power that was founded by the great kings Thutmose I and Thutmose III.

Furthermore, Horemheb restored Egypt's prestige abroad, and chose army companion, Minister Ramses (King Ramses I after this), as his successor to the throne.

Abdel Bassir indicated in his book that Horemheb was a military pharaoh of the highest level, who came to the rule of Egypt after the turbulent era of Amarna, and that of Akhenaten and his successors.

According to Abdel Bassir, Horemheb restored stability in the country, opening a new page of glory in the history of ancient Egypt by choosing his military leader, Ramses I, to succeed him in the throne of Egypt.