A study of the Memphite Vizierate of Old Kingdom Egypt: The Beginnings I The Age of Ma'at I The Age of Magic

Previous research revealed that the Fifth Dynasty's use of legal titles declined in the Sixth Dynasty, and the reason for that decline was researched in this study. When selected titles of Old Kingdom Viziers were grouped, they identified how the reforms of the kings affected the structure of the Vizierate of the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Dynasties. The interactions between ranks and titles across these dynasties revealed the reforms of the kings in the Vizierate structure. A simple Vizierate structure of the Fourth Dynasty showed three functional groups of royal Viziers, equally ranked and distinguished by zA nswt titles and the phallus symbol. The gradual transition of the Vizierate from royal holders of the office to non-royals, with the non-royals initially identified as the foster child of the king, was discerned in the early Fifth Dynasty. The introduction of legal titles and a standardised ranking system defined the hierarchical structure of the Fifth Dynasty, with the ranking of the overseers of Upper Egypt differing from the other Viziers of that Dynasty. The Sixth Dynasty Vizierate structure and its focus varied vastly from that of the Fifth Dynasty as a result of the introduction of the pyramid texts.