Nomarch

A nomarch in ancient Egypt was a provincial governor, the regional authority over one of the 40 or so nomes (Egyptian: sepat) into which the country was divided.

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The position of the nomarch was at times hereditary, while at others they were appointed by the pharaoh. The balance of power between nomarchs and the central government varied from one pharaoh's rule to the next.

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Generally, when the national government was stronger, nomarchs were appointed governors.

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But when the central government was weaker – at times of foreign invasion or civil war, for example – individual nomes would assert themselves and establish hereditary lines of succession.

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Conflicts between these different hereditary nomarchies were common during, for example, the First Intermediate Period –

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a time that saw a breakdown in central authority lasting from the sixth and eleventh dynasties, until one of the local rulers was able once again to assert control over the entire country as pharaoh.

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Ancient Egypt: Ancient Egypt as a general historical term broadly refers to the civilization of the Lower Nile Valley, between the First Cataract and the mouths of the Nile Delta, from circa 3200 BC until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation, it is the quintessential...

Nomes: redirect Nome...

Egyptian: The term Egyptian can refer to:...