Pharaoh

"Pharaoh" was the term used for the ultimate ruler of the empire of Mulhorand, considered a physical incarnation of Horus-Re himself to that nation's people. The title was also used in the land of Raurin for the leaders of Bakar, though without any connection to Horus.

The Mulhorandi pharaoh's family members were considered incarnations, lesser avatars, of the other gods of the Mulhorandi pantheon; the firstborn son was also an incarnation of Horus-Re, such that the title of pharaoh could be passed down to him.

Requirements
All of Mulhorand's pharaohs were required to be male. They were expected to be members of the House of Helcaliant, the priestly House of Horus-Re, and thus descendants of an incarnation of the god.

Responsibilities
The pharaoh of Mulhorand ruled from his throne in the city of Skuld. While the most powerful individual in Mulhorand in name, most pharaohs allowed the priests to determine most of its policies. The official second-in-command under the pharaoh was the vizier, who was one of the priests.

When a new pharaoh took the throne, typically, a census would be his first act.

Burial
In both the nations of Bakar and Mulhorand, pharaohs were buried in elaborate tombs. In both nations, it was believed by the populace that the bodies of their pharaohs were prepared for a journey into the afterlife, as if a continuation of life rather than an end.

In Mulhorand, a pharaoh's family was traditionally buried with them and their tombs were situated in the Land of the Dead, part of the valley Asanibis on the edge of the Dragonsword Mountains, near the small town of Mishtan. The construction of these were overseen by the Osiran clergy that governed Mishtan. Being the "Guardian of the Dead" in Mulhorandi faith, dedicated shrines to Osiris were typically placed within these tombs.

History
Long after the kingdom of Bakar had fallen to ruin, legends of its pharaohs still circulated in the Raurin Desert. According to some, the pharaohs of Bakar were evil, while others claimed they were largely benevolent rulers.

The only pharaohs in the history of Mulhorand who were not an incarnation of Horus-Re were two incarnations of Thoth who ruled for a short time after the loss of Thay. This period of Mulhorand's history lasted from 922 DR to 955 DR.

Following the Time of Troubles, the overgod Ao finally dispersed the magical barrier that separated the Mulhorandi gods' manifestations from their divine essence in the Outer Planes. As a result of their reunion, the then-pharaoh Horustep III and all his family members lost the fragments of divinity that were previously within them, reducing them to mere mortals with divine lineage.

Notable Pharaohs

 * Amun-Re, the last pharaoh of Bakar.
 * Horusret I, the first pharaoh of Mulhorand. His reign lasted from -1045 DR to -926 DR.
 * Akonhorus II, pharaoh in 1320 DR
 * Horuseres II, the fifth pharaoh and the one whose tomb was the greatest of any other pharaoh.
 * Horustep III, the sixteenth pharaoh of Mulhorand and the first to be a mortal rather than an incarnation of a god.
 * Ramenhorus III, the twelfth pharaoh of Mulhorand. His reign lasted from 955 DR to 1098 DR, dying from the forces of Thay in their first attempted invasion.
 * Thothibistep I, the ninth pharaoh of Mulhorand and the first to be the physical incarnation of a god other than Horus-Re.
 * Thothibistep II, the tenth pharaoh of Mulhorand and the second to last pharaoh to be an incarnation of the god Thoth.