Royal sealer (Ancient Egypt)

The royal sealer, also called royal seal-bearer, (Ancient Egyptian: ḫtmty-bỉty) was an Ancient Egyptian official position and title. The name literally means "sealer of the king of Lower Egypt," but it seems unlikely that the position was ever geographically limited. In the Early Dynastic period and Old Kingdom, it was one of the most important positions in Egypt. The bearer seems to have headed the treasury and had significant symbolic power as an official representative of the Pharaoh. As a "ranking title," it indicated the bearer's pre-eminence in court. In the late Middle Kingdom, it was revived as a ranking title borne by many of the highest officials in the court. This apparently coincided with an increased prominence of seals in the Egyptian administration, as part of a centralisation of the bureaucracy. The title spread more widely in the Second Intermediate period, diluting its power.