Ancient Egypt was not built by the pharaohs, it was built by the ancient Egyptians. A pharaoh was considered the emperor or king (when did a king build anything or did more than giving orders?). Also a pharaoh means son of God (that was used to control the people by making them believe that a pharaoh is superior; from a religious perspective that’s wrong anyways). Dynasties of pharaohs have ruled over Egypt for thousands of years; they perished because of how abusive they were as well as because of their disbelief. 

If you study the Egyptian history, you will find it obvious that the Egyptian people changed culture according to their governors and under a good government, they can address their skills to excel when motivated by their beliefs.