Powhatan ruled over an alliance of 28-31 or more tribes that spanned all over Virginia, with its core being the Powhatan Indians and the

Pamunkey(puh MUHN kee),

Arrohateck(Arr RO huh tek),

Appamattuck(AP puh Ma tuk),

Youghtanund(YAH tan nund), and

Mattaponi(Matt ow poh NYE) Indians. It was called Tsenacomoco(seh NAH coh MOH coh). Powhatan became their chief because he inherited the role. Most of the tribes were situated along the James River, but by 1607 it covered the North of the Rappahannock to the South of the James River. To maintain his control, Powhatan frequently moved tribes around and replaced lower chiefs with more sympathetic ones. One of the highest chiefs was his own brother, and he made a habit of marrying the sisters of chiefs so they became his brothers-in-law. The English were informed about how Powhatan's men had destroyed the Chesapeake at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in the past and to retaliate, replaced the Kecoughtan(kee COWN tinn) Indians with other loyalists north of the James. Powhatan would attack some of the tribes for unknown reasons, for example, In 1608, the Piankatank(pee ANK uh tank) Indians were ambushed and attacked by Powhatan. These attacks only became known afterward because of English visits. Due to the violence of Powhatan, some anthropologists have debated that the Powhatan paramount chiefdom is better looked at as if it was an empire, even though he controlled no army.

His wealth came from what his people gave him. At meals, he was offered 80% of the harvest to choose from, and while he did not take all of it, he did take a lot. He showed his wealth in the homes he owned. They were generally larger and more lavish than any others, and they were much fancier. Powhatan owned a house in every territory, which he made royal-like processions to visit.  His bodyguards were the strongest and tallest men from the chiefdom. At night 4 of his bodyguards were stationed around his house and called out to each other at specific times. If they didn’t, they would be punished severely. Powhatan called himself mamanatowick(mah MAH nuh TOH ik), which means powerful spirits and/or shamans, meaning he may have had a spiritual component to his job. John Smith described Powhatan’s house as having animal-like carvings in it, adding to the idea of his job as a priest. The Powhatan chiefdom was one of the strongest and most well-known civilizations of Native Americans. Their legacy lives on today in Virginia.