How was the Social Organization of Egypt?

It was an empire that developed on the banks of the Nile River over almost three thousand years. For such a long period of time the Social organization of Egypt achieved the creation of a brilliant civilization whose main characteristics endured with little change through the centuries.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF EGYPT

Social Organization of Egypt

The ancient Egyptian civilization arose mainly because of its immense ability to adapt to the harsh conditions of the Nile River Valley and Delta. Taking advantage of the annual floods that fertilized the soil with fertile silt, an efficient irrigation system for agriculture was created, which allowed the production in excessive quantities of grain crops, thus ensuring social and cultural progress.

An efficient administration that concentrated power over human and material resources allowed the creation of a complex network of canals, the formation of a regular army, the expansion of trade, and the gradual development of mining, field geodesy, and construction technologies that made possible organize the collective construction of monumental structures.

The compelling and organizing force of Ancient Egypt was a well-developed state apparatus, composed of priests, scribes, and administrators, headed by a pharaoh, often built on a complex religious belief system with a developed cult of funerary rites.

The social organization of ancient Egypt was headed by the pharaoh who, together with the royal family, was the axis of all activities and concentrated absolute power; below the pharaoh was the priestly class that played an important role within the social structure; below are the officials and the administrative body, later the military class together with the merchants and artisans, below the peasants and finally the slaves.

The Pharaoh

The term pharaoh comes from the word per-aâ which in the ancient Egyptian language means "great house", and is used to designate the kings and queens who ruled ancient Egypt for more than three millennia. The names of three hundred and forty-five pharaohs are known from multiple attestations, including royal lists compiled by Egyptian scribes. Within the social organization of Egypt, the pharaoh exercised absolute power, commanded the army, set taxes, judged criminals, and controlled the temples.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF EGYPT

From the first dynasties the pharaohs were considered divine beings and were identified with the god Horus, from the fifth dynasty they were also considered "sons of the god Ra". After his death, the pharaoh merged with the god Osiris, acquired immortality, and was then venerated as another god in the temples. The Egyptians believed that their pharaoh was a living god. Only he could unify the country and maintain the cosmic order or Maat.

According to the concepts of royal ideology, the nature of the pharaoh is twofold: human and divine. This divine notion of the pharaoh evolved over time. In the Old Kingdom (2686 to 2181 BC) like the sun god Ra, of whom he was the son, the pharaoh was in charge of maintaining order. Under the Middle Kingdom (2050 to 1750 BC) the pharaoh approaches the subjects being chosen by the god Ra and serving as mediator. In the New Kingdom (1550 to 1070 BC) the pharaoh is the seed of god, his fleshly son.

From the Pyramid Texts, the religious functions of the sovereign are framed in a single maxim: «Bring Maat and push back Isefet», this means being a promoter of harmony and pushing back chaos. The pharaoh ensures the prosperity of the kingdom by interceding with the gods to regulate the waters of the Nile River.

The Egyptians never supposed that the Pharaoh could control the flood phenomenon as a god. His role is minor and he limits himself to obtaining the benevolence of the divinities, ensuring the regularity and abundance of water through offerings of worship. Cooperation between Pharaoh and the gods is a matter of mutual survival. In the temples, the supply of altars depends on the floods, and is granted only on the condition of generous and regular service.

The pharaoh had the power to be the supreme head of the armies and appoint the generals. In many fresh reliefs and papyri the pharaoh is shown triumphant over his enemies, this is seen as a display of megalomania, self-centeredness and despotism. The pharaoh is also the supreme judge, he established the courts of justice, dictated and sanctioned laws, promulgated royal decrees for the appointment of officials, promotions, substitutions, announcements of reward, etc.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF EGYPT

For the maintenance of the established social order it was very important that the pharaoh ensured the succession of his power. That is why he had several wives, but only one of them was considered a queen who received the name of Great Royal Wife. If the queen died, the pharaoh chose another one of his other women. A common practice among pharaohs was to marry their own sisters, and even their own daughters, just as the gods married their own family. This was done to strengthen the purity of the royal blood.

The royalty

The nobility in the social organization of Egypt was represented by the pharaoh's family, high government officials, and wealthy landlords. Among the most prominent positions that were part of the Egyptian nobility was that of the vizier. The importance of the vizier was highlighted during the fourth dynasty, although it is known that the existence of this position is much earlier. The vizier is the head of all the executive power, who directs the greats of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, is the supreme judge and is in charge of the work ordered by the pharaoh.

The vizier is the head of the central administration, deals with justice, but his main task is the administration of the treasury and agriculture. The vizier represents the position of the prime minister and his authority was only surpassed by that of the pharaoh who delegated several of his functions to him.

Another of the important functions of the vizier was to govern the country during the seventy days of mourning that followed the death of the pharaoh; he was also the one in charge of supervising the funeral banquet and the musical accompaniment. And finally, he was the one who had the power to actually appoint the pharaoh's heir.

A position that was part of the nobility within the social organization of Egypt was that of nomarch. The nomarchs were high-ranking officials who were in charge of the government of a province or nome. The monarch was the supreme head of the local administration in Ancient Egypt, responsible for irrigation, agricultural output, and also for collecting taxes and setting property boundaries after the annual flooding of the Nile, and was responsible for the management warehouses and barns.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF EGYPT

In the provinces, the monarch acted as a delegate of the pharaoh assuming legal, military and religious responsibilities. They were also the directors of the clergy of the province they directed, intervening both in the administration of the temple and in the exercise of effective worship of the divinity involved, positions whose implementation is based on the regular provision of altars dedicated to the deity. .

Military power

Those who exercised military power were also part of the nobility in the social organization of Egypt. After the war with the Hyksos, in the Second Intermediate Period (1786-1552 BC), an administrative reform took place in which a permanent army was created. Until then, in Egypt there was no army, but a series of "expeditions" were created to go to war. With the creation of this permanent army, the figure of the Commander of the armies appears.

The supreme chief of the army is the pharaoh and the pharaoh's family directed the different army headquarters, even the army chiefs could be the sons of the pharaoh. Generals and intermediate officers belonged to the nobility. The “Supervisor of the soldiers” was the general and below him there were: “Commanders of the recruits”, “Commander of the shock troops”, etc. The officers carried a long baton, to distinguish themselves from the other soldiers.

The priestly caste

The regime that dominated ancient Egypt was theocratic. In fact the sovereign was considered a god. As a god he had the ultimate responsibility for maintaining divine order in the empire. However, it is necessary for the pharaoh to delegate other officials who can assume their functions in all the ceremonies that are celebrated in the numerous temples of Egypt. This was the birth of the priestly class within the social organization of Egypt.

Thus the pharaoh appointed a group of priests, some of whom could be members of his family, who had large tracts of land in their power. The priests were characterized by their wisdom, their main task being the administration of the temples and the attention of their divinities to interpret their wishes and fulfill them.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF EGYPT

The pontiff, called Shem, was at the top of the priestly hierarchy. The pontiff was a highly educated man, usually one of the elders of the temple, endowed with considerable administrative ability and political skill. Among his responsibilities was the proper functioning of the temple and his heritage, in addition he had to officiate all the solemn ceremonies. This authority is normally recruited from among the ranks of the clergy, although it was the pharaoh's prerogative to appoint whomever he preferred to these positions.

One of the functions, perhaps the most important of the priests, was the custody of the sacred statues or "oracles". Among the priests, a select minority had the privilege of entering the "holiest" of each temple to attend to the care of the oracle.

The priestly class had great power and autonomy since each temple was generally provided with enough land to guarantee its livelihood through the crops and livestock it leased to the peasants. The priests had the obligation to impart the education of the princes, nobles and future officials.

The education that the priests gave to the pharaohs or nobles in the temples was very complex, since in the teaching of writing it included other disciplines, apart from the precise skill of pen drawing, since geography, mathematics, grammar, etc. sacred texts, foreign languages, drawing, commercial correspondence and diplomacy, etc., which enabled access to the most disparate jobs.

Scribes

The scribes supported the nobles in their functions. These officials belonging to the social organization of Egypt were characterized by being able to read, write and be good calculators, having to study for more than five years, therefore they were highly educated people who served as secretaries to the pharaoh. They administered the country, watched the constructions and collected the taxes. Its specific function consisted of transcribing orders, recording and keeping track of all economic activities.

The Egyptian scribe used to come from the lower class, but he was intelligent and educated. He was well acquainted with the legal and commercial documents of the time, and prepared them by dictation or in other ways, a job for which he was paid.

Traders and Merchants

These members of the social organization of Egypt were dedicated to the purchase and sale of all kinds of products from the most basic foods, such as cereals, vegetables, fruits, etc. to the finest and most luxurious brought from distant lands and sold to the nobility. and even the pharaoh himself and his family.

Some merchants had their own establishment, while others traded in the market places and bazaars of the cities. Some had fleets of ships that sailed the distant seas in search of valuable merchandise from distant countries. Others traveled the extensive land trade routes of the ancient world.

Artisans

They were the people in charge of making with their hands a very diverse series of objects from the most necessary and utilitarian ones such as crockery to round sculptures, frescoes or bas-reliefs. Egyptian artisans will work in two types of workshops: the official workshops, which are around the palaces and temples and is where the great artists and works are trained, and the private workshops, intended for clients who are not related or with the monarchy or with religion.

peasants

The peasants were the largest group, and they lived in small adobe huts, along with their beasts, on the banks of the Nile River. Their lives were dedicated to agricultural tasks, being constantly watched by the pharaoh's officials. The fruits of the harvests obtained were divided into two parts: one for them, and another that is deposited in the warehouses of the pharaohs to feed the royal officials Peasants constituted eighty percent of the Egyptian population.

Most of the peasants worked in the fields producing crops, while others worked as servants in the houses of wealthy nobles. During the flood season, which lasted about three months, the peasants used to work on large construction projects for the government.

Slaves

In Egypt there was slavery, but not in the classical sense of the word. The "forced" serfs had legal rights, received salary and could even be promoted. Mistreatment was not frequent, and when it did occur, the slave had the right to claim in court, but only if the punishment had been unfair. To serve in the best families there were even volunteers. Sometimes bankrupt people sold themselves to well-off families.

Slaves assigned to domestic service could consider themselves lucky. In addition to room and board, their owner was required to supply them with a number of cloths, oils, and clothing.

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