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Ancient Egyptian society was strictly divided into hierarchies, with kings at the top, then ministers, members of the court, priests and scribes, regional governors (eventually called "nomads"), army generals (during the New Kingdom, circa 1570 BC to about 1069 BC), artists and craftsmen, government supervisors (supervisors) at construction sites, peasants, and slaves.
Social mobility was not encouraged and was not observed for most of Egypt's history, as it was believed that the gods had promulgated the most perfect social order, which was consistent with the culture's core value ma'at (harmony and balance). The Ma'at was the universal law that allowed the world to function properly, and the social hierarchy of ancient Egypt was thought to reflect this principle.
It is believed that the gods had given them everything they needed, placed them on the most perfect land on earth, and then placed the king above them as an intermediary between mortals and the divine realm. The ruler's primary responsibility is to maintain stability, and when this is done, all the other obligations of his office will naturally fall into place.
However, the Egyptian monarch could not personally oversee all aspects of society, so the position of chancellor was established as early as the early dynasty (3150 BC to 2613 BC). Vizir (a kind of chancellor) delegated duties to other members of the court, sending messages through scribes, and also supervised the operations of the army and local governors, public works projects and taxes, among many other of his duties.
At the bottom of this hierarchy were slaves (those who could not pay their debts, criminals or those captured in war), and above them were the peasants, who accounted for 80% of the population and provided the resources for more than 3000 years of civilization survival and prosperity.
The rise of the gods and cities
People formed themselves into tribes to ward off danger, and one of their most important defensive measures was to believe in the protective power of their personal gods.
As far as we know, human habitation in the Sahara Desert dates back to BC.
In 8000 BC, these people migrated to the Nile Valley and settled in a lush area known as Fayum (also known as Faiyum). As early as the 1st century BC, an agricultural community was established in the area. Pottery from 5200 BC and 5500 BC has also been found in the same area
。 It should be noted that these dates relate only to established farming communities and not to the initial human settlement of the Fayum area dating back to c. 7200 BC.
The year 5000 BC was a lush paradise where people were blessed with abundant water and natural resources to enjoy a fairly comfortable life. However, sometime around 4000 BC, a drought seemed to alter these ideal living conditions. The waters dried up and wildlife continues to look for a more suitable environment.
People who settled in the area migrated to the Nile Valley, leaving the Fayoum Basin relatively inhospitable. These people then formed communities that developed into early Egyptian cities along the Nile. This migration occurred during the pre-dynastic period of Egypt (6000 BC to 3150 BC) before the establishment of the monarchy.
At the time, it was believed that people formed tribes to defend against the environment, wildlife, and other tribes, and that one of their most important defenses against all these dangers was to believe in the protective power of their personal gods. Egyptologist and historian Margaret Benson commented:
The Egyptians lived in a power they did not understand. Storms, earthquakes, floods, droughts may seem inexplicable, but people are keenly aware of the impact of natural forces on human affairs. Considering the damage they can cause to humans, the soul of nature is therefore considered powerful.
However, just as people recognize that these forces have the ability to harm, they also believe that they can protect and heal. This early belief in supernatural powers is expressed in three forms:
Animism – the belief that inanimate objects, plants, animals, and the earth have souls and are filled with divine sparks;
Fetishism – the belief that an object has consciousness and supernatural powers;
Totemic worship - The belief that an individual or clan has a spiritual relationship with a certain plant, animal, or symbol.
In pre-dynastic times, animism was the primary understanding of the universe, as was the case with early people in most cultures. Bonson writes, "Through animism, humans seek to explain the forces of nature and humanity's place in the pattern of life on Earth". Over time, animism led to the development of fetishism through the creation of symbols such as djed or ankh, which both represented higher concepts and had their own innate powers.
Fetishism then developed into totemic worship by developing specific spiritual forces that oversaw and guided individuals, tribes, or communities. Once totem worship became an accepted understanding of how the world worked, these forces were personified (given human characteristics) and became the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt.
These gods laid the foundation for the next 3,000 years of culture. The gods created the world and all the people in it and established everything according to the principles of harmony and balance. Ma'at was founded at the beginning of world creation and is empowered by heka (magic), so harmony is seen in Egyptian culture as a defining concept for a stable and productive life.
The lower classes provided the means for those above them to live comfortably, while the nobility took care of those below them by providing work and distributing food.
If a person lives in balance according to the will of the gods, then he will enjoy a full life and, just as importantly, he will contribute to the happiness and success of the community and the nation as a whole. Everyone benefits from understanding their place in the universe and what is expected of them, and it is this understanding that gives rise to the social structure of civilization.
Social class in ancient Egypt
As with most, if not all, civilizations since the beginning of recorded history, the lower classes provided the means to live comfortably for those above them, but in Egypt, the nobility took care of those below them by providing work and distributing food. Since the king represented the gods, and the gods created the world, the king officially owned all the land. However, according to the ma'at, he cannot take anything from the people as he pleases, but receives goods and services through taxes. Taxes were collected and collected through the Vizier's office, and once stored, the goods were redistributed to the people.
The work of high society is well known. The king rules by entrusting responsibility to his ministers, who choose the best of his men to complete the necessary tasks. Bureaucrats, architects, engineers, and artists were responsible for the implementation of domestic construction projects and policies, while military leaders were responsible for national defense. Priests served the gods rather than the people and cared for temples and idols, while doctors, dentists, astrologers, and exorcists dealt directly with clients and met their needs through their magical skills and medicinal applications.
People have to work to eat, but there was no shortage of work in Egyptian history, and all labor was considered noble and respectable. Therefore, this redistribution is not "charity" or charity, but fair remuneration for labor. Before the arrival of the Persians in 525 BC, Egypt was a cashless society, so trade was conducted through a barter system based on a monetary unit called the dben.
There is no actual Deben coin, but the Deben represents the generally accepted unit of currency used to set the value of a product. If a woven mat costs 1 deben and a quart of beer costs the same, the mat can be fairly exchanged for beer. Workers are usually paid for a day's work because beer is considered healthier and more nutritious than water in Egypt, but people are also paid for bread, clothes, and other goods for their work.
Details of people's work can be seen in medical reports on the treatment of injuries and illnesses, letters and written documents of various occupations, literary works (such as "Industrial Irony"), tombstone inscriptions, and artistic expressions. This evidence provides a comprehensive picture of everyday work in ancient Egypt, how work was done, and how people sometimes felt about work. Regardless of the profession, Egyptians seem to take pride in their work. Everyone can contribute to the community, and no skill is considered non-essential. The potters who made cups and bowls were as important to the community as the scribes, and the amulet makers were as important as the doctors.
Regardless of one's particular skills, part of earning a living is participating in the King's monumental building projects. Although it is widely believed that Egypt's great monuments and temples were built through slave labor, especially Hebrew slaves, there is absolutely no evidence to support this claim. The pyramids and other monuments were built by Egyptian laborers who either devoted their time to community service or paid for their labor.
From the top to the bottom, everyone understands their place and what is needed for their own success and that of the kingdom. For most of Egypt's history, this structure was observed and the culture flourished. Even in those times known as the "middle period"—when the central government was weak or even divided—the hierarchy of society was considered immutable because it was so obvious that it worked and produced results. However, at the end of the New Kingdom, the system began to crumble, as the upper classes began to neglect the lower classes, and members of the lower classes lost faith in their king.
The deterioration of the social hierarchy of ancient Egypt led to a series of consequences
The king's main duty was to maintain the ma'at and maintain the balance between the people and the gods. In doing so, he needs to ensure that all people below him are well cared for, that borders are secure, and that ceremonies and ceremonies are conducted in accordance with accepted tradition. All these considerations were for the benefit of the people and the land, as the king's mandate meant that everyone had a job and knew their place in the social hierarchy. However, this hierarchy began to crumble at the end of the reign of Ramses III (1186-1155 BC), when the bureaucracy that helped sustain it was bogged down by a lack of resources.
Ramses III is considered the last good pharaoh of the New Kingdom.
He defended Egypt's borders, coped with the changing uncertainty of relations with foreign powers, and restored and renovated temples and monuments in the country. He wanted to be remembered in the same way as Ramses II (1279-1213 BC) – as a great king and father of his people – and he succeeded in doing so early in his reign.
However, Egypt under Ramses III was not the supreme power under Ramses II, and the statehood of Ramses III declined, followed by a decrease in resources from tribute and trade. These problems were caused by the cost of defending against the invasion of maritime peoples in 1178 BC and the cost of maintaining the provinces of the Egyptian Empire.
The burial workers' strike marked the beginning of the end of the belief system that supported the Egyptian hierarchy.
Nevertheless, for more than 20 years, Ramses III did his best for the people, and when he approached 30, it was planned to launch a grand jubilee festival in his honor. The problem is that, unlike in the past, there simply aren't the resources available to host such an elaborate festival.
In order to offer Ramses III his celebrations, the needs of others lower in the hierarchy must be sacrificed; This "other" turned out to be a well-paid graveworker in Delmedina, on the outskirts of Thebes.
These workers are among the most respected and paid artisans in Egypt. They built and decorated the tombs of kings and other nobles, and since these were considered the eternal homes of the dead, those who worked in these places were highly respected. In 1159 BC, three years before the festival of Ramses III, these workers were paid almost a month late in their monthly wages. The scribe Amennakht, who also appears to have worked as a store steward, negotiated with local officials to distribute corn to workers, but this was only a temporary solution to a serious problem:
The Egyptian monarch failed to maintain balance in the land.
Instead of investigating what caused the workers' payroll problems or trying to prevent it from happening again, officials continued to pretend there was nothing wrong and prepare for the big holiday. Wages paid to workers in Deir Medina were delayed again and again, until, as Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson wrote, "the system for paying necropolis workers collapsed completely, triggering the earliest recorded strike in history." ” （335）。 Workers have waited 18 days after payday and refuse to wait any longer. They laid down their tools and marched to Thebes, demanding what was owed to them.
Officials in Thebes did not know how to respond to the crisis because nothing like it had happened before. In their experience, it is simply impossible for workers to refuse to do their job – let alone mobilize and protest against their superiors. After trying some inadequate remedies (such as trying to appease workers by serving them pastries), the government found a way to pay them and the strike ended. However, this problem was not solved, and in the following years, the remuneration of the tomb workers would be late again.
The burial workers' strike was significant because it marked the beginning of the end of the belief system that supported the Egyptian hierarchy. The protests of the mausoleum workers were right: the king failed them, and in doing so, failed to maintain the ma'at. The job of these workers is not to recognize and maintain the ma'at for the king - quite the opposite - once the balance is lost at the highest levels of the hierarchy, those who form the stronger base lose confidence.
This is not to say that Egyptian society fell apart after the burial workers' strike in 1159 BC. This hierarchy would continue in its traditional form throughout the Third Intermediate Period (circa 1069 to 525 BC) until the Roman annexation of Egypt in 30 BC.
However, while the social structure remained unchanged, the understanding of the ma'at and belief in the king's supremacy and divinity had changed, and in later periods never fully regained its former strength.
This loss of faith affects social cohesion and leads to the further breakdown of bureaucracies and the rule of law based on ma'at. Tomb robberies have become more common, as has corruption among police, priests and government officials. When the Persians came to Egypt in 525 BC, they found Egypt very different from the great power of the imperial era; Once the fundamental value of ma'at is broken, everything that is built on it becomes unstable.
Resources:
Bunson, M. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Gramersey Books, 1991.
David, R. Handbook of Ancient Egyptian Life. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Shaw, I. History of Oxford in Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, 2006.
Silverman, DP Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, 1997.