Text|unhistoric
Editor|Unhistoric
preface
As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, ancient Egypt accumulated a lot of experience in land management and created a unique land management system.
Background to land management in ancient Egypt
In the early days of ancient Egypt, land was owned by peasants, but after the unification of the country, land gradually became the private property of the aristocracy and bureaucrats.
After hundreds of years of constant wars and unification, the lands throughout ancient Egypt gradually became the private property of the aristocracy and bureaucrats.
These nobles and bureaucrats owned large amounts of land and livestock, earned income by hiring peasants and slaves to cultivate and breed, and they could use their wealth and power to acquire more land and labor, thus making their wealth and position more secure.
Land management played an important role in the economic management of ancient Egypt, because land was the pillar of the whole society, and the state managed land by collecting land taxes, assessing and surveying land, and promoting irrigation techniques.
The state also managed the land through the class system, divided the peasants into different classes, and counted and managed the land and labor of each class, which helped to improve the efficiency of land use and production capacity, and promoted the development of the ancient Egyptian economy.
The economic base of ancient Egypt was agriculture, land management was the core of its economic management, in the early period of ancient Egypt, land was mainly owned by peasants, but after the unification of the country, land gradually became the private property of the aristocracy and bureaucrats.
The state promoted the economic development of ancient Egypt by collecting land taxes, assessing and surveying land, and promoting irrigation techniques.
The state also began to cultivate crops during this period, and farmers paid a certain amount of taxes for the use of the state, so the Middle Kingdom period in Egypt was an important period when land administration institutions began to rise, laying the foundation for later land management.
In order to ensure the efficient use of arable land, many land administration institutions were established during the Middle Kingdom period in ancient Egypt, which were responsible for assessing the value and use of land, collecting land taxes, allocating land, etc.
These institutions were made up of specialized officials and experts who used advanced irrigation techniques and farming methods to help farmers increase their productivity, resulting in a significant increase in agricultural production in ancient Egypt.
The state also monopolized certain important agricultural products, and guaranteed profits by setting prices, for example, grain and cotton production in ancient Egypt was particularly abundant, and the state ensured its own profits through control of these products and played an important role in promoting economic development.
The Middle Kingdom period in ancient Egypt was an important period when land management institutions began to rise, laying the foundation for later land management, and the state began to practice the cultivation of crops, and farmers paid a certain amount of taxes for the use of the state.
The establishment of land management institutions has allowed cultivated land to be managed more effectively, significantly increased agricultural output in ancient Egypt, and brought vitality to economic development.
The evolution of land administration institutions in ancient Egypt
During the Middle Kingdom period in ancient Egypt, a series of land administration institutions emerged, which underwent many changes under the leadership of the royal family, and whose tasks included assessing land, managing land use, collecting land taxes, etc., to ensure social stability and economic development.
The earliest land administration agencies were under the direct jurisdiction of the central government, run by senior officials of the central government, and their responsibilities included assessing land, supervising the use of cultivated land, and collecting land taxes from kings and temples, and this form of land administration lasted for centuries and did not begin to change until the late Middle Kingdom.
In the later Middle Kingdom, especially during the 12th Dynasty, new land administrations emerged, often controlled by aristocrats or bureaucrats, who used their power and wealth to acquire land and labor, and cultivated and farmed by hiring peasants and slaves.
The emergence of these new institutions poses a threat to the central government's land administration agencies, which are more flexible, efficient and better able to meet local production needs.
Over time, the form of the Middle Kingdom land administration agency changed, and during the 13th dynasty, the state began to give land to a number of important officials and nobles, who became the owners of the land, and they could acquire more land and labor by various means.
A series of land administration institutions emerged during the Middle Kingdom period in ancient Egypt, which, under the leadership of the royal family, underwent several changes.
The responsibilities of these institutions, which include assessing land, managing land use, collecting land taxes, etc., in order to ensure social stability and economic development, have changed their form and functions over time to adapt to the social and economic needs of the time.
The main responsibility of the Land Survey and Registration Department is to survey and register land in order to understand the area, boundaries and ownership of land. The results of his work are stored and preserved in the form of paper manuscripts and stone tablets for future generations to consult and manage.
Land surveyors use standard surveyors and methods, such as triangulation, to determine the size of land and the location of boundaries, and they record this information and record it on paper manuscripts and stone tablets.
The registration of land titles is one of the most important tasks of the Land Survey and Registration Department, which is usually done by registrars or other professionals who collect information about land ownership and record it to ensure that the rights and interests of landowners are upheld.
Land Survey and Registration is constantly updated with land registration information, including information on land ownership, area, boundaries, etc., which is usually stored and protected in the form of paper manuscripts and stone tablets for future generations to consult and manage.
Land Survey and Registration also deals with land disputes, where they judge and assess and propose solutions based on documented information such as land ownership, size, boundaries, etc.
The Land Survey and Registration Department was a very important institution in ancient society, whose main responsibility was to measure and register land in order to understand the area, boundaries and ownership of land, and the results of their work were stored and protected in the form of paper manuscripts and stone tablets, laying a solid foundation for the development of land management and social order.
The large number of artifacts found from the tombs testifies to the fact that the institution has a fairly long history, dating back to the Old Kingdom, among which "Inhision" and "Inhihlacles", recorded in Inhi (a mixed script), are among the most important land survey documents in ancient Egypt.
Inhi is a hybrid script that combines hieroglyphs and ideograms that are common in ancient Egyptian land survey artifacts, among which "Incision" and "Inhihlacles", recorded in Inhi, are among the most important land survey documents in ancient Egypt.
"Incision" is a detailed land survey lease that records the ownership, boundaries, area and use rights of a piece of land in the Nile Delta.
This document presents the excellent skills and precision surveying techniques of ancient Egyptian land surveyors, and it also provides important information about the socio-economic and political system of ancient Egypt, such as land ownership and taxation.
In addition to "Incision" and "Inhyhlaclis", ancient Egyptian land surveyors recorded many other important artifacts and records. These artifacts not only provide important historical and cultural value, but also provide valuable information for the study of land surveys and social systems of the time.
Members are sent by the royal family, with officials and nobles as the core, to control the leasing, retrieval, purchase and transfer of land, and the committee also has an important audit role, and is responsible for the accounting of taxes paid by private land properties.
Ancient Egyptian land management system
During the Middle Kingdom, ancient Egypt practiced four land management systems: the private land system, the royal land system, the temple land system, and the bureaucratic land system.
The private land system is a system based on private ownership of land. Under this system, the land is owned by a single private person, and the private person is free to dispose of the land, plant, harvest, lease, etc.
However, private land ownership faces some restrictions. These restrictions include restrictions on the amount of land, restrictions on mortgages and transfers, and compulsory restitution of land.
The royal land system is a system based on state ownership, and the land owned by the royal family enjoys unlimited discretion, but the amount of land owned by the royal family is limited to a certain extent, and they cannot exceed the percentage of the total land area occupied by the state.
In addition to autonomous management, royal land may also be leased out for an area not exceeding fifty per cent of the land occupied by the State, and the rent of the land shall be owned by the royal family or distributed to specific persons in accordance with the distribution of the privileges of the nobility and priesthood conferred.
Ancient Egyptian temples also had land titles, and the amount of temple land even exceeded the total amount of royal land, and temple land played a vital role in both economic and religious aspects.
The temple can be operated autonomously or leased land. When leasing land, the lease period is generally three to five years, and the land rent is also owned by the temple, and the temple renter must prove his demand for land, and this system controls the flow of land to a certain extent and maintains social stability.
During the Middle Kingdom, high-level bureaucrats also owned a portion of land titles, which could not only be operated autonomously, but also rented, and the area and amount of bureaucratic land was relatively small compared to temple land, and land rent was generally owned by bureaucrats.
The influence and significance of the land management system in ancient Egypt
The land management system of ancient Egypt played a very important role in the society at that time, and had a great influence on the legal and economic management of the later country and people.
This system is important for Egypt's economy and agricultural production, and the rational use of land can increase wealth and tax revenue for the country while creating employment opportunities for the people.
The land management system has contributed to the stability and maintenance of social order, and the standardized land management system can effectively avoid the flow and chaos of land, and at the same time ensure the rational use of land, thereby maintaining social stability and order.
The system of land management in ancient Egypt is an important part of the social governance and management system of ancient Egypt, and its historical and practical significance has not only been reflected in ancient Egyptian society, but also laid the foundation for the legal and economic management of the country and the people later, which is of far-reaching significance.