Ancient Egyptian Social Structure

 

By Sarah Katsuleres

 

How did a civilization without income determine social classes? The Ancient Egyptians did not employ the same social hierarchy that we use today. The social structure of the Ancient Egyptians can be broken down into several “mini” classes but the lines can become a little blurred. In following with “traditional” views of social classes we use today (Upper/ Middle/ Lower) one can divide the society of Ancient Egypt into 3 large classes; Royalty, Free People and Chattel. (Brier & Hobbs p.87)

 

In times of the Pharaohs rule, religion was the ultimate force that determined the classes of society and even the Government. The Pharaoh was viewed as a descendent of the God, Horus. It was believed that Horus’ father, Osiris, was the first king of Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians believed that by obeying the Pharaoh he would then in turn protect the people and the lands. (Brier & Hobbs p.73) It was the Pharaohs responsibility to provide law and order over his people. These laws were determined by the Goddess, Ma’at. Her name literally means, “Order”. She personifies truth, balance, order and justice. The Egyptian’s believed that if she did not exist the Universe would be in chaos. (Brewer & Teeter p.87-88) It was known throughout Egypt that the Pharaoh owned everything from the land to the livestock. It was the Pharaoh who then determined the social hierarchy of his people through Ma’at.  

 

As far as social classes are concerned, the Pharaohs own Royal Court took up a vast majority of the population. The Pharaoh position itself was usually passed down through blood relations. The Pharaoh could marry whoever he wished. Marriages to foreign royalty help secure international treaties and trade wealth. (Brier & Hobbs p.78) The Pharaoh and his family were sacred to the Egyptians and needed to be treated as such. The Pharaoh had two palaces that both required a full staff around the clock. There were troops of soldiers, kitchen staffs, serving staff, groundkeepers, dancers and musicians. There was also a bevy of Royal clothiers that included a Chief rober, wig makers and bathers. Not to mention if the Pharaoh wanted to go on outings, his entourage could easily contain 50 to even several 100 people.    There was even staff to care for the Pharaohs Harem. (Brewer & Teeter p.137) The Royal class was by far the most recognized and supported class of people in the eyes of the Ancient Egyptians.

 

 

 

 

The land of Egypt was far too large for one King to manage so he created a

government system. The Ancient Egyptian’s considered this group of civilians,

“Free People”. Next to the Royal class, the free people were the next largest group

of social classes. Since before there was one ruler, the land of Egypt was divided,

North and South. The Pharaoh created a position of the Vizer, which today we would

consider a Vice President. Most of the original governmental positions were held by

members of the Pharaohs family. He placed one Vizer in the North and then one in the

south. The Vizer was the head of the civil government in his own region. With this new position stemmed a multitude of subsidiary positions. The North & South regions were divided even further into 42 Nomes or states. These Nomes then had their own local rulers known as Nomarchs. The Nomarchs reported to the Vizers who then reported to the Pharaoh. Under the Vizer and The Nomarchs there were a number of civil servants such as Ministers and Treasurers. (Brier & Hobbs p.81-82) It was the Ministers duty to manage the granaries and the livestock. The Treasurers were very important to the Pharaoh and were the only ones outside of the regional rulers that could come to the Pharaoh directly. It was the Treasures responsibility to collect the taxes from the people. The Ancient Egyptians did not have currency but had something much more valuable, agricultural goods. Taxes and levies were paid with crops and livestock. This social class of “free people” saw the most movement of people. Not only did this class include an extremely wide variety of government officials, it also held important groups such as; priests, soldiers, and some farmers. These “free people” were able to travel, marry and own property such as; slaves, animals, and even buildings. (Brewer & Teeter p.72-73)

 

It was once believed that the Ancient Egyptian pyramids were built with the hands of thousands of slaves. After further investigation it      was discovered that the idea of mass forced labor did not happen until sometime around the New Kingdom. Instead of slaves the Ancient Egyptians had what was called, chattel or serfs. These were considered domestic servants. This particular class of citizens had little to no freedom. Chattels were still owned property but they were usually taken care of by their owners. (Dunn:2014) These chattel positions included cooks, maids and even nannies. Serfs were agricultural type slaves so these would be the field hands or groundkeepers and sometimes even the farmers themselves. (Brier & Hobbs p.88) The Pharaohs tombs were built by paid laborers that could fall under this class of society based on their wealth value. Most of these pyramid workers were farmers that were pulled from their crops during the times of inundation. (Shaw p.94) In Ancient Egypt there was no such thing as a prison system. If a citizen committed a crime like failure to pay taxes, they were forced to serve their time doing heavy labor in either the mines or quarries. Most of the forced labor slaves came from foreign lands by either trade or as war captives.  Under the rule of Thutmose III, around 1490BC, he returned from battle with 90,000 prisoners, mostly comprised of civilians. These types of captives were usually used as temple slaves. (Dunn:2014) There were several different levels of servitude when it comes to the Ancient Egyptians. Being a slave during this time may not have been as bad as we originally imaged. Domestic servitude or paid jobs today are very similar to what the Ancient Egyptians considered to be forced labor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Brewer, Douglas J. and Teeter, Emily. Egypt and the Egyptians. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999)

 

Brier, Bob and Hobbs, Hoyt. Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile. (New York: Sterling Publishing, 2009)

 

Dunn, Jimmy. “Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Egypt”. Tour Egypt, (2011) Accessed (Oct 2014)

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/slaves.htm

 

Shaw, Ian, ed. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)