Social Structure
Egypt’s social structure originated in the
scattered communities of the Predynastic Period. Gradually, as these
came together into larger units either through mutual cooperation or
because one area conquered another, they established communities
that enjoyed mutual protection and schemes such as irrigation which
benefited everyone.
Each unit retained its independence and had its own capital city and an area of land to support its inhabitants. Eventually these units combined to form larger districts and these became the main administrative divisions of later times (known as “nomes”). Around 3400 BC two kingdoms, the Red Land and the White Land, were established in the north and the south, respectively. With the unification of the country in c.3100 BC the whole area came under one ruler, but the symbolic parallelism of the “Two Lands” was always retained and the nomes continued to form the basis for administering the country. By the Archaic Period some of the political and social systems that continued in later times were already in place. But it was in the Old Kingdom that the pattern of Egypt’s social structure (which, with relatively minor adjustments, was to continue until the Ptolemies and Romans brought in their own systems) had already emerged. The king (regarded as a partly divine being) had a unique status and role around which the society revolved. Kingship had developed out of the role of tribal chieftain, and theoretically the ruler’s duties included political, religious, social, economic, military, and legal commitments. As the kingdom developed, however, these were increasingly delegated to royal officials. The kings were polygamous, and there were usually secondary branches of the royal family descended from minor queens and concubines. This family background not infrequently led to rivalry and dispute over the royal succession. In the Old Kingdom the king had attempted to secure the loyalty of his relatives by granting them the major positions in government. He also gave them gifts of royal land and possessions, and their children were educated at the royal court. He provided them with tombs, funerary goods, and estates to maintain their tombs, and they could only expect to attain immortality through his bounty. But by the end of the Old Kingdom the situation had changed: Many of the governorships and top posts had become hereditary so that the king no longer controlled them, and increasingly these positions were given to nonroyal persons who had no direct ties with the king’s family. After the king the most important position was held by the vizier (prime minister). He was head of the judiciary, chief royal architect, and keeper of the state archives. The country was divided into districts that were administered by local governors. In times of internal dissension these petty rulers became semi-independent, reverting almost to the pattern of tribal chieftains that had existed in predynastic times. The kings needed their support, but the viziers posed a constant threat, and it was not until Dynasty 12 that the problem of the provincial nobility was resolved. King Senusret III took decisive action and deprived them of their rights and privileges; it is not evident how he achieved this result, but from then onward the political strength of these governors (nomarchs) was destroyed. Members of a new middle class consisting of craftsmen, tradesmen, and small farmers formed the new administration, organized so that they were directly responsible to the king or the vizier. The other great threat to the king’s power was the priests, and this relationship was never satisfactorily resolved. The highest levels of the priesthood wielded considerable political influence. The top level of the government was supported by an extensive bureaucracy. This was run on a daily basis by a hierarchy of officials who organized the treasuries, which dealt with revenue and expenditure, the armory, granaries, and public works. Traditionally these departments were housed in a palace complex in the capital city where the living quarters of the royal family were also situated. The complex was known as per-wer (the “great house”) and eventually this term was also applied to the person of the king as the title of pharaoh. There were also extensive administrations for the great temples and for the royal burial center and its associated temples and residence cities. As the country developed some kings occupied several major residence cities, and the administration in response became increasingly complex. Some areas of the administration were organized on a local basis with officials placed in the various districts. In the New Kingdom the acquisition of an empire extended the bureaucracy still further. Below the government officials there were the craftsmen and artisans who produced a wide range of goods for the living and the dead. These people worked in communities: Many lived in the capital city, and particular schools or styles of art developed in the great centers; others were employed in the temple workshops; and the elite were engaged in preparing and decorating the royal burial place. They were accommodated near the worksite in specially constructed towns. Advances in technology, originally developed for funerary architecture and goods, were soon employed in the service of the living to produce furniture, jewelry, toiletries, pottery, and clothing. At the bottom of the society were the peasants (perhaps representing 80 percent) who worked on the land. They were responsible for providing the food, resources, and manpower for the whole country. Their work on the land was governed by the annual inundation and the seasons, but they attempted through their arduous labors to produce enough food to satisfy their own limited needs. Through their taxes they also fed the rest of the society and supplied the offerings for the tombs and temples (which were ultimately presented to the priests). For three months each year, when the inundation covered much of the land with water and rendered it impossible to cultivate, the peasants probably undertook alternative employment. They may have worked at the royal burial sites receiving food for themselves and their families as payment. Such work would have prevented starvation and ensured that they did not have time and opportunity to cause problems. The peasants were liable to corvĂ©e duty (the king could call upon them for any duty). Indeed, this applied to all his subjects, but the wealthier could pay someone else to take on their allocated tasks. These conscripted peasants could be used for stone quarrying, gold mining, building works, and before a professional army was established in the New Kingdom, they were sent on military service. .
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Social Structure
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