by Natasha Gilani

Created on: June 01, 2009

Ancient Egypt

The ancient world had always been a fascination for historians and researchers. It is only in the last few decades that progress has been made in understanding those ancient societies and their basic structure. One of the oldest civilizations in the world is the Egyptian. Egypt, for most of its ancient history, was ruled by kings or pharaohs who in ancient times were grouped into thirty-one dynasties, although recent Egyptologists tend to count three more, making it thirty-four (Kamil, 1977, p. 75). These dynasties are further divided into several periods, three of which are regarded as the peaks of Egyptian civilization: the Old Kingdom (the earliest pyramid age); the Middle Kingdom (or the twelfth great dynasty) and the New Kingdom (the age of the great warrior-pharaohs). Egypt had very complex and power-hungry society based on hierarchy, mythology and passion. From social facts to economic structure, and political ideas, the history of Egypt is rich and diverse, with the extent of its splendor only being known to us recently. This assignment aims to highlight the social, political and cultural structure of Ancient Egypt.

The social setup of Egyptian society was structured like a pyramid, and every Egyptian individual had a distinct place in the hierarchy, which was passed on from generation to generation (Trigger, 1983, p. 331). There were four distinctive social classes, with the social power highly concentrated at the top. The gods Ra, Isis and Osiris made up the top of the pyramid, who the Egyptians believed to have jurisdiction over the universe. They were thought to control every aspect of Egyptian life, which is why it was imperative to venerate them. Pharaohs were often elevated to the status of gods, and were thought to be gods in human form, enjoying absolute supremacy over their subjects. They were entrusted with the responsibilities of managing the Egyptian army and internal governance of the state. The Pharaohs, in turn appointed viziers, or ministers to ensure the smooth functioning of the government.

Professional soldiers were next in rank, followed by the middle class, which consisted of merchants, a artisans, and scribes, who carved the great statues and monuments, painted elaborate tombs, and made everything from simple pottery to the Pharaoh's tomb. Although the wok they left behind often showed great beauty and skill, their names were not recorded because they were not considered of particularly high status.

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