Ancient Egypt Society

1. Ancient Egypt Society
• Prepared by Dr.Rao
• seesrirao@gmail.com
• Faculty of History

2. Kingship
• Egyptian kings are commonly called pharaohs
• The term pharaoh, however, is derived from
the Egyptian per ʿaa (“great estate”) and dates
to the designation of the royal palace as an
institution.
• This term for palace was used increasingly
from about 1400 BCE

3. • Egyptian society consisted of a
descending hierarchy of the gods, the king, the
blessed dead, and humanity
• The king was single
• A text that summarizes the king’s role states that
he “is on earth for ever and ever, judging
mankind and propitiating the gods, and setting
order in place of disorder
• He gives offerings to the gods and mortuary
offerings to the spirits

4. • Rules of succession to the kingship are poorly
understood.
• The common conception that the heir to the throne
had to marry his predecessor’s oldest daughter has
been disproved; kingship did not pass through the
female line.
• The choice of queen seems to have been free; often
the queen was a close relative of the king, but she also
might be unrelated to him. In the New Kingdom, for
which evidence is abundant, each king had a queen
with distinctive titles, as well as a number of minor
wives.

5. • Sons of the chief queen seem to have been the
preferred successors to the throne, but other
sons could also become king. In many cases the
successor was the eldest (surviving) son
• New Kingdom texts describe, after the event,
how kings were appointed heirs either by their
predecessors or by divine oracles, and such may
have been the pattern when there was no clear
successor

6. • From the Late period (664–332 BCE), when
sources are more diverse and patterns less
rigid, numerous usurpations and interruptions
to the succession are known; they probably
had many forerunners
• The king’s position changed gradually from
that of an absolute monarch at the centre of a
small ruling group made up mostly of his kin
to that of the head of a bureaucratic state

7. • By the 5th dynasty, fixed institutions had been
added to the force of tradition and the
regulation of personal contact as brakes on
autocracy, but the charismatic and
superhuman power of the king remained vital

8. Society

9. The Pharaoh
• The pharaoh was the political and religious
leader of the Egyptian people. He
owned the land, made laws, collected taxes,
and defended Egypt against
foreigners. He was a god on Earth.

10. The Vizier
• The Vizier was the Pharaoh’s chief advisor and
was sometimes also the High Priest. He was
responsible for overseeing administration and
all official documents had to have his seal of
approval. He was also responsible for the
supply of food, settling disputes between
nobles and the running and protection of the
Pharaoh’s household.

11. Nobles & Priests
• Nobles ruled the regions of Egypt (Nomes).
They were responsible for making local laws
and keeping order in their region.
• Priests were responsible for keeping the Gods
happy. They did not preach to people but
spent their time performing rituals and
ceremonies to the God of their temple.

12. Scribes & Soldiers
• Scribes were the only people who could read and write
and were responsible for keeping records. The ancient
Egyptians recorded things such as how much food was
produced at harvest time, how many soldiers were in
the army, numbers of workers and the number of gifts
given to the Gods.
• Soldiers were responsible for the defense of the
country. Many second sons, including those of the
Pharaoh often chose to join the army. Soldiers were
allowed to share riches captured from enemies and
were also rewarded with land for their service to the
country.

13. Craftsmen
• Craftsmen were skilled workers such as –
pottery makers, leatherworkers, sculptors,
painters, weavers, jewelry makers,
shoemakers, tailors. Groups of craftsmen
often worked together in workshops.

14. Farmers & Slaves
• Farmers worked the land of the Pharaoh and
nobles and were given housing, food and clothes
in return. Some farmers rented land from nobles
and had to pay a percentage of their crop as their
rent.
• Slaves were usually prisoners captured in war.
Slaves could be found in the households of the
Pharaoh and nobles, working in mines and
quarries and also in temples. There were no slave
markets or auctions in Ancient Egypt.

15. Egyptian Farming: Agriculture in The Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

16. Marriage & Family in Ancient Egypt
• The ancient Egyptian royal families were almost
expected to marry within the family, as inbreeding was
present in virtually every dynasty. Pharaohs were not
only wed to their brothers and sisters, but there were
also “double-niece” marriages, where a man married a
girl whose parents were his own brother and sister
• Source/Ex- Identified Akhenaten, the “heretic” king
who introduced monotheism to ancient Egypt, as
Tutankhamun's father. Akhenaten first married
Nefertiti, who was renowned for her great beauty, but
had no sons so he then married his sister in an effort to
have a son.

17. • Ancient Egyptians cared deeply about family, but
marriage was a personal choice decided by the couple
who wanted to get married. Polygamy and even
adultery were acceptable for men, and, ironically,
women were treated respectfully.
• Evidence suggests no official marriage ceremony.
When a couple decided to start a life together and
announced it to their parents and friends, they simply
started living together. However, there was a contract
involving the transfer of property, which made both of
them financially obligated to one another.

18. • Divorce was also common, though not
preferred. In case of a divorce, the wife was
entitled to one-third of the marital property.
Still, some men just pushed the wife out of
the house with no respect for the rules and
contracts.

19. Solutions for Pregnancy Problems
• The first solution was to buy a magic spell. Magic had a
significant role in Egypt and was believed to solve many
problems, including pregnancy difficulties. Besides, the
woman could pray at the shrine of Hathor. Hathor was a
cow-headed goddess, closely associated with women and
fertility. Offerings made to this goddess were usually in the
form of female sexual organs, female breasts, and penises.
However, if the goddess could not do anything, the couple
could adopt children.
• The last way, not normally preferred by the wife, was to
buy a slave girl. In such situations, the aim of purchase was
expressed, and the slave girl knew she was bought for
pregnancy. There was always the chance that the wife
could get jealous of the slave girl.

20. Rights of an Egyptian Woman
• An Egyptian woman had the right to inherit, bequeath, own land,
and operate her own business. She could bring a lawsuit, serve on a
jury, or testify in a trial. Further, she could work on the land, sell
goods in the market, and weave cloth professionally. However, she
did not have a real role in public life.
• Wives were treated with respect and entitled nebet per which
meant ‘ruler or mistress or lady of the house’. However, the respect
did not equal faithfulness, and a man could have more than one
wife. It was mainly aristocratic behavior, and normal people could
not afford it.
• After death, the married couple would share a tomb to live in
eternity together as well. Thus, marriage in ancient Egypt was the
foundation of the most important thing in life & family.