Ancient Egypt Civilization: Polity, Society, Economy and Science

During the Old , Middle and New Kingdom, ancient Egypt had developed a flourishing civilization. Many aspects of Egyptian political, social, economical life have played important roles in the development of current western civilization.

Polity – The absolute Power of Pharaoh

In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs had absolute power partly because most of these rulers governed justly, but primarily because of the theocracy. The people believed the pharaohs were descended from a god and were gods themselves.

In theory, the pharaoh owned all the land, commanded the army, controlled the irrigation system, and received the surpluses of crops produced on the royal estates. Since no one person could administer a huge kingdom, the pharaoh appointed officials to assist him.

However, he was personally responsible for dispensing justice and for making all the important decisions regarding government affairs. Beginning with the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians created a complex but efficient administrative system that supported the absolute authority of the pharaoh.

Three classes of Egyptian society

There were three classes in the ancient Egyptian society. First was the class of people below the pharaoh. We can call it the upper class. This included priests, the court nobility, and the landed nobility. The priests performed the religious ceremonies, especially those having to do with the burial of the dead. The court nobles advised the pharaoh and carried out his orders. The landed nobles managed their great estates, and some of them also served as generals in the royal army.

The upper class people lived in palatial homes, with luxurious furnishings and elaborate gardens. Women used cosmetics, beautified their hair, wore rouge and lipstick, and painted their nails. Both men and women used perfume and wear jewelry. Women enjoyed a favored place in society largely because all landed property descended from mother to daughter, rather than from father to son as in most other ancient cultures. They could be merchants, eat and dance in public, and do most of the things men were allowed to do.

The class lower than the upper class was middle class, which included rich merchants, traders, skilled artisans and professional people such as teachers, artists, doctors, and scribes. There was an important place of scribes in the ancient Egypt society, because there were only a few who could read and write.

The Lower class in ancient Egypt included slaves—usually war captives— and free laborers who worked on farms, irrigation systems, roads, and building projects.

The free laborers, heavily burdened by taxes imposed on them by the pharaohs, had hardly any more political rights than the slaves. They lived poorly in small, mudbrick homes with few furnishings. From this class of free laborers, however, it was possible for bright and ambitious young Egyptians to rise to higher rank.

Such persons might become merchants, priests, or even government officials. Sometimes loyal and able slaves were given their freedom. On a few occasions, a talented slave was known to rise to a position of authority in society.

Economy of the Egypt Civilization

The fertility of the Nile Valley and extensive irrigation systems enabled the Egyptians to reap large harvests. Because farmers produced more food than they needed for themselves, many of them became craftsmen or traders as well as farmers.

Egyptian traders relied mainly on ships to transport their goods. Trade reached its height during the New Kingdom, when Egypt controlled the trade routes of the Near East. Egyptian ships carried products such as wheat and linens across the Mediterranean to Europe and Asia, returning with lumber and metal weapons, which Egypt did not produce.

Religion in Egypt Civilization

Egyptian Religion was based on belief in life after death and the worship of many gods. Above is the pyramid built about 2600 BC to hold the body of Pharaoh Khafre. It was once connected by a covered passageway to the Great Sphinx, which has the body of a lion and the head of a man, possibly Khafre. The papyrus scroll below was buried with a female mummy. Osiris, lord of the afterlife, sits in judgment while his son, dog-headed Anubis, weighs the heart of the woman against the feather of truth.

Mummification

Egyptians believed that just as plants decline in autumn and reappear in the spring, so also must man have life after death. They also believed that the body in which the soul had lived in life must be preserved in death in order for the soul to live on.

The process of preserving the body, called mummification, developed into a highly skilled art. Beliefs about the afterlife led the Egyptians to build large tombs in which to keep the bodies of their dead rulers. Good conduct, as well as preservation of the body, was thought necessary for immortality, or life after death.

Gods in Ancient Egypt Civilization

Polytheism, or the worship of many gods, was characteristic of Egyptian religion during the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom. The most important gods were Amon-Re (Sun god)  and Osiris (God of the underworld and lord of the afterlife). During the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaton in the New Kingdom, who ruled from 1375 to 1358 BC, a new faith was born.

Akhenaton believed in one supreme god, rather than in many gods. The supreme god, Akhenaton thought, was Aton, the sun. Akhenaton forbade the worship of all gods but Aton, and withdrew the government support previously given to the priests of other gods. However, the priests were numerous and influential.

They succeeded in terrifying the already fearful people into believing that if they obeyed Akhenaton they would suffer the wrath of the gods. While Akhenaton lived, his orders were not openly disobeyed, but after his death the priests persuaded Egyptians to return to the worship of many gods. The concept of one god, or monotheism, disappeared in Egypt for a time, but it was born again later in the Hebrew religion.

Development of Hieroglyphic writing

Between 4000 and 3000 BC, Egyptians developed a kind of picture writing known as hieroglyphics. The first writings consisted of pictures of objects, such as a house. Gradually, they started using ideas as well as objects. For example, a picture of an eye could mean sight or eye. In time, the writers also used picture signs to indicate sound.

Although these developments were the beginnings of an alphabet, the Egyptians did not create an alphabetical system of writing. The first Egyptian books were written as early as 4000 B.C. on a material made from the papyrus plant, a kind of reed. Craftsmen sliced the pith of this plant into strips, overlapped them, and pasted them together.

Papyrus (the origin of the word paper) was sold wherever Egyptian traders traveled. Egyptian books consisted of long rolls of papyrus. (One such roll, now in the British Museum, is 17 inches wide and 135 feet long.) Egyptian writings survived the passage of centuries because they were preserved in the dry climate of Egypt.

The early Egyptian writings were about religion, such as the Book of the Dead already mentioned. During the Middle Kingdom, some adventure stories were written. These works were probably the first storybooks ever published.

Development of Mathematics and medicine

Because Nile floods washed away markers for land boundaries, the Egyptians surveyed the land frequently and used practical geometry in measuring the boundaries. Their engineers also used mathematics to work out the precise measurements necessary in the construction of their pyramids and temples.

Thus, the science of mathematics advanced in ancient Egypt. Egyptian doctors were familiar with the anatomy of the human body and the healing properties of certain herbs. They also knew how to set broken bones and how to cure wounds. However, their writings on medicine, which describe different illnesses and the treatments for them, show that the Egyptians put much faith in the healing properties of magic.

Development of Architecture

The Egyptians were good builders in stone, and both sculptors and engineers delighted in great size. The Great Pyramids and the Sphinx are examples of the Egyptian fondness for huge structures. Religion inspired the building of Egyptian tombs and temples.

The most famous temple was that of the god Amon, at Karnak, which occupies part of the site of ancient Thebes. Part of this great temple still stands. Its hall is 400 feet long, 175 feet wide—larger than a football field— and 80 feet high. The roof was supported by rows of giant columns. The Egyptians were the first to support roofs with columns rather than with walls.