The social structure of the society of Ancient Egypt had the following features:
- domination of royal and temple farms;
- very slow development, therefore in the era of the New Kingdom in society there were the same classes as in the oldest;
- a clear hierarchy, moving from one class to another was almost impossible.
What are the different classes? The social stratification of Ancient Egypt in the hierarchical order looks like this:
- Pharaoh;
- officials, high priests and military commanders;
- nomarchs;
- middle officials, middle priests;
- artisans and farmers,
- slaves.
Belonging to one or another class was hereditary, so the son of a tiller could only dream of understanding the profession of a scribe At the head of the ancient Egyptian state was the pharaoh, whose power was inherited and was unlimited. The subjects genuinely deduced that the ruler was an earthly representative of the all-powerful gods, so Pharaoh’s decisions were not criticized.
Most often on the Egyptian throne was a man, but there are cases and the accession of female queens. Also among the elite were:
- Approximate Pharaoh, trusted people, often relatives, or who proved their loyalty, they were called “chati”.
- The Nomarchs are representatives of the ruler in the nomas, this is the administrative-territorial unit of the division of the country (by the type of our regions and territories), the power in which, of course, belonged to the pharaoh, but was exercised and controlled by the nomarch – his confidant.
Most often, relatives were appointed to this position, or representatives of the nobility who had become famous in battles proved their loyalty.
- The priests enjoyed special honor and respect, they owned secret knowledge, practiced medicine, predicted, passed the will of the gods.
Not always the relations of representatives of the “top” were ideal. So, the pharaohs often clashed with the priestly caste The main assistants of the pharaohs were called “chati”, the more familiar to us “vizier” can be called a synonym for the word. These were the most important representatives of the social structure of Ancient Egypt. Briefly describe their role can be as follows: the advisers of the king, his right hand, it often chats often engaged in government, in addition to military industries.
Their duties were diverse.
- were in charge of the treasury;
- supervised the construction;
- were supreme judges;
- supervised for burials;
- served as mayor;
- were the keepers of the royal press.
In the era of the Late Kingdom appeared two chapays: one led the Upper Egypt, the other – the Lower. The rules said that this vizier should have been aware of everything that happens in the state and in the royal court. It was to the chat that all the king’s visitors were sent before they were admitted to the pharaoh. Among the viziers there are many names that have survived to this day, thanks to special merits:
- Imhotep. Chati Pharaoh Joser, was not only a talented official, but also an outstanding architect, he was credited with building the first ever pyramid.
- Hemioun. According to historians, not only was Cheops’ right hand, but he also led the construction of the greatest monument of all epochs, the giant pyramid in Giza.
- Ptahhotep. He was considered one of the famous sages of ancient times, it is his authorship attributed to the famous “Instructions of Ptahhotep”, the first in the history of mankind philosophical work, written on papyrus and preserved to our days. This is the only product of the Old Kingdom, which could survive the millennia.
- Nebet. The only woman in the history of the Vizier, distinguished by education and was the mother-in-law of the ruling pharaoh.
