Egyptian life

Society

Ancient Egypt was a highly organized society divided in classes.

- At the top pf the society there was a king called the pharaoh. They made the laws and controlled the land and its resources.

Egyptians believed that pharaohs lived on as gods in the afterlife.

- Assistants (called viziers) were nobles who helped the pharaoh to govern. They were chief administrators.

Next to them we had the priests, who were powerful intellectual leaders. They preserved the culture, cared for the temples and officiated religious rituals.

- Soldiers protected the kingdom and conquered new lands.

- Scribes formed a special class of literate professionals. They performed important bureaucratic duties such as record keeping, tax accounting and the management of public works.

- Ancient Egypt was a country of merchants. There were lots of skilled painters, sculptors, metalworkers, shipbuilders, potters… Many craftspeople worked in shops close to the palace of the pharaoh.

- Peasants were primarily responsable for growing crops. When they were not busy farming or fishing, peasants were used to construct irrigation works, quarry stone and help building tombs and temples.

- Most slaves in ancient Egypt were foreigners captured in war or trade to the Egyptians. Some slaves were forced to work in the fields or perform hard labor. Others worked as domestic servants.

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A day in ancient Egypt

There were several professions in Egypt, it was a specialized society.