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Power concedes nothing without a demand.
Name:
Date:
Mr. Carey/Mr. Clarke
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
I. Overview
Directions: Actively read and annotate the provided article on Egypt. For homework, you only need to read and annotate
the aritlce. When you get to class, you will have a quiz on the reading to ensure thay you are doing the reading at a high
level.
Egypt
Egyptian society was structured like a pyramid. At the top were the gods, such as Ra, Osiris, and
Isis. Egyptians believed that the gods controlled the universe. Therefore, it was important to
keep them happy. They could make the Nile overflow, cause famine (a period with no rain and
thus crops cannot grow), or even bring death. (1)
The Egyptians also elevated some human beings to gods. Their leaders, called pharaohs, were
believed to be gods in human form. They had absolute power over their subjects. After pharaohs
died, huge stone pyramids were built as their tombs. Pharaohs were buried in chambers within
the pyramids. (2)
Because the people of Egypt believed that their pharaohs were gods, they entrusted their rulers
with many responsibilities. Protection was at the top of the list. The pharaoh directed the army in
case of a foreign threat or an internal conflict. All laws were enacted at the discretion of the
pharaoh. Each farmer paid taxes in the form of grain, which were stored in the pharaoh's
warehouses. This grain was used to feed the people in the event of a famine. (3)
No single person could manage all these duties without assistance. The pharaoh appointed a
chief minister called a vizier as a supervisor. The vizier ensured that taxes were collected. (4)
Working with the vizier were scribes who kept government records. These high-level employees
had mastered a rare skill in ancient Egypt — they could read and write. (5)
Right below the pharaoh in status were powerful nobles and priests. Only nobles could hold
government posts; in these positions they profited from tributes paid to the pharaoh. Priests
were responsible for pleasing the gods. (6)
Nobles enjoyed great status and also grew wealthy from donations to the gods. All Egyptians —
from pharaohs to farmers — gave gifts to the gods. (7)
Soldiers fought in wars or quelled domestic uprisings. During long periods of peace, soldiers also
supervised the peasants, farmers, and slaves who were involved in building such structures as
pyramids and palaces. (8)
Skilled workers such as physicians and craftspersons made up the middle class. Craftspersons
made and sold jewelry, pottery, papyrus products, tools, and other useful things. (9)
Naturally, there were people needed to buy goods from artisans and traders. These were the
merchants and storekeepers who sold these goods to the public. (10)
At the bottom of the social structure were slaves and farmers. Slavery became the fate of those
captured as prisoners of war. In addition to being forced to work on building projects, slaves
toiled at the discretion of the pharaoh or nobles. (11)
Farmers tended the fields, raised animals, kept canals and reservoirs in good order, worked in
the stone quarries, and built the royal monuments. Farmers paid taxes that could be as much as
60 percent of their yearly harvest — that's a lot of hay! (12)
Power concedes nothing without a demand.
Social mobility was not impossible. A small number of peasants and farmers moved up the
economic ladder. Families saved money to send their sons to village schools to learn trades.
These schools were run by priests or by artisans. Boys who learned to read and write could
become scribes, then go on to gain employment in the government. It was possible for a boy
born on a farm to work his way up into the higher ranks of the government. Bureaucracy proved
lucrative. (13)
None of the achievements of the remarkable ancient Egyptian civilization would have been
possible without the Nile River. There is always a connection between landscape and how a
people develop. It does not take the wisdom of a sphinx to understand why. (14)
Food for Thought
Over time, however, despite being in the midst of desert surroundings, people discovered that
the Nile River provided many sources of food. Along the river were fruit trees, and fish swam in
the Nile in great numbers. (15)
Perhaps most importantly, they discovered that, at the same time each year, the Nile flooded for
about six months. As the river receded, it deposited a rich, brown layer of silt that was suitable
for growing wheat, beans, barley, or even cotton. Farmers learned to dig short canals leading to
fields near the Nile, thus providing fresh water for year-round irrigation. Planting immediately
after a flood yielded harvests before the next year's flood. (16)
Even today, the world around the Nile is quite barren. Outside of the narrow swath of greenery
next to the river, there is sand as far as the eye can see. To the Nile's west exists the giant
Sahara Desert, the largest desert in the world. (17)
From north to south, the Sahara is between 800 and 1,200 miles wide; it stretches over 3,000
miles from east to west. The total area of the Sahara is more than 3,500,000 square miles. It's
the world's biggest sandbox. (18)
Although sand had limited uses, these deserts presented one tremendous strategic advantage:
few invaders could ever cross the sands to attack Egypt — the deserts proved too great a natural
barrier. (19)
After learning to take advantage of the Nile's floods — and not having to fear foreign attacks —
the Egyptians concentrated on improving farming techniques. As the years passed, Egyptians
discovered that wheat could be baked into bread, that barley could be turned into soup (or even
beer), and that cotton could be spun into clothing. (20)
With many of life's necessities provided, the Egyptians started thinking about other things, such
as art, government, religion, and philosophy — some of the basics needed to create a civilization.
Eventually, pyramids, mummies, Cleopatra, and the Sphinx of Giza became touchstones of this
flourishing culture. (21)