February 14, 2014

Essay 1

The social hierarchy of the Egyptians was structured similar to a pyramid.  At the top of the pyramid were the gods.  The Egyptians believed that the gods ruled the universe.  They also had the human form of their gods were called pharaohs and they were also at the top of the pyramid.  They believed that the gods could cause things to happen such as the Nile over flow, famine and even death.  This was why they wanted to keep them happy. 

The Egyptians trusted their gods with many responsibilities.  Protection was on of their main responsibilities.  The Pharaohs were in charge of the army in case of a foreign threat.  The Pharaoh was responsible for enacting all laws.  Taxes were paid to the Pharaoh by the farmers in the form of grain.  The grain was kept in the Pharaoh’s warehouses.  The grain was used to feed people on case there was a famine. The Pharaoh’s also had some help keeping track of all these responsibilities, they had a supervisor called a vizier who made sure the taxes were collected. 

Under the Pharaoh’s in the Egyptian social structure were government officials, nobles and priests.  It is important to note that only nobles could hold government posts.  The priests were responsible for pleasing the gods.  The nobles were also wealthy because everyone gave gifts to the gods and the nobles got some of those gifts for their own use.    Next were soldiers followed by scribes, then merchants.    The soldiers fought in the wars but also supervised the peasants, farmers and slaves were were building the pyramids.  The middle class were the skilled workers such as the physicians and the craftspeople.  The craftspeople, who made the jewelry, papyrus, pottery and other items, purchased their supplies from the artisans and the traders.  Who were at the top of the bottom 3 tiers of the pyramid.  They were followed by farmers and at the bottom were slaves and servants.  The slaves were those captured as prisoners of war.  They were forced to work o the building projects but they also did what the Pharaoh’s and the nobles wanted from them.  The farmers tended to the fields and the animals as well as kept the canals and reservoirs in good condition.  Social mobility really did not occur.  Some of the farmers saved their money to send their sons to school so they could become scribes and move up in the pyramid. 

 

Essay 2  

The Nile River was extremely important in the lives of the Egyptians.  The Egyptians depended on it for food, water, transportation, building materials, and their general livelihood.  The Nile River helped create a fertile valley as most of Egypt was a desert.  This fertile ground helped civilization grow as cities began to grow up ok the banks of the Nile River because of how fertile the land was.  Most Egyptians lived near the Nile so they used it for their source of water for both their families as well as a source of water for their crops and animals. 

The primary crops the Egyptians grew were wheat, flax and papyrus.  These crops few well along the banks of the Nile.  Wheat was their main staple food for Egyptians.  Flax was used to make linen cloth for their clothing which was the primary cloth they used.  Finally papyrus was a plant that grew along the Nile as well.  The Egyptians used it for paper, baskets, rope and sandals.  The floods would come each year n September and at first they thought it was a bad thing but it actually brought the crops back even more fertile then before and renewed their farmlands.  The Egyptians also used the mud from the banks of the river to build with by making bricks.  They also found limestone and sandstone from the hills along the Nile.

The Egyptians also used the Nile River as the primary monde of their transportation.  Due to the fact that they lived near the river, it was what they used for transportation.  The majority of the main cities were built along the Nile River.  The river was used as a major highway throughout the Egyptian empire.  Boats were constantly carrying people and goods up and down the Nile River.  The Egyptians even built their calendar around the Nile River.  They had their calendar divided up into 3 seasons and they were related to the flooding and growth seasons of the crops on the Nile.