Snow day essays

Social Hierarchy:

          The social hierarchy of ancient Egypt was used to rank people into different social classes. The hierarchy was used based on a system of importance or authority. Your place on the hierarchy was based on your job as well. Women were known to be low in the hierarchy. A hierarchy usually started with the pharaoh because they were the most important and had the greatest authority.

          Following the pharaohs are the government officials which are the nobles and priests then the soldiers, scribes, merchants, artisans, farmers and then, finally, the slaves. The slaves were the least important and helped the wealthier people with household and child raising jobs. Moving up the chain were the farmers, the farmers raised wheat, barley, lentils, onions, and other vegetables from irrigating the Nile. The artisans would carve statues and acted as the artists. The merchants would bargain for people and would accept bags of grain until coins started coming about. Scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry and were in charge of writing medical or anatomy book. They were considered doctors to some extent and were supposed to write medical diagnoses. The scribes wrote their books in hieroglyphs. Next came the soldiers, they used wooden weapons with bronze tips and might ride chariots. The upper class which were also known as the white kilt class, were the priests, physicians and engineers. Then at the very top were the religious or political leaders, the pharaoh, they were known as the “lord of two lands” they owned all land, (upper and lower Egypt) and were in charge of the military. They were also known as the “high priests of every temple”.

          The hierarchy was a way to rank people in Egypt and no one would over rank another person. Every ranking on the hierarchy was treated a different way as well. The slaves and the lower class were not treated nearly as well as the pharaohs and upper class. If you were in the lower class, you were seen as less important or littler then the upper class. The pharaoh was all powerful and was treated with the greatest amount of respect. Once the pharaoh died there would be a new pharaoh and no one would be able to overpower him or her.

The Nile River:

          The Nile River was a major provider for the people of ancient Egypt. All Egyptian life centered around the Nile. Its water was used for drinking, irrigating crops, bathing, and transportation.

          The Egyptians invented the sail boat as a way of transportation. The sail boat was known as one of their technological advances. The sailboat was a way for the Egyptians to move around the Nile River. They could use the sailboat to fish, collect fresh water or even just for entertainment.

           The Egyptians all lived around the Nile because they used its water for drinking and bathing. Every July the Nile was known to flood but then in October it would leave behind fresh soil. Managing the river required technological breakthroughs in irrigation. The delta, which was near the Nile, was a broad, marshy triangular area of fertile soil. The Nile River flowed south to north and was one of the longest rivers. The Rivers water helped the Egyptians to grow crops and was a great source for them to get fresh water.