Egyptian Society through History PDF - 2025-2024

Tourist Guidance Department Egyptian Society through history (2nd Grade) 1st Semester (4 hours per week) (Course Code) Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Lecturer of Tourist Guidance Tourist Guidance Departement Faculty of Arts...

Tourist Guidance Department Egyptian Society through history (2nd Grade) 1st Semester (4 hours per week) (Course Code) Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Lecturer of Tourist Guidance Tourist Guidance Departement Faculty of Arts – Ain Shams University Cairo – 2025- 2024 Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Egyptian society through history Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Lecturer of Tourist Guidance Tourist Guidance Departement Faculty of Arts – Ain Shams University 1 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Table of Contents No Topics Pages Introduction 3-4 The river Nile Ch. 1 5-19 Social structure and Adminstration Ch. 2 20-45 Ch. 3 Mariage and Divorce 46-56 Ch. 4 Children and Education 57-73 Ch. 5 Houses in Ancient Egypt 74-84 Bibliography 85-86 2 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Introduction Society is defined now a days as a community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, and collective activities and interests. The Ancient Egyptians since the dawn of their civilization lived also in a well organized society. This society was established according to certain guide lines. It has defined almost all aspects of their daily life. It had certain rules and laws that could guarantee the well being of all its members. This society could control the natural phenomenon and exploit the natural resources for the benefit of its members. Indeed, this was achieved through a well organized administrative hierarchy. In fact, the aspects and laws of this society have significantly developed through ages. This was obvious in different vestiges, documents and inherited traditions. So this book sheds light on some aspects of the ancient Egyptian society. It traces its development through ages. The book is divided into five chapters: 3 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter I: highlights the importance of the river Nile since the formation of Egypt. It illustrates its impact on the different aspects of the Egyptians life as well as the inventions related to it. Chapter II: Examines the administrative system of Egypt, including its main parties, and controlling mechanisms. Chapter III: is concerned with the marriage and divorce throught the Egyptian history. It shows the rights and obligations of the couple, according to the surviving documents. Chapter IV: Sheds light on childhood and education in Ancient Egypt. It illustrates the care given to the child since his birth, the importance of education and the education mechanisms. Chapter V: Deals with housing in Ancient Egypt. It represents principally the different types of houses and the used material according to the surviving remains. 4 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter 1 The Nile river (1-1) The formation of the Nile valley (1-2) Effect of the Nile on the Egyptian society. (1-3) The impact of the Nile on the agriculture. (1-4) The use of the Nile in the transportion and communication. 5 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter 1 The river Nile (1-1) The formation of the river Nile The plan of Egypt 6 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The river Nile is one of the ancient rivers in the world. The Ancient Egyptians called it Hapy and venerated it. It is one of the longest rivers in the world of about 6.800 km, extending from equatorial Africa to the Mediterranean sea. Its direction is from the south to the north The rain fall on the Ethiopean region constitutes the main source of its water that flows northwards through basins till it reaches Egypt and deposits its sediment. Before the formation of the river, the equatorial climate has prevaded North Africa including Egypt. The recently known deserts were covered with fertile soil and vigitation because of the abandoned rain water. By time this region witnessed successive waves of rain water rarety, leading to the formation of desert. During that time the river Nile began to take its shape through the carving of the soil by the successive water flow from the south. This water was loaded with fertile silt and mud that formed the Nile valley. The Delta was formed by the receding water of the Mediterannean sea and the depositing of the mud and silt layer around the branches of the Nile. The Nile stream has contributed in the formation of the provinces of Egypt: Nile Delta and Nile valley , bordered by the Western and Eastern deserts. Deserts constitute a natural barrier against the invaders of Egypt. The fertile dark silt composing the land of Egypt is the reason of calling it kmt “ the black land”, whereas, the desert is called dSrt because of its hot land. The delta is a broad lotus 7 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 shaped land covered with fertile silt. The Nile has divided Egypt into eastern bank and western bank. (1-2) The effect of the Nile on the Egyptian society The formation of the Nile has contributed in changing the human activity from hunting and gathering to stable, organized agricultural life. The first inhabitants settled principally in the the Nile valley on the sediment banks of the river in proximity to the water stream. This location provides them with fertile soil for agriculture, fish and foul and easy transportation. The Nile played a crucial role in the Ancient Egyptian economy. Nilometers were constructed at the Nile to measure the increase and decrease in the waterlevel, predict the amount of the flood and to determine the amount of imposed taxes on the peasants. It was a closed or semi closed structure surrounding the water, enclosing a wall or a column divided into cubits. This device was adopted from the Pharaonic period in temples till the Islamic period (Nilometer in Rhoda island). The Muslim califs of Egypt have precised a measurement on the Nilometer called the limit of satisfaction, meaning 8 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 that the flood is abundant and satisfies the need of the Egyptian lands. Ancient Egyptian Nilometer Rhoda island Nilometer 9 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 In fact, The society was impacted by both high and low floods. The high flood was a constant source of abundance, enabling them to cultivate their food, nourish their livestock and drink fresh water. However, very high flood is often disastrous because it destroyed dykes and basins, removed settlements, effaced entire crops, threatened the cattle and humans. Furthermore, excessive floods constitute a favourable environment and diseases. In contrast, low flood threatened the life of the Ancient Egyptians, leading to an evident famine. According to an account about an Ancient Egyptian low flood: they ate herbs, the birds didn’t find fruits, grains perished and people didn’t have clothes, spices or oil. Even the boats couldn’t navigate in the stream (Vandier, la famine en Egypte, p. 5). Low Nile flood, often caused internal perturbation. The lack of flood water caused a raise in grains prices during the reign of Ramesses III, leading to a strike. Furthermore, the granaries were empty. 10 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Famine scene from the causeway of Unas To evade the bad consequences of low Nile flood, the rulers of the 11th and 12th Dynasties adopted some measures as: building granaries, decreasing the taxes. During the second intermediate period, the nomarch kheti has distributed grains from the granary of his province to the other afaimed neighbour provinces. Although Egypt was the main source of grain and wheat in the ancient world during the Ptolemaic empire. The country witness a severe low flood during the reign of Ptolemy III, so he imported a great quantity of cereals and reduced the collected taxes to favorise the Egyptian economy. Low flood hit Egypt during the reign of Kalif El Mostanser Belah, so the people suffered of a great famin and they ate children, humans, cats, dogs, and corpses. This period eneded with a fatal plague. 11 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (1-3) The impact of the Nile on the agriculture The Nile seasonal flooding allowed the Ancient Egyptians to experience stable field agriculture. They were strongly tied to the summer flood annual cycle. This enabled them to cultivate various crops as cereals, pulses and oil crops as well as gardens and orchards. Crops were just cultivated after the water recession when the soil was still wet and the seeds were sowed. Therefore, The Ancient Egyptians tried to exploit the Nile water especially in case of low water or short flood season. So they have divided the year into three main periods according to the amount of the Nile water. So that they could cultivate more than one crop in successive cycles. The year was divided into Axt: innundation, prt: winter (when water recedes) and Smw: spring. Furthermore, they invented some irrigational systems to manipulate the water use. According to some early records, they dug canals and dikes, connecting the far lands and orchards to water that were cultivated at the edge of the valley to the Nile water. 12 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The scorpion king digging a canal Canal of water: the tomb of Senedjem They have introduced the basin irrigation system of dividing the land into basins, separated with short walls to trap the flood water. Then the excess water in a basin is moved to the following one, leaving the land irrigated and moist. Indeed, the Middle Kingdom has witnessed a great interest in the irrigational projects. Amenemhat III, has reconstructed a dam in Fayum to regulate the water flow 13 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 from the Delta to lake Meroes and vice versa. During the New Kingdom, Thutmosis III dug a canal in the center of the Delta called “ the water of Re”. Furthermore the Ancient Egyptians since the Middle Kingdom used the pole and lever device ( shaduf) to lift water from a water source during low water. The Shaduf The celebration of the flood According to Pliny, the celebration of the flood in ancient Egypt was a religious obligation. They have celebrated the the Nile flood, by dressing the crocodiles with coloured cloth. 14 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 According to a hymn in Anstasi papyrus: The Ancient Egyptians made offerings and sacrifices for the nile flood. According to Maspero, the king and his priests offered ducks and bulls for the coming nile. In the Coptic period, the Egyptians celebrated the night of the tear, which is the indication of the falling reign on the mountains in Ethiopea. According to El Maqrizi, the Egyptians threw a girl in the Nile at the beginning of the flood and then Omar Ibn el Khatab prohibited that custom and prayed for god to increase the flood. (1-4)The use of the Nile in the transportion and communication The Ancient Egyptians depended principally on the Nile in transportation. They used the Nile water in transporting people, animals, products and building materials. They were not greatly acquainted to open waters and they preferred to navigate parallel to a clear shore. Sailors benefited significantly of the Nile water stream in transportation. When the river was in flood the sailors could sail down stream (to the north) easily. Whereas, travelling upstream (to the south) required boats with oars or paddles. The wind power was also employed in transportation, yet it 15 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 helped principally in the direction upstream (because the wind of Egypt blows from north to south). During the Early dynastic period, the Ancient Egyptians invented the papyrus rafts to navigate in the Nile. It was constructed of bundles of papyrus stems, tied together and the prow and the stern were pulled upwards. Indeed, this type of boats was not durable and could not resist the water. So the use of a wooden boat was necessary. The earliest wooden boats were constructed in Naqada period. It consisted of wooden planks, attached together with ropes that shrink by water and become tightend. In shallow water, vessels could be propelled with Short paddles or a long pole to reach the river bottom. Masts were used extensively since the Old Kingdom. They were made of heavy linen or sometimes matting and were large enough to catch even the lightest of the breezes and helps to move the boat with the least effort. Moddle of a papyrus raft 16 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Modle of a wooden boat (1-5) The Nile during the Greco- Roman period In the Ptolemaic period the same Pharaonic irrigation methods were employed. The vast areas were openned to natural flooding. Basin irrigation system was maintained, while high lands like vine yards needed regular irrigation and this was accomplished by raising water mechanisms like the pharaonic shadouf, the water wheel, the Archimedean screw that were invented in this period. The oldest waterwheel was discovered in Fayum and was pulled by animals. It gave the chance to cultivate more than one crop and developed the annual seasonal agriculture. During the Ptolemaic period the system of dykes and canals was improved especially in Fayum where the amount of land under cultivation increased. Great interest was givin to irrigation in that period since dykes were repaired annually before the flood, silted channels were unclogged. Furthermore, Ptolemy II built a canal linking the Nile to the Gulf of Suez. Nilometers along the length of the river measured the height of the flooding 17 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 and the consequent level of fertility to be expected in the coming year. Because of this agricultural policy, the amount of land under cultivation was tripled and new crops were introduced as: some types of olives, dates, figs, walnuts, cabbage, sesame, pine kernels, peaches, quinces and radish.Wool, milk and cheeses were obtained from sheep that were raised on the cultivated lands. This policy served greatly in improving the communication network of new roads and canals, facilitating the movement of goods and people. The Romans greatly profited of the river Nile in grain transportation in particular. It is considered as a linking network to all the Egyptian districts, so it enabled the producers to transport the grain to the authorities for the grain taxes. It was transported by small boats to central points to be collected. (1-6) The Nile during the Islamic period During the Islamic Age, norias were adopted from classical antiquity by Muslim engineers, who made improvements to the noria. For example, the flywheel mechanism used to smooth out the delivery of power from a driving device to a driven machine, was invented by Ibn Bassal ( 1038– 1075) of al-Andalus, who pioneered the use of the 18 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 flywheel. Muslim engineers used norias to discharge water into aqueducts which carried the water to towns and fields. After the Arab conquest, Amr Ibn el As has dug the gulf of Amir El Moemenin to satisfy the famine that had hit El Hegaz. 19 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter II Social structure and Adminstration (2-1) The Social structure in Pharaonic Egypt (2-2) The Social structure in Ptolemaic Egypt (2-3)Administration in Islamic Egypt 20 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter 2 Social structure and Administration (2-1) The Social structure in Pharaonic Egypt The Ancient Egyptian society stratification was almost defined since the First Dynasty. It was divided into two main social classes that are: the “pat”, the elites and the 21 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 ruling class, whereas the “rxyt” defined the rest of the society. Indeed, the different social classes took the form of a hierarchical pyramid since the 4th Dynasty, where it is divided as follows: 1- The Pharaoh The king occupied the apex of the hierarchical social pyramid: It was believed that he was gifted with supernatural power to maintain cosmic order. Furthermore, he had the divine nature as the living god Horus, so he held the divine title nTr as nTr nfr and nTr pn. The king was responsible for the nourishment of the population, since he built granaries, tookover irrigational projects as digging the canals and building dams. The king was the highpriest of all the divine cults and held all the cultic activities in the temples. He pervades mAat “ justice” in the whole land of Egypt. This is usually confirmed when the king offers or receives mAat. The king maintained the land’s security, as he defended Egypt against the enemies. So he waged wars and was 22 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 always victorious, represented in victory parades dominating his enemies. As the head of the state, the king issued decrees and made laws. 2- The Government officials This class was formed of the literate persons, that apartained to the royal class or were close to it. The officials usually inherited the same office of their fathers. However, they were promoted and some could be shifted to a higher position. Justice was the responsibility of the king and the vizier was the final arbiter in many issues. The title of the vizier TAty was given to the one, occupying the second position after the king. He was usually one of the relatives of the king and it was sometimes honorific. He had both burucratic and judicial power. He was entrusted to settle legal disputes. Overseers were of an important position since they were responsible for the works of constructing the tombs and temples. The overseers of the granaries were responsible for 23 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 the wages and taxes, since most of the state income was in grain. 3- The Priests Priests worked on part time basis, because they held another administrative office. The work of a priest is prestigious as a representative of the king in religious practice. They profited of a portion of the offering given to the gods. They were responsible for the temple’s daily service of breaking the seal of the sanctuary, purify the divine figure and dress the divine figure. A category of lector priests had great religious knowledge that they used in magic. 4- Soldiers It was common for the sons of kings to serve in the company, and on campaigns. The king himself was the commander of the troops. Foreign mercenaries were also recruted in the army. During the New Kingdom, initially the new recruits in the army faced a hard school of discipline as soon as they were settled in their barracks. Officers of the Army received considerable booty or captives as slaves after a successful campaign. 24 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Soldiers were also provided with land, often tax free, for their honorable service to the king. 5- Scribes The scribe was called sS. Scribal work is one of the noblest professions. A scribe began his career at a very young age at almost six or seven. The majority of scribal students were boys from middle or upper class families, but there is also significant exeption. Scribes worked in different domains as: administration, the army, and the priesthood. The scribe was generally depicted carrying the tools of his trade: a wooden palette with brushes and reed pens and a roll of papyrus. 6- Artisans Like many other professions, artisans inherited the profession from their fathers. Artisans usually worked in workshops. They were normally attached to certain institutions like the palace or the temple. Jewellers in particular were attached to the temple and its store houses. Artisans of the royal palace enjoyed certain privileges. 25 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Artisans involved in certain projects, settled in communities as Deir el Medina. 7- Farmers and Peasants Peaseants in ancient Egypt constituted almost 80 percent of the population. They enjoyed very limited privileges. They served the pharaohs in off periods. A- The Administration The ancient Egyptian administration was characterized by the centralization. It depends on the state’s general administration beside the governance of nomes.The royal palace was the center of the state’s administration. The king was the head of the administrative system He was in charge of the religious and public affairs: He was incharge of performing the religious ceremonies He gave offerings to the gods He celebrated the religious festivals Built cult temples Performed the daily rituals His role towards the humans is: Guaranteeing life 26 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Providing nutrition Head of the army who protects the local borders Enaugurate agricultural and irrigational projects Maintaing order and unity of his country Maintains diplomatic relations It is quite noted that some distinguished high officials were incharge of maintaining such central administrative system. The role of the vizier in administration Since the Middle Kingdom,when the administrative titles became defined, two branches of administration became visible at the royal palace: one under the vizier, the other under the “overseer of sealed things”. The vizier was the main person in charge of the whole palace administration, he supervised the scribal offices and officials dealing in a wider sense with legal matters, as well as the organisation of labour forces for large scale building projects, already visible in the Reisner Papyri, where the vizier is the main person in charge of a building project. He was responsible for correct procedures in the offices and punish in case of wrong doing. There was an institution translated as “bureau of the vizier” (ḫA n TAty), which appears in several texts and on documents of the Middle and New Kingdom. 27 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The role of the overseer in administration Under the “overseer of sealed things” “ḫtmty-bἰty” the resources of the country for the palace were administrated. The “overseer of sealed things” at the royal palace seems to have been in charge of the resources after they reached the palace. He was also responsible for sending out expeditions to bring raw materials into the palace. The role of the royal scribe in administration The “scribe of the king’s document” (sš ʿn nἰswt) or “personal scribe of the king’s document” (sš ʿn nἰswt n ḫtfḥr) was most likely the head of the scribal offices at the royal palace and perhaps even some kind of private secretary for the king. He held the title “scribe of the king’s document” is also attested at provincial level. It remains pure speculation whether the local officials with the title “scribe of the king’s document”. Elements of a central state are visible in other branches of the administration. First of all, there was the military sector. The Nubian fortresses were built by the central administration and most likely also managed by it. 28 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The administrative institutions: This administrative system included important governmental centers as: Indeed, some Old Kingdom documents refer to the existence of the offices of the state that were called xnw “ the residence”. Storage buildings The granary has direct relation with the revenues, since wages were paid in cereals. It had its own bureaucracy since the Old Kingdom, headed by an overseer, scribes and inspectors. In the New Kingdom, granaries were situated throughout the country. They were responsible of the royal domains and fields as well as a huge number of silos. The shena (šnʿ) “provision quarters” is similar to the granary. It appears in the Papyrus Boulaq 18, where “bread of the shena” (pʿt šnʿ) is mentioned. The treasury was directly connected to the palace. It controlled the collection, storage and payment of taxes and raw materials from the expeditions to Sinai. The 29 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 importance of a treasury grew in the New Kingdom with the increase of the expeditions to Syria. The treasury was administered by the same overseer of the granary. The workshops were attached to either the palace or to the temples. According to the New Kingdom example of Medinet Habu, the workshops were divided into sections according to the produced stuff. The workshops produced food, goods and stored them. They were governed by overseers who delivered the products and offering to the palace, temple and priests. The workers in workshops were principally of slaves and serfs. Pr- mDAt Pr- mDAt means lit. the house of the papyrus roll. It appeared since the 5th Dynasty. It is considered as the royal archive. It is concerned principally with the royal affairs. It was administered by a chief scribe called imi r- sSw. 30 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Representation of a granary The provincial administration: The provincial administration, refers to the administration of nomes. The large land of Egypt was divided into nomes, governed by nomarches who were under the supervision of the central authority and the vizier. During the Middle Kingdom, they held the position of a priest. The assessments of taxes and the calculations of the corvee labours were performed in the central offices. The provincial administration was moddled according to the national state administration. 31 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 B- The Economy: The Economy in Pharaonic Egypt was relevant to the ancient Egyptian administrative system. The king remained the head of the economic system as the owner of all the land of Egypt. He could grant high officials, priests and high dignitaries plots of land as benefits with ownership of use, but the king retained direct ownership. Sources of economy Tenture constituted a considerable source of the state’s income. The lands were rented to high officials, in return to a paid rent to the state. By time tenture became transferable from a generation to another, but could be returned to the administration at any time. The lands were worked by farmers who were remunerated by salaries or a small tenure. Taxes was regarded as an important source of the state’s income. They were usually of the surplus from agriculture especially cereals. Temples also exploited plots of land. So they paid taxes on their net agricultural production. This was in return to certain services as: education, protection of goods and idividuals, roads maintenance, offerings, rations and salaries. 32 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Tax collectors in the tomb of Meri-ruka There was a balance between the expenditures and income according to a budget on estimated harvests, linked to the height of the Nile flood. The king or any assigned institution on behalf of him could collect the income for donations, reserves and offerings that could be goods like gold. Trade was one of the sources of the income, especially foreign trade, controlled by the state through the collection of tribute. Trade among regions was always conducted by the institutions that bartered with the surplus from their own production with many valuable goods. Merchants worked for these institutions played the role of agents. 33 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Market goods were principally bread and beer produced in households.They also sold fruits and vegetables as onions, leeks, lettuce and melon and the surplus was given to the priests. Market was controlled by supervisors who controlled the type, volume and quality of the goods. So they prevent goods and raw materials that belong to the state from being diverted from their intended routs to other illegal markets. The local markets were situated at the river banks to facilitate the access of the population to it. Market scene Labor: Field labor and enormous building projects required huge manpower. This was provided through the enrolled prisoners of war and forced service ( corvée) labor from the entire population. The use of labor was characterized with “ mAat” justice. Recruited workers were called bAk or Hm (servant) of the Pharaoh. The labor system was flexible for example a farmer could guard a temple. 34 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Crafts’ laborers usually worked in small local workshops. In contrast, those who worked under the state’s control, worked in large workshops. The last category was trained and supervised by a scribe who recorded the work’s progress as well as the paid revenus. Agricultural laborers were usually tenant farmers. They worked for a landowner, to whom they gave a tenture and the taxes to the administration. Slaves were usually captives of war who were enrolled in the working force. They held the title Hm- nswt. Workers in a workshop 35 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Currency: The Ancient Egyptians didn’t know the currency in its modern meaning. However, They depended principally on bartering. The good was exchanged in return to certain amount of cereals and grains that had the same function of currency. The weight of a product was sometimes fixed according to a weight of copper called dbn. (2-2) The Social structure in Ptolemaic Egypt The Ptolemaic ruler was considered the successor of the gods. As was the Pharaoh, the Ptolemaic ruler was the head of the Egyptian administration and the court was his central administrative center. He was the owner of all the land of Egypt. He was a religious chief, chief of the army and a chief judge. The monarch was the chief executive, who controlled the conduct of his officials. The high officials, recruited in high administrative posts were often issued from elite families. Furthermore, they were raised with the royal princes to guarantee their fidelity and were called “Paides”. However, some ordinary skilfull persons could occupy high posts. 36 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 In the Ptolemaic period, there was no separation between military and civil, secular and religious, administrative and legal matters, the same person can perform in any or all the areas. The royal council consisted of: The “chief vizier” was originally the seal bearer who was in charge of all the state affairs. He was considered as the minister of finance because he was in charge of the state’s finance or the king’s treasury and was called ( Dioiketes). During the Ptolemaic period there were viziers for some specific sectors as: vizier of public works and vizier of defense. Ptolemaic kings ruled with the assistance of close advisers called (philoi). The royal secretary was responsible for diplomatic affairs. The royal scribe was responsible for the registration of land properties. The entourage of the king included a high, dignified class of equestrians from his relatives, friends and followers.They called each others “ brother”. Furthermore, honorific titles were also present. 37 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The central administration in the Ptolemaic period: As were the Pharaohs, the Ptolemaic rulers were the owners of the whole land of Egypt and it was rented to tenants who paid the tenture. Egypt was considered as a protectorate of the Ptolemaic empire. However, some villages like Naucratice enjoyed a considerable autonomy. The Greeks who lived in Naucratice were elevated to a higher level than the Egyptians. The ruling center in the Ptolemaic period was Alexandria It was characterized of a special social structure, revealing the different social classes: 1- Citizens with complete citizenship were the highest social class who constituted the high officials. They were called the politai. They were migrants from Macedonia who enjoyed certain privileges as marriage with Greeks, landownership, exemption of taxes. 2- The Macedonians who constituted the chiefs of the army. 3- The Persians were not citizens, however theyenjoyed some privileges. They were classified as a low social standard despite their Greek appearance. 38 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 4- The Jews occupied a large place among the inhabitants of the city. They had their own constitution, but they never enjoyed the citizenship. 5- The Egyptians constituted the artisans and craftsmen. They were never influenced by the Ptolemaic lifestyle. They were considered as a foreign element in the society. The judicial system in the Ptolemaic period depended on the chief judge of appeal, then he was substituted by a great judge of the court justice, revises all the petitions. The court itself was independent of the royal power, including judges were selected by sacerdotal groups from Thebes, Memphis and Heliopolis. Regional administration in the Ptolemaic period The division of the country into nomes was maintained in the Ptolemaic period and were administered by a nomarch “Prefect”. However, some nomes were separate like Fayum. The Ptolemies gave the opportunity to the new migrants and soldiers to settle in some cities like Naucratis where they were superior to the Egyptians. This city was surrounded by an agricultural land. Its new citizens had the right to construct sanctuaries and buildings. 39 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The officials of the nomes were in charge of maintaining the governments administrative system. They supervised the digging of dykes, irrigation, agriculture, collection of taxes and festivals. The economy in Ptolemaic Egypt: Silver and bronze coins were used in the Ptolemaic economical system and in trade. As the Ancient Egyptians, the Ptolemies, depended on the system of tenture. The rent was fixed according to the quality of the land whether it is fertile, arable or salinized. The system of monopoly was applied on Egypt in the Ptolemaic period. The royal domain confiscated the fertile lands, their products and the minerals. It was also responsible of buying the required products and selling the products. Mines, fishing areas, cultivated lands and their workers were under the disposal of the royal institution. This largely contributed in the wealth of the states treasury. Taxes constituted one of the sources of the Ptolemaic economy, the authority has imposed some taxes on the merchants of salt. A variety of taxes was collected from the 40 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 nomes in the Ptolemaic period. There was the land tax paid in kind but there was also a huge variety of small money taxes payable by individuals like the poll- tax paid by high classes ( from which Romans were exempted). There were taxes on traders, manufacturers and artisans. These taxes were sent to the government. They were collected by private collectors or high officials. Markets were attached to important public building as temples and public building complexes. Furthermore, there was a kind of door to door service. Some quarters were consecrated for artisans as: the Goose herds, Shepherds and cobblers. Furthermore, local commodities were sold in small workshops. The work of artisans was hereditary. Since the Ptolemaic period, the bank had a distinguished role in the economy in collecting taxes, giving loans, and taking money from the citizen. Ptolemaic coins 41 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (2-3)Administration in Islamic Egypt The caliph: He ruled Egypt from the capital (Baghdad or Damascus) The Governor (wali) :He was the central figure of the state administration. He was appointed by the caliph for short period. He had absolute power represented in the following: - He was the executive authority of administration - He pronounces the caliph’s name in the Khuttba and leads the prayers on Fridays - He collected the kharaj tax and sent the revenue to the capital - He had to satisfy the needs of his people - He appointed his assistants Sahb al shurta He was the 2nd figure in the state administration He was a local man appointed by the governor from the leading families of Fustat He was responsible for: Keeping law and order in the country - Keeping the country safe 42 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 - Leading the people The Judge (kadi) He was the 3rd figure in the state administration He was appointed by the governor from the leading families of Fustat under the Umayyad period, then was appointed by the caliph under the Abbasid period He was responsible for The juridical system of the whole country Al Mohtasib He was the 4th figure in the state administration He was responsible for: - Supervision of markets and merchants - Supervision of the process of buying and selling through promoting good and forbidding the evil - Maintaining the qualities so he had some juridical responsibilities. The economy in the Islamic period The economy in the Islamic period depended on the sources of income destined to the treasury “ Beit el Mal”. 43 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The sources of Beit el Mal are: Al Kharag Al Zakah Al Geziah Al fei’ Al Ghanima Al Mokous In Egypt the most distinctive sources are: Al Geziah which is equivalent to the Greek pol tax. It was imposed on the youth, involved in the working force. The second source is the kharag. It was imposed on the agricultural land. Amr Ibn El As left the land of Egypt in the hand of its Egyptina owners. In return, they had to pay the gharag which is a portion of the harvest, usually in grain. To determine the amount of this kharag, the government had to measure the land every year to estimate the value. 44 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Later in the Mamluk period, the lands was subjected to the feudal system. The land was distributed among the leaders of the army who prevaded justice among the peaseants. The lands that were confiscated by the Roman emperors, became under the possession of the government. 45 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter III Mariage and Divorce (3-1)Marriage and divorce in Pharaonic Egypt (3-2) Marriage in the Ptolemaic period (3-3) Marriage in the Islamic period 46 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter III Marriage and Divorce (3-1)Marriage and divorce in Pharaonic Egypt The Ancient Egyptians appreciated family life and marriage. They have realized that marriage was based on mercy and respect. So, wise persons as Ptahhotep have urged youth to get married. “ If you are wise establish a house”. Ptahhotep 47 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Terms of marriage The Ancient Egyptians referred to marriage with some terms: grg pr “ establish as house” , ir Hmt “ have a wife”, mr “love” and xnt “ admire”. The age of marriage There is no specific age of marriage in Ancient Egypt. However, some instructions have urged the youth get married at an early age. For girls, puberty might be the only condition of marriage. According to a story, the bride was so young and she told her father that she prefers to live with her beloved father and brothers. Yet, few Late period documents specify the age of the married boy was 14 and the girl was twelve. The Ancient Egyptian preferred that either his son or daughter get married to a person from the same village or the same family to know the origin of the new family member. They possibly wanted that their children get married in their neighbourhood. 48 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Brother and sister marriage Brother and sister marriage was not common or very rare in ancient Egypt. However, it was believed that the Ancient Egyptians practiced the brother and sister marriage because of the common title mrt⸗f snt⸗f “ his beloved, his sister”. Yet, the title sn or snt appeared in the love poems as a sign of love and respect. A possible justification for this, is that they tried to imitate their popular gods Isis and Nephtys. Indeed, the case is different for the royal couple, since the king had to marry his sister to preserve the royal blood. But, there is no clear indication of this practice among common population. Marriage of foreign women was common in the royal sphere, to consolidate the relation with certain countries. So, it was called a political marriage. 49 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Tutankhamun with his sister-wife The marriage contract The marriage contract was called aq pr, meaning “ enter the house” referring to the groom’s act of entering the girl’s family house. Agreement of both parties of the contract is a basic condition for marriage. The standard form of contracts include the dating form, name of the bride, name of the groom and parties of the contract. The parties of the contract are usually the groom and the girl’s father. It was oral at the beginning , depending on the agreement of both parties. 50 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The agreement could occur between the groom and the girl directly without her father’s agreement. In consequence, the groom had to offer a dowry, which is usually stipulated in the contract. Its value varies between one or two pieces of silver debens to his wife. This dowry was called Spn sHm. The bride could receive her dowry at her marriage or it will be received later in case of divorce or the death of her husband. If the groom offers her any kind of grains or cattle, this could be a kind of a gift at their marriage. Silver deben The contract could include a list of the bride’s possessions as cloths, jewlery, wigs, copper containers that she brings with her at her marriage was called nktw r Hm. The groom had to sign on receiving her possessions. What the groom possesses after marrying the woman is considered a 51 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 common property of the couple. In case of divorce the woman has the right to take part of these possessions. The groom declares his financial obligations towards his wife and children. He could grant part of his possessions to his wife during his life. Furthermore, he could declare that all his possessions should be transferred to his children at his death. Later the contract had to be registered by a certain scribe to preserve the woman’s rights. The contract was signed by 16 witnesses who attended the marriage, since the announcement of marriage is preferred. Marriage contract/ Berlin 52 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Polygamy The Ancient Egyptian marriage was monogamous, meaning that the man marries only one woman. The Ancient Egyptians preferred monogomy rather than polygamy. There is no clear evidence of polygamous marriage among commoners. Yet, polygamous marriage was common in the royal sphere for a specific purpose. In the royal sphere, having more than one wife guarantees the chance of many possible heirs to the thrones. Adultery was a great sin in ancient Egypt. The ancient Egyptian wife was a sincere woman, devoted to her family and husband. In case of adultery, the woman was severely punished as being divorced and losing all her rights or she was sometimes sentenced to death. Divorce Divorce is the act of separating the married couple. The Ancients Egyptians referred to this act with the term xAa Hmt “ quitting a wife” or nS “ neglect”. The principal reason of divorce is adultery. Moreover, sterility or hatred could be other reasons. 53 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The husband had the right for divorce in most cases. In this case he returns to the woman property to her or recompensates her. He sometimes gave her 5 times the value of her property or gives her all or half his possessions. If the wife takes the divorce decision, she returns half the dowry to the husband. Furthermore, she yields her share in the common properties with her husband. After divorce, she has the right to leave her husband’s house and returns to her father’s house. The act of divorce was registered in a contract to give the woman the opportunity of getting married again and to solve the common property issues of the couple. (3-2) Marriage in the Ptolemaic period In the Ptolemaic period, marriage could run from full contract marriage to cohabitation. During this period the religious element is of little significance and wealth and property are of significant importance. In this period, it was the woman who paid the dowry. Brother and sister marriage was common for both royals and commoners. In the Ptolemaic period, women brought dowries in the form of land or other property. 54 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 During the Ptolemaic period there was a contract of agreement, supplementing the ordinary one. This type could organize the obligations and rights of both parties. In Alexandria and some Ptolemaic cities, marriage occurred before the temples’ priests. Ptolemaic- Egyptian marriage was very rare. (3-3) Marriage in the Islamic period In Islamic Egypt, marriage proposal was succeeded by an engagement. According to Islamic religion, the bride has the right to give her opinion in the marriage by her self. The age of the couple is not clearly determined, but puberity was the only condition. The Jews of Egypt have determined the age of a married bride is twelve. The choice of a bride depended on a woman called “ Khatba”. This woman went to places of girls and women as a public bath and choses the bride for the groom. The acceptance of either the bride or groom depended on some qualifications as: the profession of the parents, the education of the couple, the social standard and his relation to the other family. Political marriage existed in Islamic Egypt when Khumaraweih accepted the marriage proposal of the 55 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Abasside calif to his daughter Qaterelnada. So, the relation between both countries was consolidated. The marriage contract was important to preserve the rights of both parties. The number of witnesses in this type of contracts is two at least. The contract was registered by a judge. The wealthy merchants in the Fatimide period celebrated the marriage of their sons in rented halls or in their palaces. During the celebrations, women statyed in a separate place with the bride, where men were not allowed to enter. 56 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 ChapterIV Children and Education (4-1) Child birth in Ancient Egypt (4-2) Education in Pharaonic Egypt (4-3) Education during the Ptolemaic period (4-4) Education in the Islamic period 57 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter4 Children and Education (4-1) Child birth in Ancient Egypt Child birth in Ancient Egypt was of great significance. The married couple wished to have children for their happiness and for the satisfaction of their gods. So women depeneded on medicine and spells to be fertile and to give birth of children. They also wore amulets in the form of Taweret or Heqet to give her fertility. The Ancient Egyptians used some methods to diagnose the sterility of a woman as: offering the woman a piece of a melon, mixed with the milk of nursing woman. If she vomits, she will be pregnant, if not she will be sterile. Another method is by advising a woman who is suspected to be pregnant to urinate on certain type of grain. If the grain grows she is pregnant and fertile if not she will be sterile or not pregnant. 58 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 At the birth day the doctors or wet nurses wore special dress and held some amulets to facilitate the birth. Furthermore, they invented new methods of birth. Amulets in the form of Heqet and Taweret The Egyptians’ wish of having children is related to the nature of the Egyptian fertile land that required a large number of working force to guarantee a permanent source of provision to the population. The king aswell wished to have a large number of children as possible heirs to the throne, since he and his successors are the inheritors of the land of Egypt. 59 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Child care and protection The new born child was given a name entailing a good wish as: snb “ healthy”, anxtify “ he will live long”, nxty “ the strong”. Some names distinguished the child among his brothers as nbsn “ the lord of his brothers” or it might refer to his condition as Imhotep “ he who comes in peace”. A child was given two names the first is his first name while the second is given by his parents. the little baby was nursed by his mother or a special nurse. The nursing woman, crossed her legs while nursing her child or bent one leg and placed her child on it. Doctors have examined the validity of the milk of a nursing woman. The Ancient Egyptians protected their children against any harm by using some remedies against the diseases of the digestive and respiratory systems as well as his eyes. For example, they used opium as a tranquilizer or for cough as well as Honey and caraway seed. Yet, amulets and spells were employed as remedies and protection for children. Child cleanliness was of great importance, since mothers bathed their children just after his birth. Furthermore, 60 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 child’s hands were washed before eating to prevent diseases. The child’s hair was cut and he was circumcised. Children were usually represented naked, holding a bird as a sign of childhood. They passed their sparetime, playing games as senet. Statue of a nursing woman (4-2) Education in Pharaonic Egypt The Ancient Egyptians have appreciated the education. They have considered it as the effective way to reach a high administrative office. The general term for education was sbAyt, meaning teaching or instruction. 61 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The literate class Ordinary people of either agricultural or artisanal background, used to teach their children their same profession to transfere it to them. However, the literate class constituted the state’s high officials. This class is formed of children, issued from the middle or high classes like Amenhotep son of Habu. They sent their children to schools to occupy high positions in the future. According to a literary text a woman advises her school boy to concentrate on his scribal career “ set your sights on being a scribe”. Furthermore, a man tells his son that “ I set you among the children of the elite”. The literate class must have included the sculpturers and draughts men, because they usually inscribed and wrote texts on the monuments. So they might have received a required amount of education. The School age The age of the school boy is not clarified in ancient Egyptian texts, however joining the school depended on the physical and mental state of the student. Therefore, it 62 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 could be estimated that the student joined the school between the age of five and ten. According to the autobiography of the high priest of Amun Bakenhuns, the education period extended to about fifteen years, four of them in the primary school. The student’s school life was not easy. The student has to be patient and obedient. Scribal students Schools and private tuition School was called at- sbAyt meaning “ room of instructions”. The first literary attestations of schools, in the sence of an architectural complex date from the First intermediate period and the early 12 th Dynasty probably located in Itetawy. According to some New Kingdom references, schools were some times attached to a royal palace at or near temple complexes like Deir el Bahari, Karnak and Ramesseum. 63 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Types of schools may have varied, both inside and outside the temple, but their curriculum certainly depended on the function that future scribes or priests were supposed to fulfill. The student appertaining to a high social class had some pre-school teaching in home. This type of education was subjected to father‟s wishes, who perhaps teaches his son or appoints a tutor to take this responsibility. The student is enrolled, then, in a school. These students had great opportunities to join the higher education institutions or a post in the labour market, especially as a scribe. Curriculum Students had to learn how to write whole words, not single signs. They started with cursive hieroglyphs, and went to hieratic. Writing and copying texts required memorizing them. The apprentice scribe had to learn the classic literature by hear as well as a variety of religious texts. The ancient Egyptian method of learning depended on memorizing. This is clear in the presence of repeated sentences on both sides of the ostraca. One of the exercises is to rearrange the sentence in a logical order, to enhance the child’s momorization. The child learnd to write from 3- 4 sentences per exercise, that increased gradually in higher levels. 64 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Students learnt a variety of subjects as: mathematics, arithmatics, science and literature. Onomastics were taught to Egyptian students. It is the technique of organizing the knowledge in word list. Geography was required to the places and the neighborlands, especially for the officials involved in foreign affairs. They also learnt mathematics and geometry to make calculations. Students’ exercises were corrected in red colour. Furthermore, the teacher wrote dots between the different sentences or paragraphs. There was no compulsory school attendance for all children. There was the “ instructions by letter” implying silent study outside the school. In this system the student makes copies of literary texts at home. The teacher There were no official recruited teachers, or any person who teaches for certain salary. Royal children were taught by private tutors who were members of the royal family or any person who is raised in the royal palace like Senenmut who was the tutor of Nefrure. Since the Old Kingdom wise men as Ptahhotep and Khety were considered as tutors who educate through their 65 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 maxims. According to the instructions of Khety, a teacher used to sit on a mat while teaching his students. Elder students, were recruited as assistants to their professors. They passed about twelve years beside their professors, then they become qualified to higher posts. The writing tools Students used simple writing tools. The beginners used cheap tools as: pieces of lime stone from the desert or broken potsherds called ostraca. Getting rid of these shereds in case of making a mistake was not a great loss. In addition to the forementioned tools, the students used wooden boards, covered with a white layer. This board included a groove to attach the inkquel and the brush. Papyrus was not used by students because of his high price. Ostraca writing palette 66 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Female education The presence of the female goddess of writing Seshat is a clear evidence that females have played a distinguished role in the literate society. Furthermore, some evidence could be an indication that women received high education. one Old Kingdom woman was accorded the title of “overseer of (female) doctors,” implying that other female doctors existed to be overseen. A feminine of the title “scribe” is attested in the Middle Kingdom, though some interpreted it as “cosmetician”. Women in the New Kingdom period were sometimes represented with scribal equipment, and a scribal palette bearing the name of a king’s daughter was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun. A clear incident of a female scribe was found in the Twenty‐Sixth Dynasty when she served in the household of the God’s Wife of Amun. 67 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Goddess Seshat Punishment The Ancient Egyptians tended to have an ideal student. This doesn’t mean to be obedient through fear or tension. But it means to be a good student through belief and will. So the Ancient Egyptians have adopted some punishment mechanisms as beating with a whip, with sticks. Moreover, they employed the warning of the consequences of laziness, neglect and escaping of the school that are those of an ignorant. Competition was also of great importance, urging the student to do his best. 68 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (4-3) Education during the Ptolemaic period During the Ptolemaic period, there were two types of education: Greek which depends on learning the Greek language and the native system, following the Egyptian pattern. The Greek system was divided into three stages: primary, secondary and higher education. This was based on the teacher and the type of curricula. Indeed, the same teacher could teach all levels. There were private schools meaning that the family was able to hire a teacher to give lessons at family home. The middle class students were enrolled mostly in public schools, while the lower class ones joined only the open-air school (kottab nowadays). The teaching facilities in Antiquity were resumed in school and its simple equipment. The term school, didaskaleia, or “the teaching place‟ was identified by the name of the teachers who managed all the activities of it. There are many references in papyri to such schools as: schools of Thoth in Memphis, school of Melankomas in Fayoum, and that of Dionysus in Oxyrhynchos. The term school refers only to a space dedicated to teaching and there weren’t any criteria for choosing the space but only the 69 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 availability as indicated by some papyri and recent archaeological discoveries in Oases. Establishing a school in some public buildings was a common practice in Hellenistic and Roman World as proved by some buildings in Pompeii where two elementary schools were constructed under the arcade of the Forum and of Campus.Regarding the equipment of the school, these recent excavations works in Amhedia as well as some terracotta statuettes could help to give an image about it. The recent excavations in Amhedia, ancient Trimithis, in Dkhala have found a school that is considered the only example of school in Egypt so far. It was established beside the house of the city councillor, and later on, one of its three rooms was incorporating in the house. Some walls of the three rooms were covered by white gypsum plaster, which served as a board for the teacher; one wall contained some dip into. All the three rooms are occupied by a series of benches with two steps along one wall or two to serve as a setting place for students. The student could stand on it to write on the whitewashed wall behind them. Another space that was reused for education purpose was the ancient tombs, which completely deserted during the Graeco-Roman Period as the tombs of Beni Hassan. In one of the tombs explored by Champollion, seven rows of Greek syllabary including consonants and vowels were inscribed on the walls, the 70 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 sequences of letters show that they were used for teaching students. The children had to learn different kinds of science to be well educated and ready to perform their roles in the society. They should learn reading and writing Greek language, basics of music, history, geography, arithmetic, and athleticism. To graduate, the student had to pass through different educational levels, and prove that he attained a specific level of knowledge and abilities. Classical writers and philosophers gave some indications about some teaching methods which had been attested also in documentary resources and archaeological finds. The teaching methods could be summarized as follows: - Learning by doing might be the first teaching method applied by the teachers to enable the student to learn the principals of writing. The teacher prepared wooden tablets incised with letters of Alphabet and the student try to follow the outlines of every letters. The teachers indicated practically how to follow the outlines of each letter and the right direction to write correctly every letters. In some wealthy family, they could use some alphabet letters in puzzles. practical exams were run from the primary school to the end of the secondary schools. In primary school, teacher used this method to ensure that students write correctly the alphabet letters. 71 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (4-4) Education in the Islamic period During the Fatimide period , the Califs held lessons in their palaces for the people. The califs established schools in their palaces for their sons as well as the elite ones, to qualify the future princes. The Fatimides have established the Azhar mosque which is regarded as the first university in Islamic Egypt. The Ayuubids were interested in education, since the sultan as well as the high officials established schools. The Mamluks were interested in science and they encouraged the knowledge exchange with other countries. The sultans gave high revenues and gifts to scientists. The Mamluks established a great number of Kutabs ( elementary schools) and madrasas. They gave a great attention to the Arabic language and they established schools for the Arabic grammar, despite of speaking Turkish. Schools enclosed libraries to promote the student’s knowledge. The curricula in the Mamluk period was based on Islamic religion, sharia, Arabic grammar and sufism. 72 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 The education in the Mamluk period was divided into three stages: 1) The elementary school ( kotab) for children under 15 year. 2) The intermediate stage for beginners 3) The high education in Madrasa 73 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 ChapterV Houses in Ancient Egypt (5-1)Information about Houses in Ancient Egypt (5-2) Building materials (5-3) The houses of important persons (5-4)The houses of the low class population (5-5)Egyptian Furniture (5-6)Houses in the Ptolemaic period (5-7) Houses in Islamic Egypt 74 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Chapter 5 Houses in Ancient Egypt (5-1) Information about Houses in Ancient Egypt Tracing the form of Ancient Egyptian houses is not easy, since most of the Ancient towns are demolished. The only remains of this towns are mounds of rubble. Furthermore, this rubble was reused by later generations and was removed to exploit the fertile land. These towns could be demolished because of political reasons as changing the capital and neglecting the old one as the Middle Kingdom capital of El Lisht and Memphis except for some examples from El Amarna and Deir el Medina. Yet, the main sources of information about houses in Ancient Egypt is from small models or from wall scenes. 75 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (5-2) Building materials The Ancient Egyptians in general used mudbrick in building their houses for some reasons: It is easy to work. Cheap. Traps warmth in the winter. Keeps the house cold in the summer. Doors and pillars were only made of wood. (5-3) The houses of important persons According to a Theban tomb scene, the houses of rich people or important ones is composed of two floors. They were plain on the outside of white washed brick walls, pierced with a door with projecting frame. The lower floor had no windows, in contrast to the second story, which has two windows and a pillar supporting its roof. This floor is topped with two sloping opening constituting the wind trappers which catch the cool wind. This type of houses is usually contructed at the corner of a garden with palm trees, figs and pomgrenate. 76 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Representation of a house The Amarna period scenes from the tomb of Meryre illustrate the common type of the houses of important persons. The houses of the rich were surrounded with large walls, pierced with a principal door. These houses are divided into a series of rooms, organized horizontally. They are usually constituted of halls surrouneded by small rooms. At the left of the house, there are some distinctive serving places as a kitchen, the store room and the bakery. This type of houses included rooms for the servants and serfs. The houses of these prestigious persons, usually included a suit for the harem. 77 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (5-4)The houses of the low class population The houses of the low or modest class population are obviously smaller than those of the higher one. They were composed of a single roofed story. The site of Deir El Medina furnishes faire information about the structure of the workers’ houses in the New Kingdom. The whole city was surrounded by a mudbrick wall, enclosing the village of the living at the foot of the mountain cliff. The city is distinguished with a large street running from the east to the west. 78 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Plan of the city of Deir el Medina The doors of the houses are adorned with labels, bearing the name of the owner. This type of houses is composed of three main areas, arranged one behind the other: a semi public zone, a central zone, and a private zone. The central room is located at the center of the house. It is characterized 79 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 with low benches, wall niches and vases. Its walls were usually white except for somecases, having polychrome motifs. A mudbrick platform with steps which may have been used as a shrine This hall provides access to the back, smaller halls by doors. One of the halls must have access to the kitchen which was opened to the air to expel the smoke or smell of the cooked food. These houses have a small staircase at the back of the house, leading to the roof, at which the ihabitants could enjoy the cold breeze. Each house is provided with a storage area or silo for storing the grains. Example of a house in Deir el Medina 80 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (5-5)Egyptian Furniture Furniture was a luxury that only the wealthiest of citizens could afford. As a result, most Ancient Egyptian families would sit on the floor, usually covered in mats or rugs. More affluent families would have chairs and stools, often made of wood. Beds were a luxury, usually raised off the ground and made of wood. If the poorer families did not have a bed, it was a simple straw mattress on the floor. (5-6)Houses in the Ptolemaic period In the Ptolemaic period houses consisted of successive courts with no separation. However, houses in some in some places had vaulted areas for grain storage like in the city of Karanis. The Ptolemaic period is characterized with the tour houses. This type was reconstructed in El Lisht, El Lahun and Buto. This type consisted of several stories. It was built of sundried mudbricks. They were placed one above the other when they were wet to consolidate one another. The roofs were constructed of either mud bricks or wood. The stories were accessed through mud brick staircases. The ventilation is provided through openings at the top of each floor. The walls of the basement walls are thicker than the rest of the building to support the house. 81 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Tour houses in the Ptolemaic period 82 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 (5-7) Houses in Islamic Egypt The houses in Islamic Egypt were constructed of stones. They consisted of court yards with fountains. To keep the air cold. The windows were in the form of mashrabiya. They were supplemented with a sabil for water and a kottab. The ground floor contains "Maqa'ad" (the seat for foreign visitors), while the first floor contains the "Takhtaboush" living room for family and women). Also, to the "Qa'aa" (a rectangular hall is overlooking two areas called Iwan). The "Iwan" is an area surrounded by walls on its three sides and overlooks the "Durka’a" (the central hall). The ceiling of the "Qa'aa" rises for two or three floors, where it overlooks the "Qa'aa,"; and covered with a wooden ceiling contains beautiful ornaments and topped by a lantern called "Shakshekhah" (clearstory) providing natural lighting and continuous natural ventilation with cold air. Also, a cistern for drinking water is available in most houses. Examples for this style are the Harrawy, Zeinab Khatoun and Seit Wailla houses. 83 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Quaa on the ground 84 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 Bibliography: Hamza Awad, Untersuchungen zum Schatzhaus im Neuen Reich: Administrative und ökonomische Aspekte, Dissertation zur Erlangung des philosophischen Doktorgrades der philosophischen Fakultät der Georg- August-Universität zu Göttingen, Göttingen 2002. Andrássy P, Untersuchungen zum ägyptischen Staat des Alten Reiches und seinen Institutionen, Berlin / London, 2008. Bruyere, Deir El Medina, vol. I, Le Caire, 1928. Butzer Karl W, Long-Term Nile Flood Variation and Political Discontinuities in Pharaonic Egypt, In Clark, J. D., Brandt, S. A. (eds.), 1984. Ezzat E A, Houses in Graeco- Roman Egypt Arenas for ritual activity, Oxford, 2016. Fahim T. and Zouair N, “ Education in Egypt till the end of the Graeco- Roman period: some evidences for quality,” Journal of Association of Arab universities for tourism and hospitality, December, 2016, pp.1-16. 85 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim Egyptian Society through history Tourist Guidance – 2025-2024 García Moreno J. C, Ancient Egyptian Administration, Leiden – Boston, 2013. Loprieno, Antonio, “ Slavery and servitude”, UCLA, 2012. Salah El Din Ahmed, “Traditional Islamic House (Ottoman House) Architecture, in Old Fatimid Cairo and Rosetta Cities, Egypt - An Example of Sustainable Architecture”, International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning 16(8), 2021, 1509-1517. Westermann W. L, “The Development of the Irrigation System of Egypt”, vol. 14, No. 2 (Apr., 1919), pp. 158- 164. --------------, “ The "Uninundated Lands" in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt”, Classical philology, vol. 15, No.2 , 1920. 86 Dr. Inji Adham Mohamed Selim