The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . Portrait Statue of Amten, amade noble of 3200 self- 1 For Egypt this was a large farm. See page 20. §13] LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 23 in ancient Egypt the royal servants were particularly numerousand important. Until the seventh century the Egyptianshad no money. Thus the immense royal revenues, as well as alldebts between private men, had to be collected in tax-collectors and treasurers had to receive geese, ducks,cattle, grain, wine, oil, metals, jewels, —all that the heavens. Egyptian Noble hunting Waterfowl on the Nile with
The ancient world, from the earliest times to 800 AD . Portrait Statue of Amten, amade noble of 3200 self- 1 For Egypt this was a large farm. See page 20. §13] LIFE OF THE PEOPLE 23 in ancient Egypt the royal servants were particularly numerousand important. Until the seventh century the Egyptianshad no money. Thus the immense royal revenues, as well as alldebts between private men, had to be collected in tax-collectors and treasurers had to receive geese, ducks,cattle, grain, wine, oil, metals, jewels, —all that the heavens. Egyptian Noble hunting Waterfowl on the Nile with the throw-stick (a boomerang). The birds rise from a group of papyrus reeds.—Egyptian relief; after Maspero. give, all that the earth produces, all that the Nile brings fromits mysterious sources, as one king puts it in an inscription*To do this called for an army of royal officials. For a likereason, the great nobles needed a large class of trustworthyservants. 13. Summary of Social Classes. — Thus, in Egyptian society,we have at the top an aristocracy, of several elements: (1) thenobles; (2) the powerful and learned priesthood, whose in-fluence almost equaled that of the pharaoh himself; (3) scribes 24 EGYPT [§ 14 and physicians; (4) a privileged soldiery; and (5) a mass olprivileged officials of many grades, from the greatest rulersnext to the pharaoh, down to petty tax collectors and the stew-ards of private estates. Lower down there was the middle class^of shopkeepers and artisans, whose life ranged from comfortto a grinding
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecthistoryancient, booky
