Essay Questions

ESSAY A:  Describe the social hierarchy of the ancient Egyptians 

They social hierarchy of the Egyptians was spread into 8 sections, the ones on the bottom were the slaves and moving upward like a pyramid were the farmers, artisans, merchants, scribes, soldiers, government of officials and the highest of them all the pharaoh. They all differed in what they did for a living and that is why they were separated the way they were. The slaves helped the wealthy with household chores and raising children while the scribes kept records, told stories, wrote poetry and learned anatomy. Each of these sections contributed to the Egyptian society, but whether or not it was important is what made the difference from barely having any food or money or from being called the "White Kilt Class". The "White Kilt Class" was made out of priests, physicians, and engineers, jobs that don't usually that didn't get your hands "dirty". They wore white kilts, which is the reason for them being called the "White Kilt Class" and they were wealthy. The most important of the social hierarchy, though was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people and was even called "Lord of two lands" and "High Priest of every temple". He collected taxes, owned land and defended Egypt. He was practically considered a god to the Egyptian people. There were also the farmers, who raised wheat, lentils, and onions, and the artists who carved statues and drew pictures of the afterlife. Last of all were the soldiers, who used wooden weapons with a bronze tip and rode chariots. The swords with the bronze tip, was actually one of the first techniques in using metal. The Egyptian social hierarchy, was very organized and it was who they were as a people. It was the reason why they ruled for so long and at the same time make a trademark in our history. 



ESSAY B: Discuss the importance of the Nile River in the lives of Egyptians.

The importance of the Nile River in the lives of Egyptians was the difference between life and death in their society.The Nile River is the only river that flows south to north and it is the longest in the world. The Nile river was able to give the Egyptians drinking water and transportation and they were able to irrigate land and bathe in it. Irrigation was a technical breakthrough for the Egyptians, because they were able to plant and grow crops, which enabled them to have food for their society. They also were able to build sail boats for transportation and trading on the Nile river. The Nile would flood every July, which helped with irrigation and in October there would be good soil. It was a cycle that they Egyptians took notice of and they used it to their benefit. Because of the Nile, the Egyptian society was starting to increase especially because they could produce their own food. The Nile gave the Egyptians a sort of a lead among everyone once else, because while some people were still traveling for food, the Egyptians could irrigate and they had their own source of transportation. They had so many technical breakthroughs, which lead them to build great big pyramids and inventing papyrus, that they started to become an Empire that seemed would last forever.