tributes the king obtained during his campaigns and deliv-
ered to the religious institutions.
Such royal benefi ts were used for the internal needs of
the temple, redistributed in the form of rations, and given as
payments for the expenses of the state and the king, in par-
ticular. Th e construction of major works, such as the royal
tomb, cenotaph (a commemorative monument), statues, and
stelae (commemorative stone pillars), was oft en accomplished
through the wealth of the temples. Th is particular kind of re-
distributive economy fl ourished especially during the New
Kingdom. Th e economic growth of the temples rendered
them intermediaries between the central and local adminis-
trations. During the periods when royal power was in decline,
the temples and their representatives became substitutes for
the political authorities.
Th e redistributed economic practice was not confi ned to
interactions between the state and the clergy. It also defi ned
the pharaoh’s working and compensational policy toward
the state’s workforce. Th e following working classes could be
traced in the Egyptian socioeconomic system: scribes, ad-
ministrators, offi cials, craft smen, agricultural laborers, and
slaves.
Th e fi rst three classes were literate and formed the elite
of Egyptian society. Th e educational institutes provided the
state, temples, and administrative offi ces with their personnel.
Scribes could also work outside large offi ces for high offi cials
and state stewards. Th e lower level of scribes and offi cials may
have been given a wage (in the form of various commodities,
such as copper or grain) in addition to their rations, while
the upper ranks lived on the rents collected from endowment
lands attached to their positions. Craft smen earned income
by selling their craft s to provide tombs and mortuary temples
with artifacts and artwork. Most of these items were made in
small, organized workshops attached to the palaces, mortu-
ary complexes, temples, or offi ces of the elite. Independent
craft work was done as well; many tomb representations de-
pict people making craft transactions in markets, an indica-
tion of the independent function of this class of labor.
Th e largest percentage of the Egyptian workforce was
made up of farmers, usually under the directorship of a land-
lord and organized into households or small groups. Either
they rented land from the state or priestly authorities, or land
was rewarded to them through the economic principles of re-
distribution and reciprocation. Taxes were calculated based
on their annual production. With larger estates, the owner
or lessor of the land provided a large number of workers to
farm the land together. Th ese laborers were mostly soldiers or
slaves who had been captured in war or during foreign cam-
paigns abroad.
Th is brings us to the fi nal working class, that of slaves. In
ancient Egypt this class did not include only the stereotype of
the foreigner but also everybody who was under the rulership
of a superior being, divine or human. Th us, a nobleman was
the slave of a lord or high offi cial, a farmer was the slave of
his landlord, and a priest was the slave of his local god. Even
the pharaoh was regarded as the slave or servant of god. Slave
dealing was done on a personal level, not in public or open
markets. Th e transactions, though, had to be performed in
the presence of a royal offi cial or the local council.MARKETS
Th e temple or political offi ces allocated the soil production
and commodities to the populace according to each individ-
ual’s needs. Surplus together with local food and homemade
items could be traded at local markets. Th ese were usually
built close to road intersections or on riverbanks near har-
bors. Th e most commonly traded goods were bread, beer,
fresh and dried fi sh, meat, and vegetables. Th e last two were
probably surplus from the off erings to the priests in the mor-
tuary and religious temples. Luxury goods were rarely traded
in the markets. Common items off ered for exchange included
leather sandals, pieces of furniture, and ceramics.
Prices in the market were determined by supply and de-
mand, though prices were sometimes fi xed. State representa-
tives supervised the prices and organization of the markets.
Th ey were also responsible for preventing raw materials and
goods, which were the property of the state, from being di-
verted to illegal trading markets (“black markets”) and for
protecting customers from being cheated.TAXATION
Th e system of benefi ts and land bestowment on institutions
and individuals brought to the state a great deal of income in
the form of taxes, which might have included a share in the
produce of the land, cattle and other products, human labor,
and wealth. Temples, foreign settlements, and garrisons were
major benefi ciaries of tax revenues generated by the annual
levy during the New Kingdom. Evidence for taxation cov-
ers the whole period of the ancient Egyptian civilization and
comes from administration texts, letters, and tomb scenes.
Th e taxes were received in kind by the chancellor in
charge of the treasuries of Upper and Lower Egypt. Taxes in
grain were collected by the pharaoh’s so-called overseer of
the granary. Redistribution of tax revenues to their benefi cia-
ries was handled by the palace’s master of largesse. Agricul-
tural and land taxes were estimated aft er the land production
was measured by surveyors in the company of scribes and an
inspector.
Corruption or failure in tax collection led to severe pun-
ishment. A distinctive scene in the tomb of the vizier Khentika
of the Sixth Dynasty (2323–2150 b.c.e.) depicts the judgment
and corporal punishment of fi ve district governors brought
before the vizier and charged with corruption in tax collec-
tion. Within the royal decrees enacted by the king Horemheb
of the Eighteenth Dynasty (r. 1319–1307) is a series of laws
for addressing specifi c abuses on the part of governmental of-
fi cials and soldiers who denied their responsibility in giving
taxes to the state. Th ere were also cases of district mayors and
offi cials who formally complained about the taxes for which
they were held liable.economy: Egypt 349