Who were the Egyptians?

The Egyptians were a civilization that developed for 3000 years around the Nile River, Africa . The evolution of their culture lasted until the appearance of the Roman Empire and Christianity .

Egyptian history is classified into three major periods: Old Kingdom (2686 BC – 2181 BC) , Middle Kingdom (2050 BC – 1750 BC) and New Kingdom (1550 BC – 1070 BC). . C.).

Due to its location, on the banks of the Nile River, they were able to develop an economy and survival based on livestock, agriculture and navigation .

The Egyptian civilization was characterized by being of great influence in the development of later cultures , which, in turn, influenced current cultures. His art can be seen today reflected in works of architecture, such as pyramids and monuments.

Location of Egyptian culture

The first cities of the Egyptian culture were established between the banks of the Nile River .

Egypt, located in northeast Africa, is bordered to the north by the Mediterranean Sea, to the south by Ethiopia and Nubia, to the east by the Arabian desert and to the west by the Libyan desert.

In addition, its territory was divided into two large regions:

• Upper Egypt:a mountainous area located to the south, stretching from Aswan to Cairo.
• Lower Egypt: a valley located to the north, which ran from Cairo to the Mediterranean Sea.

Egyptian culture developed on the banks of the Nile River.

Religion of egyptian culture

• You may be interested: Egyptian gods .

The mythology of Egyptian culture was governed by a polytheistic cult, that is, they worshiped various gods. In addition, they implemented zoolatry, which is animal worship and worship.

The main divinities of Egyptian culture were:

Social and political organization

Social organization

The social organization of this culture was hierarchized by social class in the following way:

Social pyramid of Egyptian culture.

• The pharaoh and his family: itwas believed that the pharaoh was a supreme god with powers, incarnated in a human body, and that he was indispensable to satisfy the needs of the people.
• The nobility:landowners and government officials with high purchasing power. Only they were worthy to govern and maintain the order of the laws and their lands.
• Priests : they were in charge of religious worship and the temple, and were intermediaries between the gods and the pharaoh, so they enjoyed high political and economic privileges.
• Scribes : they were very cultured men, who knew how to read and write, and had the responsibility of managing the territory, collecting taxes and keeping an inventory of agricultural products that were produced. In general, they belonged to families with economic power and had the possibility of receiving an education at an early age.
• The viziers: incharge of the organization, administration and advice of the pharaoh. Together with officials, they were considered people with great power and importance in society.
• Warriors : they defended the country and fought for new territories. By their work they could aspire to obtain slaves or extensions of lands conquered from their enemies.
• The town: of all the society, it was the group with the greater number of people. It was made up of farmers, merchants, and artisans, who had to serve as soldiers, pay taxes and tithe.
• Slaves : these were prisoners captured in some war or conquest. In some cases, they were sold to serve all those privileged classes in the jobs that demanded more effort. They were also in charge of mummification and embalming.

Political organization

The  political organization of Egyptian culture was monarchy and hereditary , since all authority resided under the command of the pharaoh . This had a court made up of officials, nobles, priests and warriors .

In order to delegate some functions, there were royal scribes , who were in charge of the administrative area of ​​the country.

Another important figure was the grand vizier , who served as a mediator between the pharaoh and his designated authorities. His function was to command all the services of the king.

Egyptians economy

Industry, commerce and agriculture were the source of the economy of this culture; but of all, the most important and the one that yielded the most productivity was agriculture. That is why the economy basically depended on the Nile River, where they grew silk, flax, cereals, wheat, cotton and rice .

Land and maritime means were used for trade. Papyrus , a plant used for the creation of writing material, was mainly exported , and gold and copper mines were also exploited , from which they extracted metal for the manufacture of export and trade items.

Art in Egyptian culture

Egyptian art manifested itself mainly in colossal works of a religious , but also funerary and symbolic nature . This culture made crafts and jewelry for commerce, and has also produced great works of architecture, painting and sculpture.

The materials most used by the Egyptians were limestone, sandstone or granite, although they also used metals such as gold and copper, cedar wood , among others.

For this culture, art meant a way of transmitting the concept of tradition and they used works as a means of political and religious expression.

Statue of Tutankhamun, one of the main pharaohs of Egyptian culture.

Egyptian clothing

Generally speaking, the clothing of the Egyptians was light and comfortable. The material they used was white linen,  due to the hot climate that characterizes the region.

During the ancient period, men used to wear short skirts, which were fastened at the hips with a belt. Then, during the middle period, slightly longer skirts began to be worn, below the knee.

The ladies , at first, only wore dresses with a high waist and with two straps on the shoulders, which left the breasts visible to all. With the passage of time they began to wear suits that were tighter to the body and covered the breasts. Towards the end, the dresses became long and much looser.