The Ramesside Economy

The Ramesside Economy

Modern Sources

Wilson

Kemp

O’Connor

Kitchen

http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/economy/

Ancient Sources

Harris Papyrus - http://www.specialtyinterests.net/harris.html

Deir el medina papyri

These are syllabus dot points in a nutshell

Structures & organisation

·  The Egyptian economy existed with the basis of two areas: agricultural produce and trade. Agricultural produce provided Egypt with the backbone that sustained the population down to the very bottom of the class structures. The revenue produced would then be used for trade purposes.

Structures:

·  A central treasury existed where all the taxes from various estates were received. The pharaoh, in theory, owned all the land of Egypt but the estates were run by officials. For example, estates included the Amun re temple estate, as well as the royal harems. These estates ran the land and the revenue was used to pay for things such as wages, building programs and so on.

Organisation:

·  There were officials apart of the structure of the economy. For example, workers held titles such as “overseer of the granaries of Amun”, “overseer of the treasury” etc.

Later Issues relating to organisation and structures:

The taxes that were received from the various estates would go back in to the economy through the payment of wages for those apart of the building programs. These building programs produced a prolonged employment rate that would sustain the population, as the payment of wages went into the pockets of people from all the class structures. In the later period you will find that the lack of building programs reduced employment which failed to keep this structure in place. Since the taxes received from the estates were being used to flourish the Amun Re temple estates (see Harris papyrus) and not back into the economy, this reduced the level of economic activity occurring, reduced trade and increased corruption and anarchy.

Foreign tribute and trade

Egypt was advanced by its acquisition of gold and copper in the Bronze Age (see Wilson pg 274). After the Peace Treaty under the reign of Ramses II, Egypt gained a boost to the economic situation with areas that were formerly enemies. This was further improved by the building of the new capital at Pi-Ramses in Memphis, being in close proximity to the regions of trade.

Trade was conducted simply through a barter system where goods were exchanged according to their value against a metal, whether silver/copper/gold, and was measured in debens.

In Ramses II’s reign, copper was worth 1/100 of its weight in debens of silver, and as we find towards the end of the new kingdom, this lessened to about 1/300 due to the tomb robberies releasing “a surge of wealth into society from…the bottom[1]”.

Later problems relating to tribute and trade

·  Now that people off all social classes had access to precious metals (from tomb robberies) there would be a subsequent rise in prices to accommodate for this drastic change.

·  rise of prices doubled cost of staples. Subsequently there were food shortages, which lead to further disorder and problems. Because in stable times, the wealth would flow from the highest social order to the bottom. The rise in prices meant that the lower classes weren’t sustained.

Later economic problems

·  The comings of the Sea Peoples had weakened Egypt until a new power was established in the Hittite region. Egypt lost its immediate access to these precious metals.

·  The pharaoh lost control of even his “theoretical land”, the land was owned by individuals and various temples.

·  And yeah…….

[1] Kemp