Exercises on Ancient Egypt

Within a certain view of history (called historical materialism), mode of production it meant the way in which a society is organized according to the set of economic, but also political and cultural relations, intimately linked to each other and interfering with each other. (Vicentino, Claudio. History for High School:general and Brazilian history:single volume. – São Paulo:Scipione, 2001.p, 40.)

The Asian mode of production was practiced in ancient civilizations. So mark the correct alternative about this working relationship in Ancient Egypt.

a) It was a model also found in Mesopotamia and consisted of a work practice based on collective servitude, in which individuals exploited the land as members of the community and served the State, which was the largest owner of wealth.

b) Work model based on the practice of a salaried regime in which individuals specialize in an area of ​​the production system.

c) Work relationship constituted by the mutual exchange of goods and services in which the State was the guarantor of the equal distribution of production for the Egyptian population.

d) It was a model of work articulated by the State that monopolized the region's wealth. However, workers received payments in goods and did not pay taxes to the government, as peasants and artisans had a privileged position in Ancient Egypt.

In 3200 BC, Menes was known for being the first Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. During his reigns, the pharaohs possessed considerable political and economic power. Given that, mark the correct alternative what was the Theocracy in Egyptian civilization.

a) The Pharaohs had political and economic autonomy in Egyptian civilization, but in relation to religion, they did not demonstrate much authority, as the gods were considered the most powerful by Egyptian individuals.

b) Theocracy was a form of government in Ancient Egypt in which the Pharaohs promoted an alliance between religion and politics, since they were worshiped as gods and respected as kings.

c) A theocratic government was simply one in which individuals were ruled by a Pharaoh who, despite great political and economic power, was not seen as a god.

d) Only Pharaoh Mentuhotep II, during the Middle Kingdom, managed to promote a theocratic monarchy in which he was seen as a god before Egyptian individuals.

Conduct an analysis of the social organization of Egyptian civilization.

Religion was very important for the maintenance of the existing order and, therefore, the rule of the peasants by the State, headed by a “god”, the Pharaoh.

(Vicentino, Claudio. History for High School:general and Brazilian history:single volume. – São Paulo:Scipione, 2001.p, 44.)

The above text discussed the role of religion in controlling peasants in Ancient Egypt. Therefore, discuss some important characteristics of religion in Egyptian society.

Letter A. The working relationship in Ancient Egypt became known as the Asian mode of production because the state monopolized the region's wealth and systematized a labor regime anchored in the collective servitude of its citizens who were unable to accumulate property. Peasants, for example, in addition to working in agriculture, were obliged to carry out public works, such as pyramids, irrigation canals and temples.

Letter B . The theocratic system in Ancient Egypt prevailed for several years and consisted of a practice that helped the Pharaohs in their governments. In this system, the Pharaoh, in addition to being seen as a political leader, that is, a king, was also worshiped by individuals as a god. Therefore, the alliance between religion and politics was a way of legitimizing the Pharaoh's authority over Egyptian civilization.

There was a very well systematized hierarchy in Egyptian society, which was controlled in the first place by the figure of the Pharaoh, who had a concentration of political, economic and religious power during the exercise of his power. In the background, there were the priests who took care of the administration of the government and, mainly, of the cults in honor of the gods carried out in the temples. Just below were the scribes who took care of the bureaucratic part of the government and who developed a type of writing known as demotic in order to better control commerce and tax collection. The base of the social pyramid consisted of peasants and artisans, who represented the work force of civilization and who still paid tribute to defray public expenses.

The Egyptian civilization had a polytheistic religion, that is, individuals believed in the existence of several gods. Pharaoh himself was seen as a living god, which contributed to the control and order of the peasants and all civilization in general. Furthermore, the Egyptian gods were related to elements of nature, which was interpreted as a fundamental piece for the material existence of human beings. Among the best-known kings of Ancient Egypt, the following stood out:Amon-Ra, who was the Sun-god; Osiris , god of vegetation and the most worshiped among the Egyptians; Isis, who was the sister and wife of Osiris; and Horus , god of the sky who was the son of Isis and Osiris. These gods were worshiped in the rituals performed in the temples and various offerings were made in homage to them. Among the offerings, there was the practice of offering food to the gods, since individuals believed that they had the same human desires. It is worth remembering that the Egyptians were the first to believe in life after death and, therefore, they carried out the practice of mummification as a method of preserving the body, as they thought that the soul could return after the judgment of the dead.