Name
_______________________________ Core________ Date_________________
Slavery in Ancient Egypt
Slavery has been around since ancient times. It is a system where people are the property of another
person and can be bought, sold, or traded. The ownership of a person is also called chattel slavery. Chattel
refers to property that can be bought or sold. Slavery is looked down upon in modern society because it is a
system in which humans are treated like objects. In ancient Egypt, however, enslaved people were considered
useful members of society. Their work helped the economic development of the region. Some enslaved people
even had certain rights and freedoms. Slavery in ancient Egypt helped develop the civilization, although it came
with the heavy cost of sacrificing human lives and treating humans as disposable.
Enslaved people were the lowest social class in ancient Egypt, lower even than peasants. Enslaved
people were fed and clothed by their owners. In this sense, they traded work for food, clothing, and shelter.
They were relieved of the extra burden of taxes, but they were forced to live a life of hard work, often in brutal
conditions. Most enslaved people in Egypt were foreigners, but some Egyptian peasants entered into slavery to
pay debts. Entering into slavery allowed peasants to stay out of poverty and ensured that they had the basic
necessities for survival. In fact, slavery helped keep poverty levels low in Egypt. This fact must be considered
from all angles, however. Poverty may have been low, but it is hard to measure the impact that living without
basic freedoms had on the enslaved people of ancient Egypt. A life in slavery was one full of hardships.
People from other regions entered into slavery as gifts from their rulers to the Egyptian pharaoh, or they
were sold for gold or silver. Slavery was not widespread in Egypt until the rise of the New Kingdom (1539–
1075 BCE). During this time Egypt’s military advanced into Syria and Palestine. Any person captured was
enslaved and added to the kingdom’s resources. Enslaved people in the military were prisoners of war chosen to
serve in the pharaoh’s army because of their physical strength and courage. The New Kingdom relied on large
armies to expand into other territories. Enslaved people in the army were treated like other Egyptian soldiers.
Using captured people as soldiers may have given Egypt an edge in conquering surrounding regions.
Other enslaved people were taken from their homeland and forced to work without pay. For some
prisoners, this meant simply an exchange of owners, because many regions contained slave-owning societies.
Some slaves in ancient Egypt may have even seen an improvement in their standard of living, especially if they
were sent to a royal house.
In ancient Egypt, one slave could live a very different life from another slave. That is because there were
different types of slavery, and enslaved people performed different tasks. Enslaved people given to temple
priests helped take care of the temples and please the gods. There were also enslaved people who were owned
by royal families. They usually were not subject to harsh working conditions. Rather, they were seen as part of
the staff. They sometimes married into the family or were given their freedom. Enslaved people in royal
families could even enjoy a better life than some free peasants who toiled long hours in the fields as farmers.
The lives of enslaved people who worked within households differed greatly from those who worked in
mines. Those who worked in mines often were not given enough food and water to survive the harsh desert
conditions. Enslaved people in the Egyptian mines provided labor for an essential part of the economy. The
gold and copper mines in ancient Egypt were a big part of the region’s wealth. It was because of the large
number of enslaved people that the mining industry thrived. Although they were important, these people were
treated poorly because there were so many of them; they became nearly disposable. Without enslaved people
working the mines, it is quite likely that the economy of ancient Egypt would have been much different.
Though life was rarely easy for an enslaved person, ancient Egyptian society did offer enslaved people
some chances to better their lives. Free people were subjects of the kingdom and bound by their place in
society. A free peasant would stay a peasant for his or her entire life. Slavery could offer an opportunity to live
above one’s birth status, especially if placed into a royal household. An enslaved person could one day earn his
or her freedom. In ancient Egypt, slaves were the only class of people with any social mobility. Additionally,
slaves could sometimes buy property or educate their children.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Question (8 points)
1. Think about what you know about social class in ancient Egypt. In your opinion, was life more difficult
in ancient Egypt for an enslaved person or for a free peasant? Clearly explain your answer using details
from the passage.