Renee Kastanias.
Yr. 12 Ancient History
Explain and Assess the Importance of social relationships and gender roles in the
Ramesside period including the social structure and the roles of males and females.
The social structure of the Ramesside period was much like any other civilisation. A strict
hierarchy that defined the roles of men and women existed at all levels of society from the
royal family down to the lower classes. Despite the fact that women within the royal family
enjoyed elite privileges, the roles and responsibilities of women to men were much the same
throughout the classes. The role of men within the social structure of the Ramesside period,
carried with them expectations as workers, administrators and rulers.
“In the Egyptian world view, the organisation of society was hierarchical”1. What presided
over the entire social structure was the “divine world”2 in which itself was a strict order. The
pharaoh personified this position and by sharing certain attributes with the gods, he acted as a
mediator between the divine and human spheres. The role of the pharaoh within the
Ramesside period continued its similarity from the Eighteenth Dynasty into the Ramesside
period, with the “significant but gradual change in the nature and strength of the royal power
seems to become evident first in the late nineteenth dynasty and increasingly in the twentieth
dynasty”3 Members of the pharaoh’s family were also identified as part of the interdependent
hierarchical group within society. The status of the pharaoh within the social structure of
Egypt is an area of distinct change once entering into Dynasty Twenty and resulted in a
reduction in status. Wenamun’s narrative is the most useful source in providing an
understanding of the pharaoh’s decline by the end of Dynasty Twenty. By the time of the
reign of Ramesses XI, the pharaoh no longer attended the great festivals occurring on the
West Bank at Karnak, resulting in a dramatic change in the traditional roles effecting the
powers held within the social hierarchy of the royal administration. The unfurnished tomb of
Ramesses XI provides a strong indication of decline of social, religious and political status of
the pharaoh within the social order of Egypt.
The nobility which comprised of one per cent of the population4 followed in the social
hierarchy behind the pharaoh. The men within this social group formed the bureaucracy of
1
Robins, G Women in Ancient Egypt Cambridge University Press 1993 pg. 16
ibid. Pg. 16
3
O’Connor, D Ancient Egypt: A Social History 1983 Cambridge University Press pg. 205
4
ibid. Pg. 16
2
Renee Kastanias.
Yr. 12 Ancient History
Egypt, and held responsibilities predominantly within the administrative sectors of the
Egyptian government, such as taxation.
The relationship with those who held high posts were often family members, as can be seen
with Rekhmire who followed his uncle in holding office. However this is an area in which
evident change had occurred between the early New Kingdom and the Ramesside period.
Viziers of Dynasty XX did not seem to have any hereditary links with each other5, therefore
showing signs of a break in Egyptian custom and a distinct change in government
administration.
Despite the moving of the capital to Per Ramesse in the nineteenth and twentieth dynasties,
the vizier of the south continued to enjoy equal status with the vizier of the north. The
significant increase with the roles of the vizier altered the power structures within the
responsibilities of the royal government. The Installation of the Vizier and The Duties of the
Vizier are important in assessing the roles of the vizier, and appeared in nineteenth dynasty
tombs such as Paser,6 - “it is he who dispatches every official of the royal domain and who
sends to nomarchs and heads of division”.7 Further, the Papyrus Lansing is a useful source in
providing an understanding of the social position of the scribes. Although this text is bias and
glorifies the position of the scribe, it allows for an understanding of the position of the scribe
within the social hierarchy of New Kingdom society, - “It is worth more than an inheritance
in Egypt, than a tomb in the West”. 8
One of the fundamental changes to the roles of men within the social structure of the royal
family according to Callender was the change in types of people serving as officials. During
the reign of Akhenaten, there was, as Callender argues, “a complete turnover in officials.
Many of his bureaucrats were unknown from Theban sources, yet he held a high position at
Akhetaten”. This perspective provides an understanding that there were a vast number of
capable and literate men who obtained the ability to assume the important roles as officials in
the land. By the end of the nineteenth dynasty, the role of the Asiatics was noticeable within
the social order of the government administration. The roles of the Asiatics can be perceived
5
Callender, G The Eye of Horus Longman Australia, 1993, pg. 289
O’Connor, op.cit pg. 246
7
Breasted, JH Ancient Records of Egypt. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1906 pg. 273
8
Ibid, pg. 273
6
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Yr. 12 Ancient History
as a broadened scene of the Ramesside period, as this era saw a gradual influx of Asiatic
people who were possibly responding to the pressures of the Sea People.
The relationship between males and females of Egyptian society, amongst the lower classes
was “bounded by the domestic framework, concerned with familial, private sectors of
society”.9 Given that the dominance of men could perpetuate their masculine control within
the public and political climate of Egypt, women had difficulty in gaining entrance or even
being acknowledged within these fields, especially within the lower classes. Since the social
structure of Egyptian society was ranked hierarchically, women too were ranked
hierarchically10. The clear similarity between women of the different social structures within
the society was, as Robins argues, that women of the royal family, the elite scribal class,
minor professional classes and of the peasantry was that they all simply had the ability to bear
children.11 The roles of women within the peasantry class provided them with little to no
power. Being the poorest class economically, women within the unskilled workers were
always at the receiving end of authority, and this role continued throughout the New Kingdom
and into the Ramesside period. However, women of the elite scribal classes did have more
access to economic resources, however being closer to the bureaucratic powers of the male
influences in her family, women were still subjugated to the tradition social roles. Women
within areas of the skilled working class did contribute to the social order of society. The
Tomb of Ipy12 reveals women conducting trade up and down the Nile.
The division and gradual disintegration of the social order within Egypt was, according to
David O’Conner, due to the “political weakness of the religious system”13 but the fault of the
“military officers, not priests”14 which were responsible for the change in the social structures
of Egypt. However this view is opposed by Barbara Lesko who argues that it was the growth
of the power of the Amun priesthood15 that contributed to the gradual disintegration of the
social order. This argument is carried further with Robins’ comment that it was the decline in
9
Jablow, A et al Women: Their Economic Role in Traditional Societies. 1973 pg.167
Robins, G op.cit pg. 19
11
ibid, pg. 19
12
ibid, pg 52
13
O’Connor, D op.cit pg. 187
14
ibid, pg. 187
15
Lesko, B op.cit Pg 77
10
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the royal religious authority, military prestige, and political powers 16 which resulted in the
change to the social structures of the Ramesside period. It was not a dramatic upheaval that
occurred within society however, but this social change predominantly occurred within the
royal administration. The pharaoh’s reduction in status was due to the diminished
responsibilities he held, not the prestige in his divine right.
The distinct changes within the Ramesside period following the New Kingdom society within
the social structure of Egypt can be firstly seen in the role of the pharaoh. His divine principal
remained throughout the entire period of Egyptian society, however it was his administering
and governing position that changed. The pharaoh no longer had complete control and
authority of the empire, and power was divided between him and the vizier. This reciprocates
onto the social structure of the Ramesside period, and increased the power wielded by the
vizier. The roles of women within the Ramesside period remained fairly consistent throughout
the period, showing evident signs of continuity throughout the New Kingdom and Ramesside
periods. Ultimately, the subsequent deterioration of the pharaoh’s social status proved to be
the decisive factor in the altering of the hierarchy of the social structure within the Ramesside
period.
16
Robins, G op.cit pg 115