Ancient Egypt Essay

Politics and Institutions

Politics in Egypt has evolved and revolved around religion and faith not only in the erstwhile ancient Egypt but also in the modern times. Egypt is now the largest Arab country in the world and has an important role to play in the Middle Eastern politics.

In the 1950s President Gamal Abdul Nasser pioneered Arab nationalism and the non-aligned movement, while his successor Anwar Sadat made peace with Israel and turned back to the West. The protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak in 2011 raised the hopes of those seeking democratic reform and an end to decades of repressive rule. (BBC News, 2015) Egypt has seen two major evolutions, the Urabi Revolution from 1879 to 1882 and the Arab Spring in 2011. The Urabi revolution

The east bank housed built spaces such as the temples, palaces, residential quarters and units, markets, etc. whereas the west bank comprised of the necropolis, i.e., the city of the dead. It housed the tombs and spaces for the soul to rest in the afterlife. Great importance was attached to these monuments for the afterlife. The west bank also housed places for the craftsmen, artisans, workers, slaves as well as the officials who were entrusted with carrying out the construction of the great pyramids. Unlike the popular myth, the book accounts that these were paid employees and not unpaid tortured slaves. Order was established via the stratification of society and the stringent separation on spaces based on

Egypt was Christianized during the first century C.E., when the country was part of the Roman Empire.

By the 10th century, the Arabic language had replaced Coptic as the primary spoken language. Islam spread during the period of the Ottoman Turks, and Christianity during the French and the British rule. Jews and Christians in Muslim territories could live according to their own religious laws as dhimmis (tolerated subject peoples) but would have to give up certain political rights and pay a special tax. By the 9th century C.E., most Egyptians had converted to Islam. (Scott, 2011) Today, the head of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque is one of the highest authorities in Sunni Islam. (BBC News, 2015)

The people had a 10 day working week as against the 7 day working week today. The society was highly stratified; and included the Pharaohs, high priests, priests and viziers, other royalties, traders, farmers, artisans, common people and