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THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF EGYPT

THE KING, QUEEN, AND ROYAL PRINCES—­PHARAONIC ADMINISTRATION

FEUDALISM AND THE EGYPTIAN PRIESTHOOD, THE MILITARY—­THE CITIZENS AND THE COUNTRY-PEOPLE.

The cemeteries of Gizeh and Saqqara:  the Great Sphinx; the mastabas, their chapel and its decoration, the statues of the double, the sepulchral vault—­Importance of the wall-paintings and texts of the mastabas in determining the history of the Memphite dynasties.

The king and the royal family—­Double nature and titles of the sovereign:  his Horus-names, and the progressive formation of the Pharaonic Protocol—­Royal etiquette an actual divine worship; the insignia and prophetic statues of Pharaoh, Pharaoh the mediator between the gods and his subjects—­Pharaoh in family life; his amusements, his occupations, his cares—­His harem:  the women, the queen, her origin, her duties to the king—­His children:  their position in the State; rivalry among them during the old age and at the death of their father; succession to the throne, consequent revolutions.

The royal city:  the palace and its occupants—­The royal household and its officers:  Pharaoh’s jesters, dwarfs, and magicians—­The royal domain and the slaves, the treasury and the establishments which provided for its service:  the buildings and places for the receipt of taxes—­The scribe, his education, his chances of promotion:  the career of Amten, his successive offices, the value of his personal property at his death.

Egyptian feudalism:  the status of the lords, their rights, their amusements, their obligations to the sovereign—­The influence of the gods:  gifts to the temples, and possessions in mortmain; the priesthood, its hierarchy, and the method of recruiting its ranks—­The military:  foreign mercenaries; native militia, their privileges, their training.

The people of the towns—­The slaves, men without a master—­Workmen and artisans; corporations:  misery of handicraftsmen—­Aspect of the towns:  houses, furniture, women in family life—­Festivals; periodic markets, bazaars:  commerce by barter, the weighing of precious metals.

The country people—­The villages; serfs, free peasantry—­Rural domains; the survey, taxes; the bastinado, the corvee—­Administration of justice, the relations between peasants and their lords; misery of the peasantry; their resignation and natural cheerfulness; their improvidence; their indifference to political revolutions.

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CHAPTER I—­THE POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF EGYPT

The king, the queen, and the royal princes—­Administration under the Pharaohs—­Feudalism and the Egyptian priesthood, the military—­The citizens and country people.