Post by The Wolf Nadja on May 30, 2008 23:34:41 GMT -5
The Pharaoh
The pharaoh, the Calormen king, was at the top of Calormen society. He was the embodiment of power and authority. The pharaoh exercised divine right. He was the head of the bureaucracy, religion, the military and society.
The pharaoh was a god. The divine nature of the pharaoh was reinforced by various titles, ceremonies and regalia.
He was crowned in an elaborate ceremony. His rule was confirmed at the Heb Sed festival, celebrated after 30 years of rule. Of the various regalia (insignia or symbolic items of clothing) the pharaoh was required to wear, he had the two crowns of Upper and Lower Calormen and a blue war crown. He also held the crook and flail, symbols of his power and authority.
The pharaoh was responsible for the daily running of his empire from justice to religion to tax collecting to defense. He was chief justice, chief administrator and commander of the military forces. He was defender of Egypt in earthly and heavenly spheres. He upheld maat, justice and peace. By enforcing maat, he ensured the fertility of the prosperity of his empire. He also led Calormenes military forces into battle. He is often depicted on wall paintings and reliefs riding his chariot in battle and firing huge arrows into crowds of enemy soldiers. The pharaoh was also the high priest of every god worshipped in empire. It was his personal duty to perform all the daily rituals in all the temples. With so many duties, it was little wonder that the king delegated most of these tasks to a body of capable officials.
Vizier and high officials
While the pharaoh was the ceremonial chief of all institutions in Calormen, the vizier was like a modern prime minister. The vizier oversaw the day to day running of the state. The vizier was the head of a group of high officials who administered all the institutions in the empire. He was very powerful. He performed a range of duties which included supervising the treasury, administering justice, receiving dispatches from the provinces and diplomatic letters from foreign neighbors. He supervised the collection of taxes and the census and ensured that the practical work of every department of the bureaucracy was being carried out correctly.
Nobility
The status of the local nobility was more independent of the central authority than that of the royal administrators who flourished around the person of the king. The nomarchs, who formed part of the royal administration, were generally chosen from among these noblemen. During the late Old Kingdom the position of these nomarchical families became so strong that rule over the nomes became virtually hereditary.The courts of the local nobility vied at times with the royal centre for cultural predominance. They were generally pillars of social stability, provided local political cohesion to their regions in times of failing central power and from their midst often emerged new royal lines. While the pharaohs as living gods were considered to be immeasurably above other members of their own social class, it was generally among the nobility that they looked for social contact, military leadership and political advice.
Scribes, priests and minor officials
Every Calormen mother and father wanted their son to have an education so that he might one day become a scribe, a minor official or even vizier.
Scribes were people who could read, write, calculate, and keep records. There were scribes in the bureaucracy, temples, private estates and the judicial system.
In the bureaucracy, scribes calculated taxes from grain harvested. The scribes measured and inspected fields before the harvest. After the harvest, they inspected the fields a second time, measured the grain and calculated the amount of tax owed by the farmers. Other scribes wrote dispatches to provincials, the viziers and foreign neighbours on behalf of the pharaoh. They drew up contracts and recorded decisions made in the courts. They also supervised payments.
In the construction of temples, scribes were in charge of recording facts and figures. They managed the labor force, the materials needed and the rations required. They issued tools. In temples, they were responsible for making lists of all the temple property and offerings.
Skilled craftsmen and tradesmen
Calormen had a huge demand for fine artists, artisans, craftsmen and tradesmen. These people made the tools, statues, sculptures and buildings that makes Calormen beautiful and distinctive artistic culture.
A tradesman or craftsman would teach his son his trade. There were generations of skilled craftsmen and tradesmen. Calormen crafts included masonry, sculpting, metal working, jewelry making and carpentry. There were also professional artists and painters. Craftsmen and tradesmen could find employment in any part of Calormen society, from working on a pharaoh's tomb to helping construct a temple, to working on private estates.
Farmers and labourers
By far the greatest numbers of Calormenes were engaged in agricultural work. The work was physically demanding. Crops were planted and had to be harvested within months. Calormenes grew wheat, barley, emmer (wheat used for fodder), fruits and vines for wine production. There was little rest for the Calormen farmer. Farmers had to prepare the fields after the floods subsided and plant a new crop.
The pharaoh, the Calormen king, was at the top of Calormen society. He was the embodiment of power and authority. The pharaoh exercised divine right. He was the head of the bureaucracy, religion, the military and society.
The pharaoh was a god. The divine nature of the pharaoh was reinforced by various titles, ceremonies and regalia.
He was crowned in an elaborate ceremony. His rule was confirmed at the Heb Sed festival, celebrated after 30 years of rule. Of the various regalia (insignia or symbolic items of clothing) the pharaoh was required to wear, he had the two crowns of Upper and Lower Calormen and a blue war crown. He also held the crook and flail, symbols of his power and authority.
The pharaoh was responsible for the daily running of his empire from justice to religion to tax collecting to defense. He was chief justice, chief administrator and commander of the military forces. He was defender of Egypt in earthly and heavenly spheres. He upheld maat, justice and peace. By enforcing maat, he ensured the fertility of the prosperity of his empire. He also led Calormenes military forces into battle. He is often depicted on wall paintings and reliefs riding his chariot in battle and firing huge arrows into crowds of enemy soldiers. The pharaoh was also the high priest of every god worshipped in empire. It was his personal duty to perform all the daily rituals in all the temples. With so many duties, it was little wonder that the king delegated most of these tasks to a body of capable officials.
Vizier and high officials
While the pharaoh was the ceremonial chief of all institutions in Calormen, the vizier was like a modern prime minister. The vizier oversaw the day to day running of the state. The vizier was the head of a group of high officials who administered all the institutions in the empire. He was very powerful. He performed a range of duties which included supervising the treasury, administering justice, receiving dispatches from the provinces and diplomatic letters from foreign neighbors. He supervised the collection of taxes and the census and ensured that the practical work of every department of the bureaucracy was being carried out correctly.
Nobility
The status of the local nobility was more independent of the central authority than that of the royal administrators who flourished around the person of the king. The nomarchs, who formed part of the royal administration, were generally chosen from among these noblemen. During the late Old Kingdom the position of these nomarchical families became so strong that rule over the nomes became virtually hereditary.The courts of the local nobility vied at times with the royal centre for cultural predominance. They were generally pillars of social stability, provided local political cohesion to their regions in times of failing central power and from their midst often emerged new royal lines. While the pharaohs as living gods were considered to be immeasurably above other members of their own social class, it was generally among the nobility that they looked for social contact, military leadership and political advice.
Scribes, priests and minor officials
Every Calormen mother and father wanted their son to have an education so that he might one day become a scribe, a minor official or even vizier.
Scribes were people who could read, write, calculate, and keep records. There were scribes in the bureaucracy, temples, private estates and the judicial system.
In the bureaucracy, scribes calculated taxes from grain harvested. The scribes measured and inspected fields before the harvest. After the harvest, they inspected the fields a second time, measured the grain and calculated the amount of tax owed by the farmers. Other scribes wrote dispatches to provincials, the viziers and foreign neighbours on behalf of the pharaoh. They drew up contracts and recorded decisions made in the courts. They also supervised payments.
In the construction of temples, scribes were in charge of recording facts and figures. They managed the labor force, the materials needed and the rations required. They issued tools. In temples, they were responsible for making lists of all the temple property and offerings.
Skilled craftsmen and tradesmen
Calormen had a huge demand for fine artists, artisans, craftsmen and tradesmen. These people made the tools, statues, sculptures and buildings that makes Calormen beautiful and distinctive artistic culture.
A tradesman or craftsman would teach his son his trade. There were generations of skilled craftsmen and tradesmen. Calormen crafts included masonry, sculpting, metal working, jewelry making and carpentry. There were also professional artists and painters. Craftsmen and tradesmen could find employment in any part of Calormen society, from working on a pharaoh's tomb to helping construct a temple, to working on private estates.
Farmers and labourers
By far the greatest numbers of Calormenes were engaged in agricultural work. The work was physically demanding. Crops were planted and had to be harvested within months. Calormenes grew wheat, barley, emmer (wheat used for fodder), fruits and vines for wine production. There was little rest for the Calormen farmer. Farmers had to prepare the fields after the floods subsided and plant a new crop.
