Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures

Villages were the backbone of rural organization in Pharaonic Egypt. Inner solidarity and family ties are recorded in literary texts as well as by the use of certain terms, which highlight their “clanic” structure, at least from the New Kingdom on. The relations between villages, royal administration, and institutional centers like the temples or the domains of the crown enabled the rural elite to enhance their status and wealth, thus preserving inequalities while providing paths to social elevation. But specific village values centered on solidarity, the praise of fellow citizens, and the celebration of prominent local ancestors served to strengthen the communal ties of its members.