Taxes in the Ancient Egypt

Photo: pexels.com

We are beginning publication of selected articles from the forthcoming book “Taxes History and Modern Times.” The first chapter is about taxes in ancient Egypt.

BASIC CONCEPTS

Tribute, land cadaster, state coffers, treasury department, indirect tax, tax in kind, tax amnesty, tax rate, tax immunity, tax arrears, object of taxation, tax farmers, duty, direct tax, fine.

Basic information about the ancient Egyptian civilization can be found in the works of ancient authors, as well as in medieval Byzantine and Arabic sources. Many of them are similar to legends, so some modern researchers question them.

The term “Egypt” has an ancient Greek origin. According to some sources, it comes from the Phoenician “Hiku-Ptah,” a distortion of the ancient Egyptian “Hut-Ka-Ptah” (“Temple of Ptah”)—the name of the city of Memphis. The locals called their country Ta-Kemet, meaning “Black Land,” as the soil became black after the floods of the Nile. The rest of the region was red and barren.

FORMATION OF A STATE

Historians believe that civilization and the first states in this region appeared in the period from the 7th to 5th millennia BCE. During this time, communities of farmers presumably began to form in the floodplain of the Nile.

The farming system was based on the cyclical flooding of the Nile that brought fertile silt and water to the fields. Thanks to the high yield, for many centuries Egyptian grain fed the countries of the ancient world—Phoenicia, Greece, Rome, and, in the Middle Ages, Byzantium and the Islamic Caliphate.

To expand and water the fields, the communities created drainage canals and reservoirs, and built dikes and dams. Complex irrigation systems needed centralized management, which contributed to the unification of disparate communities and the division of labor between them: one part of the population worked on the canals, another part—leaders and priests—handled organization and management. Territories, which were limited by their irrigation systems, had administrative centers where rulers lived, and temples were built. About forty of these initial states formed along the Nile.

Periods	Years BCE [3]	Dynasties of Pharaohs and Kings
Early Kingdom	ca. 3000–2778	I–II
Old Kingdom	2778–2220	III–VI
First Intermediate Period	2220–2070/2040	VII–XI
Middle Kingdom	2160–1785	XI–XII
Second Intermediate Period	1785–1580	XIII–XVII
New Kingdom	1580–1085	XVIII–XX
Third Intermediate Period	1085–664	XXI–XXV
Late Period	664–343 343–332	XXVI–XXX XXXI XXXI (Persian kings)
Hellenistic Period	332–316 323–30	1785–1580 Ptolemaic dynasty

EARLY KINGDOM

The small states that formed along the Nile eventually merged into two large ones: Upper Egypt—in the south, in the upper Nile, and Lower Egypt—in the north, in the delta of the Nile.

The history of ancient Egypt is commonly taken to begin when these two states merged into one. The key role in this process is attributed to the pharaohs Narmer and Menes (some historians suggest that they are the same person).

OLD KINGDOM

By the beginning of the Old Kingdom, society was structured like a pyramid, which each level corresponding to a particular activity.

At the top of the pyramid, there was a ruler—a pharaoh who had absolute power. The pharaoh owned everything within the territory of the state, including people. The king’s household (the “great house”) included extensive lands throughout the country, which were cultivated by slaves and free farmers in a system of civil conscription. This contributed to the development of trade relations between regions and stimulated the production of commodities.

The word “pharaoh” means “great house” in ancient Egyptian. The term was applied to not only the king, but also his palace, household, and the government as a whole.

The second level of the social pyramid was occupied by representatives of the nobility—the court aristocracy, priests, and officials. They owned large farms, including acquired or inherited lands (a “personal house”), as well as plots received from the pharaoh during the performance of their state obligations. Lands were transferred together with their inhabitants, who were obliged to cultivate them.

Communal farmers were on the third level. They worked on the lands transferred by the pharaoh to the community.

The nobility and communities gave part of their harvest to the pharaoh’s state coffers in exchange for the right to use the lands. And this obligation was a tax.

The state coffers, or treasury, comprise the money, valuables, and property belonging to the government.

At the next level of the pyramid, there were forced laborers (“servants of the king”) obliged to maintain the royal possessions and lands of the nobles, make handicrafts, build roads, pyramids, and religious buildings, transport cargo, and perform other work. Such civil conscription can be considered a tax in kind.

Taxes in kind are taxes collected as goods or services, such as agricultural products, handicrafts, and labor.

At the very bottom of the pyramid were slaves. They were mostly prisoners captured during wars with neighboring tribes. Slaves could have families, property, and, in Egypt’s later periods, even their own slaves.

In the era of the Old Kingdom, writing already existed and tax registers were kept recording land plots, livestock, property, taxes, and tax debts. It seems quite plausible that writing emerged and evolved in connection with tax accounting.

In the middle of the 22nd century BCE, there was a drought that caused an economic crisis and mass famine. As a result, the pharaohs’ central authority weakened, and the unified irrigation system collapsed. Revolts, attacks by neighbors, and tomb looting began. The country was divided from about 2220 to 2070/2040 BCE, which is considered the First Intermediate Period. It was united at the end of the 21st century BCE by Pharaoh Mentuhotep II, who founded the Middle Kingdom.

MIDDLE KINGDOM

During the Middle Kingdom, the irrigation system was not only restored but also significantly expanded.

This period lasted for almost four centuries and ended in an economic crisis caused by a crop failure, provoking an uprising of farmers. The rebels seized state offices and burned papyri with tax registers, which shows that the tax problem was quite acute, and the tax burden was heavy.

During the Second Intermediate Period (1785–1580 BCE), the country fell apart again.

NEW KINGDOM

The New Kingdom is considered to be the period when ancient Egyptian statehood reached its zenith of power and prosperity. Thanks to successful wars, tribute from the conquered territories began to bring significant income to the state coffers. Many of the captured became slaves.

Tribute is a levy, in kind or monetary, from conquered tribes and peoples.

In the era of the New Kingdom, the role of the nobility decreased significantly: they owned less land, and public offices ceased to be inherited. The economy was based not on “personal houses,” as before, but on land provided for use during service.

The state machinery expanded at the expense of army officials and people from families of landowners and artisans. The governance structure saw the introduction of state departments, including a tax collection office, and a treasury department.

A treasury department is an authority managing state owned money, valuables, property (state treasury).

All state property, including taxes collected, food, materials, weapons, and other products, was managed by the treasury department. It was also responsible for collecting tribute and paying officials.

TAX COLLECTION

The taxation system that formed in the days of the Old Kingdom evolved constantly. In the New Kingdom, a large army of clerks and scribes under the leadership of local officials performed tax collection and tax accounting. Taxpayers paid for the work of tax collectors. The officials themselves had to pay an annual tax for their position.

A preserved papyrus reports that for his position the governor of the city of El-Kaba had to pay 5.6 kg of gold, 4.2 kg of silver, one mature bull, one two-year-old bull, while his subordinate had to pay 4.2 kg of silver, a necklace of gold beads, two bulls, and two boxes of linen.

The tax on each land plot was calculated in advance based on the area. It did not consider the actual size of the harvest in a specific period. The tax collector was responsible for the full collection of taxes from his assigned territory. In case of non-compliance, he could be punished and even executed.

Only free landowners paid tax autonomously. Everyone else—those who used state lands—paid tax forcibly. The tax was effectively confiscated, since the harvest was supervised by officials, and all output was carried away to state storage. The tax rate was 20–30%. Three quarters of tax proceeds went into the state coffers, and one quarter was transferred to the temples. Another portion of the harvest was retained for seeds for the next sowing, and the remainder was distributed among farmers.

The resulting harvest (that is, income) is called an object of taxation, and the percentage of the harvest that is payable is called the tax rate.

People not engaged in agriculture paid taxes too. Artisans surrendered one-fifth of everything they produced. To collect taxes from cattle breeders, every two years all livestock was counted, branded, and recorded.

Additional taxes were collected from dwellings and the property located in them. Officials described in detail all household utensils, food, tools, and livestock. Debtors’ property was seized and placed in the state coffers.

Tax collectors were accompanied by armed assistants who punished citizens who had not paid taxes.

There are surviving records instructing tax collectors, as officials of the great pharaoh, to treat poor people leniently (“If you find a large debt against a poor man, make it into three parts; release two of them and let one remain: you will find it a path of life;”).^[12] Another ancient Egyptian papyrus says: “If someone suffers greatly from the tax burden or is in an extreme situation, this should not be checked.” This shows that tax amnesty was practiced in ancient Egypt, especially in difficult lean times.

Tax amnesty exempts taxpayers from tax debts and responsibility for violating tax rules regarding unpaid taxes.

TAXATION OF TEMPLES

In ancient Egypt, religion was the mainstay of the power of the pharaoh, who was considered to be the earthly incarnation of Amun-Ra, the sun god.

Priests were not only the keepers of religious traditions but also the bearers of knowledge. They studied medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. They were part of the upper class of ancient Egyptian society, performed administrative functions in the state, and played a prominent role in political life. Priests supported the pharaoh’s cult among the population, and in return received his grace, lands, and other privileges. Moreover, they not only did not pay taxes, but also received a share of the state’s tax revenues.

Not all kings responded favorably to the rise of priests. For example, the growing role of temples in Thebes spurred Pharaoh Amenhotep (ca. 14th century BCE), who later changed his name to Akhenaten, to undertake religious reforms, and abandon the polytheist cult in favor of one God—Aten. This effort displeased a significant part of the priests and eventually failed. In addition, being busy with internal church affairs, the king neglected foreign policy and consequently lost the wealthy territories conquered by his predecessors, such as Syria, Palestine, and others, which stopped paying tribute to Egypt.

Pharaoh Horemheb, who soon came to power (ca. 14–13th centuries BCE) abolished Amenhotep’s religious reforms, returned the old temple lands to the priests, and granted them many new lands, agricultural tools, and livestock.

Temple lands accounted for up to 30% of the total area of the country’s agricultural land. About 20% of the population cultivated these lands under the system civil conscription, receiving food for their wages.

According to legend, the goddess Isis, who personified the throne and was embodied by all the Egyptian pharaohs, wanted the priests to pay homage to her spouse, the god Osiris, and gave them 1/3 of all lands. The pharaohs were associated with the god Horus, who received an inheritance from his father Osiris. This legitimized the pharaohs’ power over everything on earth.

The temples possessed enormous wealth. Their resources and lands were beyond the control of the pharaohs. To weaken the pharaohs, influential priests secured tax immunity for their temples, and bankrupt Egyptians used temples as shelters from tax collectors.

Tax immunity is the exemption of certain persons and groups of persons from obligations to pay taxes.

The temples and priests enjoyed tax immunity until the country’s short-term conquest by the Assyrians (671–655 BCE).

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

Since the beginning of the dynastic period, the country has regularly kept records of royal property. Everything available in the state, including property belonging to communities and free population, was recorded.

Cadasters were compiled for land plots. These were inventories of land before and after Nile floods also indicated the areas, owners, and land categories by yield. The information in the cadasters was used to calculate the amount of tax.

A land cadaster is a body of information about land plots.

As early as the 2nd millennium BCE, accounting records appeared in ancient Egypt, reflecting flows of cash and other assets: income, expenses, and daily balances.

Information about the available resources of all households was grouped according to their administrative units (nomes) and then submitted to the central authorities whose work was checked by a special auditing body.

All state resources were spent according to approved standards. Standards were also established for state revenues, including taxes.

LEGAL COMPLIANCE

Tax collectors and scribes had broad powers and sometimes used their position for personal enrichment. To combat abuse, a group of special scribes was created in the central administration to review taxpayers’ complaints and verify the correctness and completeness of tax payments. However, in the time of Tutankhamun (14th century BCE), corruption affected even this group: together with local scribes, its members deceived taxpayers, illegally appropriating their property and some tax revenues.

The next ruler, Horemheb, issued laws to combat corruption. According to these laws, officials who overstated taxes and committed other tax offenses were severely punished, and judges were sentenced to death for collusion with tax collectors.

THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD

he next period, the third intermediate period, turned out to be the longest in the history of Egypt, lasting more than 400 years. As in previous intermediate periods, the unified royal economy broke up into separate possessions, falling into the hands of temples and local nobility. Upper Egypt turned into a theocratic state, while power in Lower Egypt was seized first by Libyans and then by Ethiopians, Kushites, and Nubians.

Pharaoh Bocchoris, who ruled in the 8th century BCE, adopted legislation prohibiting selling debtors into slavery, a revolutionary idea at the time. Creditors could get debtors’ property as compensation, but not the debtors themselves. The pharaoh motivated his decision by saying that, above all, a citizen has obligations to the state as a taxpayer and a warrior.

It is also believed that Bocchoris introduced private land ownership, allowing it to be bought and sold. However, this is doubtful since the surviving documents on land transactions belong to a later period.

LATE PERIOD

The arrival of the Egyptian dynasty of pharaohs from the city of Sais marks the beginning of the Late Period of Egyptian history. The country was united again. The Sais dynasty ruled from 664 to 525 BCE, until the Persians ousted it. Egypt, together with Libya, became a satrapy (province) of the Achaemenid Empire and was obliged to pay an annual tribute of 700 talents of silver to the royal coffers and 120,000 medimnoi of grain for the maintenance of a military garrison in the Egyptian capital Memphis.

1 talent ≈ 26.19 kg.

1 medimnos ≈ 52.5 liters.

The huge tribute and the Persians’ harsh rule sparked an uprising in 460 BCE. The rebels expelled the Persian tax collectors and won several victories over the Persians. Being interested in Egyptian grain, Athens actively participated in the wars with the Persians. The uprising lasted six years. The Egyptians came close to victory, but the Persians ultimately prevailed.

TAXES FOR THE WAR WITH PERSIA

In 404 BCE, the Egyptians managed to temporarily expel the Persians. During the short Egyptian rule (about 60 years), there were eight pharaohs, and some of them are notable for their decisions related to taxation. For example, Nectanebo I, who ruled in 378–360 BCE, introduced a ten percent tax on all goods and raw materials imported to Egypt from Greece or produced in the Greek colony of Naucratis, payable to the coffers of the temple of Neith of Sais, the goddess of hunting and war.

Nectanebo’s son Tachos, who ruled after him in 362–360 BCE, enacted tax “reforms” on the advice of the Athenian mercenary Chabrias. To start, he took away his father’s tax on Greek goods from the Neith temple and redirected it to the royal coffers. To maintain a mercenary army, Tachos, threatening to close some of the temples and dissolve the clergy, first extracted bribes from them. Then he took all their gold and silver as a loan until the end of the war. In addition, he issued a decree reducing state supplies to the temples by 90%.

1 obol ≈ 0.7–0.73 g

1 artaba ≈ 39.3 liters for friable substances (also used to indicate 51 kg and 143.5 kg)

Tachos also imposed a poll tax, a duty in the amount of one obol from sellers and buyers for each artaba of grain. He introduced a tax in the amount of one tenth of harvests, handicraft production, and all sales transactions. Tachos also forced the population to surrender all precious metals under guarantees of a refund from future in-kind taxes.

A duty is a special fee levied by the government. In particular, payment of a duty implies permission to perform some action. For example, customs duty was taken when goods were transported across the border, and trade duty was paid for the right to sell goods.

The funds collected in this way were supposed to help Tachos finally defeat Persia. The beginning of the campaign foreshadowed what would have been the victory of Tachos’s army, if not for a royal coup back in Egypt. Tachos’s brother, who remained in Egypt as ruler, took advantage of far-ranging public discontent with the tax reforms and appointed his son king.

As a result, Chabrias fled to Athens, and Tachos surrendered to the Persians. Nectanebo II, who rose to power in 360 BCE after another coup, revoked Taсhos’s tax reforms. In 343 BCE, Persia subjugated Egypt again.

LIBERATION FROM THE PERSIANS

The second Persian rule was short-lived: in 332 BCE Egypt was subjugated by Alexander the Great (356–323 BCE). Having warm regard for the Greeks, who had helped the Egyptians in the fight against Persia, the Egyptians welcomed Alexander as a liberator and transferred to him the Egyptian army, state coffers, and country. The long-term cooperation between Egyptian and Greek merchants also facilitated acceptance of the Greeks.

Alexander adhered to local traditions when setting up the administration of the country. Before leaving for another campaign against the Persians, he appointed two Egyptians as nomarchs of Upper and Lower Egypt. Their main task was to collect taxes. Management of the border territories in the east and west, as well as of armies and fleets, was passed to Greek military leaders. This decentralized governance prevented the strengthening of Egyptian power and the country’s separation from Alexander’s empire.

As a practical result, the most important role in the country fell to the appointed financial manager Cleomenes of the Greek colony of Naucratis. He is the one who received the taxes collected by the Egyptian nomarchs and rulers of neighboring Arab territories.

Under the pretext of building Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander, Cleomenes tried to collect as much tax as possible, and engaged in financial speculation and usury, stirring up discontent among locals. However, thanks to his success in the construction of Alexandria, Cleomenes remained under Alexander’s protection, despite numerous complaints from the Egyptians.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Egypt was formally ruled by Macedonian kings until 304 BCE, but in reality the empire was split between generals, who were considered satraps in the occupied territories. Egypt passed to Alexander’s former bodyguard and later commander Ptolemy I Soter.

When Ptolemy came to Alexandria, the Egyptian capital established by Alexander the Great, he executed Cleomenes and created an army with the collected taxes (which some sources say amounted to about 8,000 talents).

Under the first king, Ptolemy I Soter, the famous Library of Alexandria was established, whose collection numbered up to 700,000 scrolls. After enduring several fires, the library was finally destroyed, apparently, at the end of the 4th century.

In 305 BCE, Ptolemy assumed the title of king of Egypt. The Ptolemaic dynasty he founded held power until 30 BCE.

SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT

The king had all the power. The administration was headed by the dioiketes (ancient Greek διοικητής, i.e., administrator), who was appointed personally by the king. The dioiketes’s duties included the management of the royal household and financial administration including basilikon, state coffers, tax, and customs receipts, as well as supervising expenditures. This official had a large staff of bureaucrats in the capital under his command and appointed financial functionaries in regional administrative bodies.

The country’s territory consisted of three poleis and the rest of the land—khora. The poleis— the Greek cities of Alexandria, Naucratis, and Ptolemais—had self-government. The khora was divided into nomes, the nomes into toparchies, and the toparchies into komes. The nomes were first ruled by nomarchs and later by strategoi, who had mainly civil and judicial functions.

Oeconomi oversaw all economic activities in the nomes, including the cultivation of the royal lands, supervision and control over the condition of canals and dams, taxation, and other economic issues. They were responsible for replenishing the royal coffers, including tax collection in the nomes.

Due to numerous abuses, the supervisors monitored the activities of the oeconomi.

TREASURY

All state revenues went into the state coffers managed by the dioiketes. The state coffers, or treasury, consisted of a large network of warehouses for grain and other edibles—thisavri under the management of sitologi, and cash offices—trapezas (ancient Greek τράπεζα i.e., table; cashiers worked at tables)—branches of the state bank under the management of trapezitai.

Additional revenues to the treasury came from customs duties, which ranged from 25 to 50% of the value of imported goods, duties for the registration and transfer of property, inheritance, and the granting of trading licenses to local and foreign merchants. The royal treasury was also replenished by income from monopolized mines, quarries, a small fleet on the Nile, military operations, and other revenues.

At the beginning of the 2nd century BCE, the state treasury was supplemented by a personal treasury, the king’s private account, which was filled by various types of income, such as escheated and confiscated property, fines, etc.

A fine is a legally enacted punishment for a violation. Fines included monetary penalties, compulsory labor, and—if convicted debtors could not pay their debts—even corporal punishment.

According to researchers, on average, the royal budget took in about 12–15 thousand silver talents per year.

These revenues were used to maintain the royal court, the army, the navy, and officials, and to construct buildings and structures, and conduct cult activities in honor of the Egyptian kings and queens.

ROYAL FARMERS

Egypt’s economy was based on agriculture. The Ptolemies repaired and expanded the irrigation system and improved the land, increasing the area of plowed lands by one third. In the 3rd century BCE, the Egyptian kingdom became the largest grain exporter in the Mediterranean.

The king owned all the land. Most land was worked expressly in his interests. These lands were leased to royal farmers—laoi (Greek for people or population). At the beginning of each growing season, the laoi submitted a bid for a specific plot, indicating the terms of the lease. A royal official chose the best offer and concluded a lease agreement.

The agreement established a fixed rate for an in-kind lease payment, usually wheat: an average of 4 artabas per arura (1 arura ≈ 0.27 ha). In addition to the obligation to deliver the lease payment to a state warehouse, the farmer had to pay taxes: to the temple, for land, guarding warehouses, measuring plots, cleaning seeds, supporting crop appraisers and harvesters, food for soldiers, and much more.

As a rule, farmers did not have their own resources for working the land. They received everything they needed from state warehouses: grain seed, tools, and livestock. But even if they had seed, they could not refuse to get it from the royal warehouses—seeds were issued on credit at a 50% interest rate.

Tax rates and amounts of other payments varied between nomes, but, in general, taxes represented a significant share—often 2/3 or more—of the harvest. What’s more, a fixed amount of grain went into the royal coffers, regardless of the income received.

LAND GRANTS

The king granted some land to nobles, officials, and employees for personal use. These lands were not their property and could be taken away at any time.

There were several categories of land grants. The largest were held by temples. They reached many hundreds and thousands of aruras, especially in Lower Egypt, far from the control of the Alexandrian officials. The people living on these lands cultivated them, bred cattle, and produced various handicrafts. Part of the harvest from temple lands covered the needs of the temples (the royal administration determined the percentage). The rest of the harvest was sent to the state treasury. The goods produced by artisans were also taxed.

Another form of land ownership was cleruchy, in which lands (kleroi, mostly uncultivated wastelands) were granted for service in the Egyptian army. The first cleruchs were Greek soldiers, but in time Egyptians were allowed to join the army and receive land plots to support themselves. Kleroi were also granted to police officers.

Cleruchs paid the taxes established for landowners. Kleroi were cultivated by the owners directly, by seasonally hired farmhands, or by tenants. When cleruchs died, their kleroi initially returned to the royal land holdings, but then they began to be inherited by their sons and later by close relatives.

Some lands were granted to bureaucrats. They often included one or more villages whose inhabitants worked the land. The famous Zenon Papyrus mentions an area of 10,000 aruras granted by Ptolemy II to the dioiketes Apollonius.

There were also rural residents’ private lands, which included household plots. Like all other lands, these possessions belonged to the king, but with time they were given over to personal use.

Land grants and kleroi were exempt from the oversight of the king’s administration and brought little income to the treasury. However, their owners provided social support for the rulers: officials participated in local administration, priests bolstered the divine status of the kings, and cleruchs acted as professional mercenaries. Thus, land supported all the state machinery in Hellenistic Egypt.

TAXES

Under the Ptolemies, the tax burden on Egyptians increased significantly. According to researchers, there were about 220 different taxes at that time. Vineyard owners paid 1/6 of their harvest. Owners of orchards and vegetable gardens handed over the same amount, but in monetary form. This tax was called apomoira and went to the temples. On top of this, there was a tax paid to the treasury in the amount of 1/3 of the average harvest over three years.

Farmers paid a land tax, artabieya. Fishermen submitted 1/5 of their catch. Spice vendors gave 1/3 of their income to the treasury. Building tenants paid 5% of lease prices. The tax rate was 10% of income for merchants, and 2% for wholesale transactions. Passengers were charged a special fee for traveling along the Nile, as well as for entering the desert. There were taxes for foreigners, taxes on the sale of slaves, on seeds, livestock, and agricultural implements, fees for the maintenance of scribes, doctors, police, guards, navy, lighthouses, baths, temples, and much more.

Certain types of activities were also taxed. Such taxes were paid by tanners, weavers, goldsmiths, dyers, and other artisans, as well as persons contributing to the king’s income. They also paid additional tax on revenue. Business communities were taxed too.

Tax collection was regulated as early as 259–258 BCE. Ptolemy II adopted the Revenue Laws. The papyrus preserved to this day is 18 meters long.

In addition to national taxes, there were numerous local taxes, including quite unusual ones, such as a tax to maintain a cemetery of crocodiles, which were considered sacred, in the city of Crocodilopolis (modern-day Al-Fayoum).

To popularize Hellenic culture, Greek artists and teachers of grammar and gymnastics were granted certain tax exemptions.

The Ptolemies’ dominion extended beyond the borders of Egypt. They owned the islands of Cyprus, Samos, Lesbos, and coasts in Asia Minor and Syria. In these territories, people paid taxes in grain and money, and fulfilled other obligations to maintain the army and navy.

Egypt’s population was subject to civil conscription, primarily imposing obligations to cultivate royal lands and repair the irrigation system. Privileged citizens did not participate in this work, but, in exchange, had to pay special taxes.

Tax evaders were identified by vigilant citizens who reported tax evasion attempts to the authorities. If the violations were confirmed, the reporters received a share of the property they helped discover.

Tax officials ensured that every asset and every activity was taxed. They got paid for their work: tax collectors received 30 drachmas per month, their assistants 20 drachmas, keepers of receipts 15 drachmas, and inspectors 100 drachmas.

In the middle of the 3rd century BCE, an artisan earned 2–3 obols a day, while an agricultural worker received no more than one obol.

TAX FARMING

The government obliged rich citizens to collect taxes. Known as tax farmers, these people were answerable for that obligation with their property and, sometimes, their freedom. Tax farmers paid the entire amount of tax from their own funds and then compensated themselves at taxpayers’ expense by collecting a larger amount from them.

Tax farmers also received all the monopolies. Under the tax farming system, they had to contribute a certain amount of income from handcrafts or the sale of goods.

Farming rights auctioned off to whoever promised to collect the largest amount. To contribute the required amount, the tax farmers usually united in companies.

Tax farming activities were strictly regulated and controlled by officials. Tax farmers were required not only to provide collateral, but also to provide guarantees, sometimes from several guarantors. Tax farmers had to submit a monthly report to the royal administration and, if obligations were violated, cover any tax arrears. For serious violations, they were fined or even jailed. As a reward, tax farmers received 5% of the collected amount.

Tax arrears are any part of a mandatory payment not paid by a taxpayer within the prescribed period.

The Ptolemies did not change the system of government in conquered countries. They used local authorities to collect taxes. As a rule, tax collection in foreign lands was farmed out at auctions in Alexandria.

ACCOUNTING AND AUDITING

As in the time of the pharaohs, Ptolemaic officials described in detail all lands, property, livestock, tools, and even household utensils. For inventory-taking, property owners provided a kind of declaration, which inspectors verified. This information was used for taxation.

All the activities of officials were supervised by inspectors who carefully monitored their performance and the income received.

Almost all domestic trade was monopolized: goods were sold at prices set by the government with a fixed share of income for merchants.

All types of agricultural work were strictly supervised by the royal administration. The government decided which crops to sow and harvest and when, not only on royal lands but also on land grants.

State regulation also had its positive aspects: farming improved, new crops appeared, and domestic animals were imported and bred. To roll out innovations, the government provided incentives. For example, the tax on new grape plantations was reduced from 1/6 to 1/10. This policy helped Egypt take the economic lead in the Hellenistic world and become the main exporter of agricultural products.

MONOPOLIES

Greek rulers monopolized the production of cloth, beer, papyrus, spices, paints, perfumes, honey, and other products. These activities were strictly regulated. The Revenue Laws contain information about a monopoly on vegetable oil. The government completely controlled its production and sale. Monopolies were farmed out in each nome separately. All stages of oil production were supervised by officials. They determined the land area for sowing oil-producing crops. If the set standards were violated, the nomarch, toparch (head of the nome’s district), oeconomus, and supervisor paid a fine of two talents and had to compensate the tax farmer for losses.

The tax farmer and local officials monitored the sowing and harvesting of oil-producing crops, as well as their cultivation. The producers sold the entire harvest to the buyer at a set price, while a tax of 25% was withheld from that amount. Oil was produced under supervision only in workshops where all oil makers were required to surrender their stock. An exception was made only for temples and only for religious needs.

The sale of oil was farmed out to merchants, with fixed purchase and retail prices.

To protect the domestic market, high import duties (up to 50%) were imposed, making oil imports unprofitable. When importing oil for personal consumption, a duty of 12% was paid. And if someone tried to sell oil on the market, it was confiscated, and the violator was fined 100 drachmas per metretes (about 39 liters) given an oil price of 52 drachmas per metretes.

A similar policy was applied to many products and basic necessities. High retail prices were set for all monopolized products, and their imports were subject to high duties. Thus, in addition to many direct taxes, citizens also paid high indirect taxes embedded in the prices of monopolized goods. For example, the oil tax was half of the cost of oil.

Direct taxes are taxes that are taken directly from the taxpayer’s income or property.

Indirect taxes are taxes imposed as a surcharge on the price or rate of goods or services.

All types of non-monopolized activities, such as pig breeding, brewing, salt making, and beekeeping, required annual approval from officials. As all pastures belonged to the king, cattle grazing on them was permitted by officials in exchange for a fee. The same applied to forests: cutting down trees was prohibited, since they were growing on royal land.

ROSETTA STONE

The secrets of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing were revealed only at the beginning of the 19th century. Hieroglyphs were deciphered by Jean-Francois Champollion (1790–1832) using the Rosetta Stone, which bears three inscriptions, identical in content but made with the symbols of different writing systems—hieroglyphs, Demotic, and ancient Greek.

The stone was discovered in 1799 near the city of Rosetta during Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Egypt. The archeological find dates to 196 BCE, the period of the reign of Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 209–180 BCE). To stop the civil war under way at that time, the monarch issued a decree in which he declared amnesty for all the rebels.

This uprising was caused by the Egyptians’ desire to free themselves from the Greeks and Macedonians who ruled over them. Surviving documents do not mention taxes as a reason for the uprising, but numerous tax decisions in the decree suggest that they played an important role.

The decree released tax evaders from prison and canceled their tax debts.

The main benefits were given to temples. The decree promised them generous gifts, restored the apomoira (a tax previously paid to them), abolished the land tax in the amount of one artaba per arura of arable land and one keramion (25.5 liters) per arura of vineyards, and reduced by 2/3 the tax on the fabric produced in temples. The priests were exempt from obligation to serve in the navy and from an annual appearance in Alexandria.

The first Ptolemies had reduced the number of temples where people could take refuge and hide from tax officials. The decree restored this right. As before, admission to the temples was allowed only for religious purposes, so tax officials couldn’t enter to search for tax evaders.

The priests carved words of gratitude to the king on a stone and placed it next to his image. The stone served as a document of sorts, confirming the tax benefits granted to the church. Some researchers believe that similar stones were installed in many temples.

In addition to the decree, Ptolemy V wrote a letter to tax officials about the fair treatment of taxpayers. However, the king made the officials responsible for tax shortfalls, which led to the opposite effect—increased pressure on taxpayers.

AMNESTY DECREE

In 118 BCE, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes and his co-rulers, the queens Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III, issued the Amnesty Decree. The decree was supposed to appease the rebellious population, which could not be placated by force. Officials provoked the uprising with their numerous abuses. They seized the best land for personal purposes and forced the population to work for them for free, extorted money from taxpayers, deceived farmers when weighing the harvest, and committed other illegal actions. The decree lists all violations and related decisions and exemptions.

All criminals, except for murderers and temple robbers, were granted amnesty. Those who had abandoned their homes were allowed to come back and recover their property. Arrears on land leases as well as some taxes were forgiven.

Strategoi were released from financial obligations related to their positions. At the same time, the strategoi and other officials were forbidden to collect any taxes to enrich themselves and were barred from illegally compelling the population to cultivate their lands and perform various obligations.

Customs officers were prohibited from searching for goods for which duties had not paid, but they were allowed to sell goods at city markets.

The decree regulated land relations for all types of ownership. Temples’ rights to their lands were affirmed, along with taxes for their benefit, as well as the right to take sanctuary in temples.

The portion of the Amnesty Decree that has reached us in the present time shows not only the depth of the problems, but also the complexity of the taxation system that caused them.

ECONOMIC CRISIS

At the beginning of the 2nd century, signs of Hellenistic Egypt’s decline emerged. High tax pressure, extensive civil conscription, and the total control and tyranny of officials pushed people to flee from their villages and cities. The number of artisans and farmers began to decline. In addition, almost all possessions in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea were lost, which reduced the security of trade routes and worsened the situation for Egyptian traders.

The flight of farmers became widespread. As a result, many lands were abandoned. Royal officials ordered the remaining residents to cultivate them, which only aggravated their situation.

The central administration did not monitor the activities of local officials. Even soldiers were fleeing, and mass unrest escalated into rebellion. Attempts to return people to the fields with one-time tax breaks failed to improve the situation.

ROMAN PROVINCE

The last queen of Hellenistic Egypt was Cleopatra VII Philopator (69–30 BCE). She ruled the country first with her brothers and then with her son. However, thanks to the support of Roman generals Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, she was an independent ruler. Cleopatra inherited a ruined country in a deep economic crisis.

Cleopatra repeatedly abolished unfair taxes and declared tax amnesties. She managed to significantly improve public finances, even after sometimes spending up to half of state income on her personal needs.

In 30 BCE, Egypt was conquered by Caesar Augustus (63–14 BCE) and became a province of the Roman Empire. Roman troops repaired the irrigation system, allowing Egypt to become the granary of Rome.

This is how the history of Ancient Egypt as an independent state ended, with its periods of prosperity and decline, divisions, conquests by other tribes, and subsequent liberations and rebirths. Scientists propose several reasons for ancient Egypt’s ultimate decline, including excessive taxation, especially in the final years of the state.

THE IMPACT OF TAXES ON SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS. Tax collection and tax recordkeeping contributed to the development of writing and various sciences, such as mathematics (in particular, geometry and statistics), and accountancy.

Moscow’s Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts holds a mathematical papyrus that dates to the 19th century BCE and provides solutions to complex problems for calculating the areas of various shapes, including a circle, as well as the volumes of solids.

Mathematics developed in ancient Egypt in connection with the need to measure land plots, calculate taxes, and build pyramids. Ancient Egyptian mathematicians advanced quite far in calculating areas. They were able to calculate square roots and use the constant “pi” (which they took to be equal to (16/9)2 ≈ 3.16). They used the decimal system and special symbols to denote the powers of 10 up to 1 million.

Euclid, an ancient Greek mathematician and the founder of geometry, (ca. 325–265 BCE) worked in the ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria. His works may have been based on the knowledge gained by Egyptian land surveyors.

Egyptians learned to use nilometers, devices showing the water level of the Nile, to make long-term harvest forecasts and to estimate future tax revenues. Priests used nilometer readings to predict the extent of the impending flooding in agricultural territories, as well as the expected harvest and tax receipts.

Cairo’s Roda Island has an ancient nilometer, which is still in operation today. The well, which has a special graduated column at the bottom, is deeper than the water level of the Nile. Observations have been preserved since 621 CE.

[1] Quoted by “An Account of Egypt.” Herodotus. Translator: G. C. Macaulay. Project Gutenberg. URL: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2131/2131-h/2131-h.htm

[2] Image by Marie-Lan Nguyen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Relief_Numa_Pompilius_cour_Carree_Louvre.jpg), „Relief Numa Pompilius cour Carrée Louvre”, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

[3] The historical periods are dated in different ways. This publication uses the dating proposed by Elias Bickerman (1897–1981).

[4] Image by unknown author, „King Narmer“, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Narmer.jpg, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[5] Image by Jon Bodsworth, „Djoser statue“, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Djoser_statue.jpg

[6] Image by Wolfgang Sauber, LSR Pharao – Opfertafel Iunu, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LSR_Pharao_-_Opfertafel_Iunu_2.jpg, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode.

[7] Image by Jon Bodsworth , „Mentuhotep Seated.“

[8] Quoted by Bible Blender. Complete translation of the ancient Egyptian Ipuwer Papyrus with notes (potential confirmation of Moses and the Exodus). URL: https://www.bibleblender.com/2020/biblical-lessons/biblical-history/ancient-texts/complete-translation-ancient-egypt-ipuwer-papyrus

[9] Illustration by Hoskins, G. A. (George Alexander), d. 1864 (Author) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Syrians_bringing_presents_in_the_tomb_of_Rekhmire.jpg „Syrians bringing presents in the tomb of Rekhmire“, Cropped, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.

[10] Illustration by George Alexander Hoskins (1802-1863) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rechmire-Tributszene.jpg, „Rechmire-Tributszene“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[11] Image by unknown artist https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_seated_scribe.jpg, „The seated scribe“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

[12] Quoted by Matthew Goff, “Hellenistic Instruction in Palestine and Egypt: Ben Sira and Papyrus Insinger.” Instruction of Amenemope 16.5-8. URL: https://www.academia.edu/394932/Hellenistic_Instruction_in_Palestine_and_Egypt_Ben_Sira_and_Papyrus_Insinger

[13] mage by Gérard Ducher (user: Néfermaât, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GD-EG-Caire-Musée061.JPG), „GD-EG-Caire-Musée061“, Cropped, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode.

[14] Image by Philip Pikart (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nofretete_Neues_Museum.jpg), „Nofretete Neues Museum“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

[15] Image by Maler der Grabkammer der Nefertari (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maler_der_Grabkammer_der_Nefertari_001.jpg), „Maler der Grabkammer der Nefertari 001“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-Art-YorckProject

[16] Image by Captmondo (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:StatueOfHoremhebAndTheGodHorus-DetailOfHoremheb01_KunsthistorischesMuseum_Nov13-10.jpg), „Statue Of Horemheb And The God Horus – Detail Of Horemheb 01 Kunsthistorisches Museum Nov 13-10“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode.

[17] Image by Diego Delso (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Templo_de_Karnak,_Luxor,_Egipto,_2022-04-03,_DD_155.jpg), lohttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcodeem

[18] Image by Roland Unger (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CairoEgMuseumTaaMaskMostlyPhotographed.jpg), „CairoEgMuseumTaaMaskMostlyPhotographed“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode.

[19] A quote by “The Library of History of Diodorus Siculus” published in Vol. I of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1933, URL: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/1D*.html

[20] Image by Anonymous (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diodoro_siculo_-_storico_di_Agira.jpg), „Diodoro siculo – storico di Agira“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[21] Image by Luis García (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nectanebo_I_(M.A.N._Inv.1979-65-1)_01.jpg), „Nectanebo I (M.A.N. Inv.1979-65-1) 01“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

[22] Image by unknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_the_Great_mosaic.jpg), „Alexander the Great mosaic“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-US

[23] Image by Marie-Lan Nguyen (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ptolemy_I_Soter_Louvre_Ma849.jpg), „Ptolemy I Soter Louvre Ma849“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[24] Hermann Göll (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Incendie_Alexandrie_by_Hermann_Goll_1876.jpg), „Incendie Alexandrie by Hermann Goll 1876“, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[25] Quoted by Internet Archive. “The Tebtunis papyri”. URL: https://ia600208.us.archive.org/20/items/p1tebtunispapyri03univuoft/p1tebtunispapyri03univuoft.pdf

[26] Quoted by Internet Archive. “The Tebtunis papyri”. URL: https://ia600208.us.archive.org/20/items/p1tebtunispapyri03univuoft/p1tebtunispapyri03univuoft.pdf

[27] Image by © Hans Hillewaert (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosetta_Stone.JPG), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[28] Image by ArchaiOptix (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Egypt_-_king_Ptolemaios_V_-_205-180_BC_-_silver_tetradrachm_-_bust_of_Ptolemaios_V_-_eagle_on_thunderbolt_-_München_GL.jpg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[29] Quoted by TRANSLATION OF THE ROSETTA STONE from The Nile, Notes for Travellers in Egypt, by E. A. Wallis Budge, 9th Edition, London, Thos. Cook and Son, [1905], pp. 199-211. URL: https://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/trs/trs07.htm

[30] Image by © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro / CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bust_of_Cleopatra_VII_-_Altes_Museum_-_Berlin_-_Germany_2017.jpg#mw-jump-to-license), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[31] Image by Till Niermann (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Statue-Augustus.jpg), „Statue-Augustus“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

[32] Image by Moh Hakem (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Sphinx_and_the_khafra_pyramid.jpg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[33] Photograph taken by Mark A. Wilson (Wilson44691, Department of Geology, The College of Wooster). [1] (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euclid_statue,_Oxford_University_Museum_of_Natural_History,_UK_-_20080315.jpg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[34] Image by Berthold Werner (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kairo_Nilometer_BW_1.jpg), „Kairo Nilometer BW 1“, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode