Food Crises Management in the Pharaonic and the Ptolemaic Periods

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 ِAss. Prof., Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, Matrouh University

2 Lecturer at Faculty of Tourism & Hotels, Matrouh University, Egypt.

Abstract

In ancient Egypt, food crises occurred due to several reasons as bad harvests, climate change, wars, economic and diplomatic reasons. The inundation level of the Nile River was irregular, sometimes low and other times high that is why food crises happened frequently. Food crises were ranging from food shortages to great famines. Some archeologists relate the collapse of the Old Kingdom to food crisis as a result of climate change. The idea of food crises management reflects the efforts of ancient Egyptians and the Ptolemies in protecting land from the Nile’s flood and sustaining agricultural activities by building dams, canals, storing and distributing food. Food crisis was recorded clearly in the autobiographical inscriptions of the rulers of the 1st Intermediate Period. In the Ptolemaic Period many food crises were recorded as well, the most famous of which was during the reign of Ptolemy III which was recorded on the Canopus Decree and that of Ptolemy V on the Rosetta Stone. This paper aims at displaying a historical background of food crises from early Pharaonic period till late Ptolemaic period, shedding light on management tools to overcome the crisis. The study also conducts an analytical study of the Pharaonic and Ptolemaic periods in regards to food crisis reasons and management. The research revealed some similarities as well as some differences between the two periods.

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