Ancient Egypt's Economic Growth and Trade History

Introduction: Egypt as a Trade Power

Ancient Egypt became renowned as a major import and export region and a significant center of trade. Hatshepsut's expedition to Punt, as well as Thutmose III's acquisition of goods through military campaigns in Southwest Asia and the Mediterranean region, caused Egypt to become a highly attractive country among its neighbors for much of the ancient period.

Ancient Egypt had its ups and downs with trading across its successive string of dynasties. When the country was most secure under the strong and stable rule of its own pharaohs, it showed prosperity and was able to cement friendly dealings with neighboring nations while exploiting its own natural wealth. Egypt's decline, time and again, occurred due to internal rather than external pressures: clergy and noblemen periodically became too powerful, causing the royal family to splinter and the country to divide.

History showed that whenever the country was reunited, it prospered. When the country was split between Upper and Lower Egypt, however, trade suffered and the economy declined. Examples of the prosperous pattern include the Early Dynastic period, the Third and Fourth Dynasties, and the New Kingdom — all held together by strong, cohesive rulership. By contrast, the country declined during the Old Kingdom's later phases, the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties, the Third Intermediate Period, and the Late Kingdom, all of which were marked by disaffection and strife and during which foreigners repeatedly fragmented Egypt and colonized it.

Egypt's economic conditions also suffered occasionally from external factors such as famine and drought, particularly since much of its trade originated from the Nile River and centered on agriculture. Nonetheless, as history shows, it was primarily internal conditions that determined whether the country experienced trading prosperity or decline.

Overview of Egyptian Trade Goods and Commerce

Trade was conducted mostly by wholesale merchants acting on behalf of the crown or the temples. Egypt's exports included stone and pottery vases, linen, papyrus, gold vessels, ox hides, ropes, lentils, and dried fish. From Lebanon came cedar wood; from Africa, ebony and ivory; from Punt, incense, myrrh, and oils; from Afghanistan, lapis lazuli; and from Nubia, gold. Precious metals such as copper and iron were also traded. From Syria and Palestine, Egypt received horses, cattle, small livestock, cedar wood, silver, copper, and valuable minerals, while Cyprus supplied copper and ivory. Luxury products — such as Minoan and Mycenaean oil containers — arrived from the Aegean, and mud pottery was occasionally acquired as well.

Imported goods mostly included raw materials and luxury products for the temples and upper classes, as well as gold, papyrus, linen, and grain. Decorative artifacts — frequently taken from the tombs of the pharaohs — were another much sought-after commodity.

Trade was an important factor in Ancient Egypt's development. Not only did it supply products that the country lacked domestically, but it was also an important means of fostering peace and friendly relations with neighboring states. Most of Egypt's wealth and its primary trade offerings derived from agriculture. Grain, vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats, pigs, and fowl were cultivated, and fish were caught from the Nile. Agricultural implements remained primitive throughout much of Egyptian history; it was only during the later periods that greater advances were made.

Linen and weaving constituted another major industry. Weaving reached a peak of refinement during the New Kingdom, when small workshops appeared — often financed by wealthy noblemen and typically operated by male workers. Upright looms were introduced during this era.

Precious metals began to be exported in the late period, though even then exportation remained minimal. Iron came into wider use only in the late period. Egypt was slow to export its tools, since the metals required to make them were expensive and were owned by relatively few people.

As regards general international commerce and banking, most transactions were conducted — at least until the Late Period — by agents of the crown or the temples. Grain served as a kind of currency even after coins were introduced in the latter half of the first millennium BCE, and grain was stored in granary banks for security. During the reign of the Ptolemies, a central bank in Alexandria recorded the activities of granary banks distributed throughout the country. While grain continued to serve as internal currency well into the late period, gold, silver, and copper were used exclusively in transactions with foreigners during the second half of the first millennium BCE. During this period, however, high interest rates discouraged foreign commerce, and competition was intense, with foreign partners often preferring to import from other countries. During the Saite Period, for instance, monthly interest rates could reach 10%.

Few written records or artifacts survive from this period, so relatively little is known about it in general, and even less about Egypt's trading relations with other countries at this time.

The Egyptians had recently emerged from the Stone Age, exchanging hunting for agriculture. Aided by the Nile, farming had become the dominant economic activity. Around 3400 BC, two separate kingdoms were established: the Red Land to the north, based in the Nile River Delta and extending along the Nile perhaps to Atfih; and the White Land in the south, stretching from Atfih to Gebel es-Silsila. King Menes later defeated the northern kingdom and unified the country, becoming the first king of the first dynasty.

Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom Periods

During this period — extending from the Predynastic era through the Archaic (Early Dynastic) Period (c. 3100–2686 BC) — ancient Egypt traded with Nubia for gold, luxury goods, and incense. Egypt, in return, mainly exported grain, gold, linen, and papyrus, as well as finished goods including glass and stone objects.

As in all periods, the land derived much of its domestic wealth from agriculture, with farmers independently working small plots in villages and paying taxes to officials who forwarded the revenues to the crown and the temples. The country's economic wealth came largely from barley and wheat.

This period was renowned for its tremendous wealth. Around 3150 BC, the early dynastic pharaohs established the capital at Memphis, from which they could control internal and external trade as well as significant trade routes to the Levant. The pharaohs, and by extension Egypt itself, grew increasingly powerful and wealthy during this period.

Drought and internal conflict eroded the economic powers of the pharaohs, and Egypt experienced economic decline and famine during these years.

It was also during this era that the ancient Egyptians first began trading with Palestine, as demonstrated by Palestinian-style oil jugs found in the tombs of First Dynasty pharaohs, though some scholars place this trade slightly later. An Egyptian colony in southern Canaan also dates to just before the First Dynasty, while Narmer had Egyptian pottery produced in Canaan and exported back to Egypt.

During the Third and Fourth Dynasties, Egypt demonstrated peace and prosperity. The country maintained peaceful relations with its neighbors, the pharaohs held absolute power and stabilized the country, and successful military campaigns against Nubia and Libya contributed to Egypt's wealth and expanded the range of goods available for export.

The pharaoh's power and wealth incrementally decreased during the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, partly due to the enormous expense of pyramid building and partly due to the growing power of the clergy and nobility.

Conclusion

Ancient Egypt had its ups and downs with trading during its successive string of dynasties. When the country was most secure under the strong and stable rule of its own pharaohs, it showed prosperity and was able to cement friendly dealings with its neighbors and exploit its own wealth for its country's benefit.