Who dares to challenge the gods of the Nile?
In the midst of the gold islands and the pyramids that seem to touch the heavens, a disconcerting episode shook the foundations of ancient Egypt: a strike of workers in the heart of the empire. Although the image of slaves forging monumental tombs is common in stories, reality reveals a much more human facet, where free workers raised their voice to claim their rights with a worthy courage of legends.
Erosion of an ancient power: the Egypt in times of crisis
It was 1166 before Christ and Egypt, under the command of the Pharaoh Ramses III, it crossed a difficult stage. Although it was still an empire with influences and resources, its base began to make waters: foreign incursions, the northern invasion attempts and Libya, reduced their finances and left the economy on a maximum state of alert.
Pharaonic monuments, far from being only glory symbols, also served as colossal expenses that drained resources from the nation. The appearance of a swollen bureaucracy and corruption in administration further aggravated the situation, making the country’s economy staggered almost on the edge of collapse.
Arms workers … but not in chains
What we would understand today as labor rights was practically an unknown concept at that time. The history of ancient Egypt reports that a good part of the population worked on activities that supported the ruling elite, either in state projects or in the maintenance of infrastructure, with a system that although basic, allowed certain guarantees in kind.
From food to clothing and animal care, workers received a salary in goods, which varied according to their specialization and the importance of their work. Some, like the builders of tombs and temples, enjoyed a different treatment, but all shared the same reality: work to maintain the order and continuity of the kingdom.
Deir el-medina: the city of faithful workers
In the surroundings of the royal tombs, in an enclave known as Deir El-Medina, he lived a community of artisans, masons and scleros. A small town with modest but well -organized homes, where families depended on the surveys and works assigned from the pharaonic power.
The control of these workers was rigorous, supervised by a key figure, the Tjaty vizier. Their role was to guarantee that the works advanced and that the salaries, although in kind, would arrive in a timely manner. The daily routine, in apparent harmony, also hid tensions and frustrations that would eventually go to the surface.
The value of the protest: the first strike recorded in history
The story that allows us to glimpse that extraordinary moment comes from the famous papyrus of the strike. There, in ink and papyrus, it describes how a group of workers got tired of waiting for payments and decided, with a very modern spirit, stop working in protest for poor conditions and delays in their salaries.
This unprecedented act was not the result of a spontaneous spark, but of an accumulated process of discontent. Corrupt administrators, led by the Haty de Thebas, delayed deliveries and reduced rations in an attempt to appease the collapsed economy, which made workers lose patience.
The beginning of a fight that challenged a pharaoh
From the 10th of the month of Peret, in the Egyptian calendar, the workers of Deir El-Medina took a clear and determined position: they stopped working and marched to the temple of Thutmose III, crying out for food and justice. They attended their protest with a cry that resonated beyond the pyramids: We are hungry!
His message was clear and direct, and they managed to have the Pharaoh himself respond, at least momentarily, delivering the backward rations. But that temporal peace did not last long; Salary and conditions conflicts continued for various reigns, demonstrating that work dignity transcends times.
The echo of a resistance that endures
The preserved records show that the struggle of these workers had a lasting impact, sitting a precedent in social and labor history not only of Egypt, but of the ancient world. The courage of those who raised their voice, facing a divine power in the form of Pharaoh, invites us to reflect on the rights that we give unquestionable facts today and that, at that time, were simply an act of courage.
In the history of mankind, these first protests show that dignity and justice do not understand times or civilizations; They are a constant struggle that crosses frises and papyri, and that is still in force in every corner where the voice of the workers seeks to be heard.
