Chattel
The lowest rung of society was composed of slaves and serfs whose lives were completely controlled by other people. Slaves differed from serfs in that they could be individually bought and sold; serfs belonged to the land, hence changed masters only as the land changed hands. As long as they were commanded to perform legal tasks, both serfs and slaves were expected to obey their masters without question or complaint. During every period of Egyptian history serfs far outnumbered slaves.
Since individuals remained serfs unless good fortune changed their situation, only slowly did their high proportion decline. A serf could be elevated through the intervention of a master who, in recognition of a special talent or ability, might assign the person to a managerial position on an estate—serf status was tied to occupation as well as birth. Marriage, too, was a way out of serfdom. Since free persons could not marry serfs, union with a serf required that he or she first be freed. Valor in war could also earn a serf his own land and freedom. Through one or another of these means, the percentage of serfs decreased over time, swelling the ranks of the free class until, by the height of the New Kingdom, serfs had probably declined to less than half of the population.
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