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450
BCE, Ancient Greek Social Structure
The upper class consisted of affluent and well educated politicians, philosophers, and intelectuals. The middle class held artisans and merchants as well as soldiers. The lower class was mainly composed of farmers and slaves. -
Feb 20, 1000
Stadard European Feudalism
European Feudalism split into two cataories: Lords and Vassals. Lords owned the land and allowed the vasssals to live there. In return for the land to live on, the vassals had to work the land for the lords. -
Feb 20, 1100
Japanese Feudalism
The Japanese Feudal structure was divided into Royals, Nobles, and lower classes. The nobles were heavily influencial in the military and in lower level politics. The Royalty also weighed heavily in the millitary as well as the centralized government.The lower classes included arisans and merchants. -
Feb 20, 1230
Mali Empire Social Stratification
Similar to its European contemporaries, the African Mali empire had an Emperor at the top of its social structure. Following him were nobles that carried out government functions. The middle class were artisans, farmers, and merchants. The lowest class consisted of slaves from their own people and foreign prisoners. -
Jan 1, 1400
BCE Indian Caste System Developed
Rigveda, an ancient Hindu text, metions four social classes.
It states how society should be arranged based on a divine belief. It was the first text to detail social heirarchy and denote some members of society as holier than others. -
Feb 20, 1500
Spanish Colonial Latin American Social Structure
The Latin America social hierarchy was based on social stratification which was widely used in Latin America for social control. Class was mainly based on race and place of birth. People in power were of European origin or decent. -
Feb 20, 1550
BCE, Egyptian Social Hierarchy
At the head of this heirarchy were the kings, or pharaohs. These were quickly followed by priests who had, in some cases, more power than politicians. The slaves were mainly prisoners of war who served members of the upper classes. -
French Revolution Heirarchy
The third estate were the common peoples (artisans, farmers, etc.). The second estate consited of the clergy and church leaders. The first included nobility and royalty, who led the country politically. -
Socialist View of Capitalist Structure
According to Marx and Engles, the world's populations are split into the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the working and employing classes respectively. Socialists believe in an elimination of class distinction and true economic and social equality for all. -
BCE, Mesopotamia Social Hierarchy
The slaves and lower class workers served the highest classes: the priests and kings. Those higher classes, while serving different roles, held the same amount of power