THE WEALTH OF THE NILE -- THE CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egypt is considered by some to have been the most heavily taxed nation and to have collapsed under the weight of the levies imposed on the populace. But, with a few minor interruptions, its society existed peacefully and basically unchanged for more than two millennia. Even in its days of decadence Herodotus thought it provided better living conditions - if health is anything to go by - than most others he had seen,

... they think that all the diseases which exist are produced in men by the food on which they live: for the Egyptians are from other causes also the most healthy of all men next after the Libyans.
one of the other causes being the climate.

The state relied on revenues in the forms of labour and taxes paid in kind. Grain was the most important, as it could be stored with relative ease and was vital in years of bad harvests.

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