Final answer:
The power of farmers in ancient civilizations declined due to exploitation by wealthy landowners, lack of farming technology advancements, and socio-economic transformations that favored elites and led to stratified social classes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The political and economic power of most farmers in ancient civilizations diminished over time. In various empires, such as Rome, smallholders were increasingly unable to compete with large estates that used slave labor, leading to their exploitation and loss of land to wealthy landowners and aggressive oligarchies. This created a disparity between the elite and the peasantry, where the former controlled vast resources and the latter faced a precarious existence.
Agriculture served as the foundation of ancient economies, and land ownership was synonymous with wealth. However, due to a lack of improvements in farming technology and a system geared towards benefiting the wealthy, farmers saw little reason to enhance productivity. As a result, innovations were minimal, and the majority of the harvest was often lost to larger, more powerful entities.
Such socio-economic dynamics led to transformations in societies, with new social classes emerging. Traders, religious leaders, and other elites rose to prominence while many farmers fell into a life of toil or bondage. This stratification also influenced gender roles, often relegating women to domestic spheres and men to outside labor and leadership roles, thus creating further inequities within communities.