Univerzitet u Banjoj Luci Pravni fakultet

Seminarski rad iz engleske pravne terminologije Tema: Pravo u starom Egiptu

Law in ancient Egypt

Mentor: prof. dr Branka Maksimovi

Student: Marija Gromili, br.indeksa 293/12

April 2013 Banja Luka

1. Introducion
Ancient Egypt was one of the most advanced cultures of its time. Ancient Egyptians are renowned for their complex belief system and their advanced architectural techniques which led to the building of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx. A complex society like ancient Egypt must have had a codified system of law. Author Mark Andrews writes: "We learn from one Greek writer that in the Late Period there were probably eight books that set out the legal code." Archeologists have not found any remains of these law books, but ideas about Egyptian laws in ancient times have been derived from other records. Many of their laws and punishments were passed down through Greek and Roman cultures, to influence American and European law today. In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh was lord and ruler, judge and jury. He directed and controlled every facet of society and was revered by the people, who believed he was a demi-god and had divine right to be the ruler. The Pharaoh made the laws and maintained law and order throughout the country through a system that the ancient Egyptians called Ma'at. This was the concept of right and wrong, truth and order, balance, law, morality, and justice that the people attempted to adhere to in their lives. There is little surviving literature that describes the practice of ancient Egyptian law. Maat was the spirit in which justice was applied rather than the detailed legalistic exposition of rules (as found in Mosaic law of the 1st millennium BCE). Maat was the norm and basic values that formed the backdrop for the application of justice that had to be carried out in the spirit of truth and fairness. In Egyptian legend, the first king of Egypt was Menes. As a result of the testimony of the Greekwriting historians who wrote hundreds of years after his reign, King Menes is accorded the honor of being the unifier of Egypt, Egypts first lawgiverindeedthe first in the history of the world to undertake to write the law.1 Thus Menes has been seen as the inseminator or progenitor of the Rule of Law among the various tribes of men. It is for that reason that he was chosen to be among the great lawgivers of history in the South Wall Frieze of the United States Supreme Court. Menes is carved there, the first in the procession of ancient lawgivers. In confident stride, Menes approaches the symbol of Fame, holding the ubiquitous Egyptian symbol of life, the ankh. If Menes was the first to write the laws of men, surely he deserves such a place in the Laws iconography. Although no legal codes from ancient Egypt survive, court documents show that Egyptian law was based on a common-sense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes. Local councils of elders, known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. More serious cases involving murder, major land transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to the Great Kenbet, over which the vizier or pharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented the complaint, testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference. Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial mutilation,

John Henry Wigmore, A Panaroma of the Worlds Legal Systems (Saint Paul: West Publishing, 1928), Vol. I, 17.

or exile, depending on the severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to the criminal's family. Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue. The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgment by choosing one or the other, moving forward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on a piece of papyrus or an ostracon.

2. Social status in ancient Egypt

Egyptian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed. The ancient Egyptians were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. Groups of people closest to the top of society were the richest and most powerful. The Pharaoh was considered a God on earth and had the most power. He was responsible for drafting laws and maintaining order, ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or invaded by enemies and staging of the Gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there had a good harvest. He had a special status, which is expressed by his monuments. The tomb of a high official and of a poor farmer might have been different in size, but in theory they could display the same features. A royal tomb was always different. In the Old and New Kingdom pyramids were built, while officials were buried in mastabas. In the New Kingdom king tombs were decorated with special texts (Amduat), only rarely known from contemporary private tombs. The women nearest to him also had a special status. The name of the wife of the king was, from the Second Intermediate Period, written in a cartouche, and several Old and Middle Kingdom wives of kings were buried in a pyramid. Again, is this class or an expression of kingship ideology. The vizier was the principal advisor to the Pharaoh and was occasionally also the High Priest. He was responsible for the administration and supervision of all official documents should have its seal of approval. He was also responsible for the supply of food, the settlement of disputes between the nobles and the operation and protection of Pharaoh's house. Nobles ruled regions of Egypt (nomes). They were responsible for making local laws and maintain order in their region. The priests were responsible for keeping the gods happy. They did not preach to people, but spent their time performing rituals and ceremonies in their temple of God. The scribes were the only people who were literate and were responsible for record keeping. The ancient Egyptians recorded such things as how much food was produced at harvest time, how many soldiers were in the army, the number of workers and the number of gifts to the gods. Scribes and officials formed the upper class in ancient Egypt, the so-called "white kilt class" in reference to the bleached linen garments that served as a mark of their rank. The soldiers were responsible for defending the country. Many other son, including the pharaoh often chose to join the army. The soldiers were allowed to share the wealth of captured enemies and were also awarded land for their service in the country. 3

Craftsmen were skilled workers such as - potters, leather workers, sculptors, painters, weavers, jewelers, shoemakers, tailors. Artisan groups often worked together in workshops. At the bottom of the social structure were slaves and farmers. Farmers work the land of Pharaoh and noble, and were given housing, food and clothing in return. Some farmers rented land from nobles and had to pay a percentage of their crop as rent. Farmers made up the bulk of the population, but agricultural produce was owned directly by the state, temple, or noble family that owned the land. Farmers were also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction projects in a corve system. Slavery was known in ancient Egypt, but the extent and prevalence of its practice are unclear. There was no slave markets or auctions in ancient Egypt. Slaves were usually prisoners captured in wartime. Slaves could be found in the household of Pharaoh and noble work in mines and quarries and also in temples. The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes except slaves, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition the vizier and his court for redress. Although, slaves were mostly used as indentured servants. They were able to buy and sell, or work their way to freedom or nobility, and usually were treated by doctors in the workplace. Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated the financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. Compared with their counterparts in ancient Greece, Rome, and even more modern places around the world, ancient Egyptian women had a greater range of personal choices and opportunities for achievement. Women such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VI even became pharaohs, while others wielded power as Divine Wives of Amun. Despite these freedoms, ancient Egyptian women did not often take part in official roles in the administration, served only secondary roles in the temples, and were not as likely to be as educated as men.

3. Property law in ancient Egypt

In theory all the land seems to have belonged to the gods, and to the pharaoh as representative of Horus. It was regarded as communal property administered by the king, and was given to his subjects for usufruction, but they have to pay rent. The traditional approach to ownership appears to have changed by the Late Period, and land had become more like any other possession, but the state never relinquished all its rights over it. Ownership of land was monitored by the administration: transactions were recorded by scribes , land was surveyed and when circumstances had changed, such as when excessive inundations had obliterated boundary marks, reassigned based on the cadastral surveys. These surveys were also the base for the taxes to be imposed. Disputes over ownership which could not be solved by the land-overseers were heard by the vizier. It should be noted that the Egyptians not only had a concept of private property, they also developed a concept of "joint property," property acquired by a married couple during their marriage. The husband had use of the joint property, meaning he could dispose of joint property without his wife's permission. 4

But if a husband sold or otherwise disposed of a piece of joint property (or of any of his wife's property which she brought with her to the marriage), he was legally liable to provide his wife with something of equal value. That it is the husband who has use of joint property reflects the social fact that men normally participated in the public sphere, whereas women did not. The legal independence and identity of Egyptian women is reflected not only in the fact that they could deal with property on the same terms that men did and that they could make the appropriate contracts in their own names, but also in the fact that they themselves were held accountable for economic transactions and contracts into which they had entered. In one case, a woman named Irynefret was charged with illegally using silver and a tomb belonging to a woman named Bak-Mut to help pay for the purchase of a servant-girl. Iry-nefret was brought to court and told in her own words how she acquired the girl, listing all the items which she gave the merchant as price for the girl and identifying the individuals from whom she bought some of the items used in this purchase. She had to swear an oath before the judges in the names of the god Amon and the Ruler. The judges then had the complainant produce witnesses (three men and three women) who would attest that she had used stolen property to purchase the girl. The end of the papyrus recording the court case is lost, but it is clear that the woman Iry-nefret acted on her own in purchasing the servant-girl and was held solely liable for her actions while the testimony of both women and men was held by the judges to be equally admissible.

4. Contracts and other legal documents

Most contracts were oral agreements, sealed with a handshake or its ancient Egyptian equivalent in the presence of a few witnesses. But occasionally, permanent records were made which throw a light on the society and its sense of legality. The vast majority of people were illiterate and poor, but even they, not to speak of their social superiors who had more occasions and need to do so, needed to put an agreement in writing at times. The scribes, part of the state bureaucracy and generally not beholden to private persons, were hoped to be impartial in the drawing up of the document, read out and explained the text to illiterate clients, spoke and wrote the same legalistic language as their peers present and future, who might be called upon to re-interpret their writings, and knew how to have them kept safe. For verification purposes, contracts and other legal documents were signed by the scribe who put them on papyrus, their date was given and often ancestors - at least the father - were mentioned to help with the writer's identification if the need should arise. Contracts belong in the public domain. Witnesses were present when they were concluded. They-as well as all the other persons involved - were identified in the documents by their official names and often, when they had one, by their nick-names as well. An additional possible identifier was the profession or trade of the witness. Given the fact that a person's occupation was generally inherited this helped in the establishment of the witness's lineage. The gods were also sometimes explicitly invoked as witnesses, though the Egyptians seem to have relied less on the moral influence of the deities and more on their physically present servants, priests who took part in the signing (and might be called upon to give evidence if need be).

Safe-keeping important documents in a private home was probably difficult for many. They were difficult to hide from prying eyes or hungry rodents as there were no strong-chests which could be locked or even doors which had more than the most primitive barring devices. The factor most important for preventing theft or damage to valuables was the presence of people belonging to the household. Copies of private legal documents were kept in archives administered by the temples. These were repositories for all kinds of records: wills, deeds, cadastral records, birth registration, contracts etc. In the Egyptian tradition women had, compared with other ancient cultures, a fair amount of independence. They were seen to be more in need of protection than men, and clauses to this effect were occasionally inserted in legal documents, but they remained free agents. This was not so among most of the foreigners settling in Egypt during the first millennium BCE. The degree of tutelage of Greek women in the diaspora may have varied according to the mother-city they originated from, the marriage contract of Heraclides and Demetria, two freeborn Coans, does not mention any guardian, but does make a reference to those aiding Demetria, whatever that may have entailed. Generally speaking, a Greek woman did not act on her own: unmarried she was represented by her father, an uncle or even a brother, married her affairs were - at least as far as the public was concerned - managed by her husband. Land leases: Most land leases would not have aroused too much controversy. As long as their nature remained temporary and did not involve ownership of the land itself as might happen in long-term relationships when memories became blurred and doubts as to tenure might arise, the main problem was to ensure the regular payment of the rent. The state leased land would be in once it was returned might be of concern to the owner. In an application for a lease of grain land the writer promised that after the expiration of the lease he would hand over the arouras free from rushes, reeds, coarse grass and all rubbish, with one half lying fallow in grass and the other half after the stubble harvest. Such a clause might well be included in a contract. More intricate were matters when the ownership of the land was at risk, as was the case of the Macedonian Eirene who let a mortgaged 80 aroura plot and had to ensure the continued payment of interest on the mortgage. Sales: For much of Egypt's history selling meant exchanging goods. But in a barter economy, where the means of exchange were often bulky and difficult to transport, the use of credit was just as important as in a modern market system. IOU's changed hands, and during the Late Period there was the giro-system of the state-run grain banks.Most critical were written records when valued property, such as land, changed owners. These bills of sale for houses or land were archived in the state or temple repository. Cadastral records were the base of taxation. Marriage contracts: Traditionally, the possessions a woman brought with her into a marriage continued to be exclusively her own property even if it was generally the husband who managed them. In case of dissolution of the partnership they wholly reverted to her. In the Ptolemaic Period during which the position of the men became more dominant under the influence of Greek and Macedonian customs, the need for written prenuptial agreements arose with women trying to protect themselves from destitution in case they were abandoned and men seeking punitive measures against unfaithful wives. These contracts were generally even-handed in threatening husband and wife alike with financial consequences if they strayed, but in reality the wife would have been harder hit, having generally less access to economic means independent of their partners. 6

Annuity contracts: People having selective memories and often strange, idiosyncratic reasoning when it suits their purposes, the wise person will hesitate to pass property to another against future services unless the execution of the agreement can be properly enforced. In a society where state pensions were presents from the king to a select few only, the annuity contract was the means for those who owned some property but were incapable of administering it themselves to ensure a regular future income.

5. Family law and matrimonial law

The Egyptians appear to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind. Women attend markets and are employed in trade, while men stay at home and do the weaving! Men in Egypt carry loads on their head, women on their shoulder. Women pass water standing up, men sitting down. To ease themselves, they go indoors, but eat outside on the streets, on the theory that what is unseemly, but necessary, should be done in private, and what is not unseemly should be done openly.(Herodotus II: 33-37) The nuclear family was the core of Egyptian society and many of the gods were even arranged into such groupings. There was tremendous pride in one's family, and lineage was traced through both the mother's and father's lines. Respect for one's parents was a cornerstone of morality, and the most fundamental duty of the eldest son (or occasionally daughter) was to care for his parents in their last days and to ensure that they received a proper burial. Countless genealogical lists indicate how important family ties were, yet Egyptian kinship terms lacked specific words to identify blood relatives beyond the nuclear family. For example, the word used to designate "mother" was also used for "grandmother," and the word for "father" was the same as "grandfather"; likewise, the terms for "son," "grandson," and "nephew" (or "daughter," "granddaughter," and "niece") were identical. "Uncle" and "brother" (or "sister" and "aunt") were also designated by the same word. To make matters even more confusing for modern scholars, the term "sister" was often used for "wife," perhaps an indication of the strength of the bond between spouses. Once a young man was well into adolescence, it was appropriate for him to seek a partner and begin his own family. Females were probably thought to be ready for marriage after their first menses. The marrying age of males was probably a little older, perhaps 16 to 20 years of age, because they had to become established and be able to support a family. Virginity was not a necessity for marriage; indeed, premarital sex, or any sex between unmarried people, was socially acceptable. Once married, however, couples were expected to be sexually faithful to each other. Egyptians (except the king) were, in theory, monogamous, and many records indicate that couples expressed true affection for each other. They were highly sensual people, and a major theme of their religion was fertility and procreation. Marriage was purely a social arrangement that regulated property. Neither religious nor state doctrines entered into the marriage and, unlike other documents that related to economic matters (such as the so-called "marriage contracts"), marriages themselves were not registered. Apparently once a couple started living together, they were acknowledged to be married. 7

Although the institution of marriage was taken seriously, divorce was not uncommon. Either partner could institute divorce for fault (adultery, inability to conceive, or abuse) or no fault (incompatibility). Divorce was, no doubt, a matter of disappointment but certainly not one of disgrace, and it was very common for divorced people to remarry. Although in theory divorce was an easy matter, in reality it was probably an undertaking complicated enough to motivate couples to stay together, especially when property was involved. When a woman chose to divorce--if the divorce was uncontested--she could leave with what she had brought into the marriage plus a share (about one third to two thirds) of the marital joint property. One text (Ostracon Petrie 18), however, recounts the divorce of a woman who abandoned her sick husband, and in the resulting judgment she was forced to renounce all their joint property. If the husband left the marriage he was liable to a fine or payment of support (analogous to alimony), and in many cases he forfeited his share of the joint property. Egyptian women had greater freedom of choice and more equality under social and civil law than their contemporaries in Mesopotamia or even the women of the later Greek and Roman civilizations. Her right to initiate divorce was one of the ways in which her full legal rights were manifested. Additionally, women could serve on juries, testify in trials, inherit real estate, and disinherit ungrateful children. It is interesting, however, that in contrast to modern Western societies, gender played an increasingly important role in determining female occupations in the upper classes than in the peasant and working classes. Women of the peasant class worked side by side with men in the fields; in higher levels of society, gender roles were more entrenched, and women were more likely to remain at home while their husbands plied their crafts or worked at civil jobs. Through most of the Pharaonic Period, men and women inherited equally, and from each parent separately. The eldest son often, but not always, inherited his father's job and position (whether in workshop or temple), but to him also fell the onerous and costly responsibility of his parents' proper burial. Real estate generally was not divided among heirs but was held jointly by the family members. If a family member wished to leave property to a person other than the expected heirs, a document called an imeyt-per ("that which is in the house") would ensure the wishes of the deceased.

6. Criminal Law

Although there were differences in how members of the various social classes were treated and judged, neither riches nor nobility raised a person above the law. High treason committed by powerful noblemen and officials was severely dealt with. Judges and tax collectors abused their powers, above all during times of unrest, and scribes sometimes falsified cadastral data; if they were caught, their punishment could be savage. As the existence and proper functioning of the state depended on their activities, resisting state officials doing their duty or bribing them had to be suppressed at any cost, as had perjury, false accusations and statements and undue influence on judicial procedure. Misbehaviour had to be punished, honour upheld, peace between neighbours kept, and people's lives and property protected. 8

Not reporting a felony was a crime in itself. Sacrilege and lese-majesty, twin crimes in a society where the divine and secular were closely interwoven, were especially heinous. They were offenses against what we would see as the worldly institutions of state and king, but in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians rather insults against the gods and the world order they had instituted. We know of a few, apparently rare attempts on a king's life, but there were also lesser transgressions: The pseudepigraphical Famine Stela threatens the impious with He who spits (on it - i.e. on the stela in the temple) deceitfully shall be given over to punishment. Even if this account is fictitious we may suppose that such actions were prosecuted. Robbery, theft and the fencing of stolen goods were criminal offences, particularly the breaking, damaging and looting of tomb. While the sources are very eloquent when the state and its institutions as incorporations of Maat were the victims of criminal behaviour, much less is known about what happened if the injured party was a private person. Homicides must have been committed, yet written evidence concerning or even literary mention of murder are rare. Paneb, a foreman at Deir el Medina, is described as having killed someone, and the possibly fictional Pediese was attacked and left for dead and members of his family were murdered. But these excesses of violence do not appear to have been prosecuted let alone punished by the state, even though the authorities were informed. It has been suggested that 'private' homicides were dealt with by feuds, though there is even less evidence for that than for the murders themselves. The prevention of crime and apprehension of criminals was the duty They collected clues against suspects by interrogating them and their acquaintances, checking public records, organizing reenactments and applying physical coercion, generally in the form of beatings. Then, as is still the fact today, most crime was of the petty variety, but in a society where most people lived much closer to the edge of abject poverty, even small thefts might be a serious matter. of local officials and police forces. They opened investigations following complaints by citizens. After an interrogation suspects whose guilt was apparent were either held until trial or ordered by the police to make amends. The Egyptian obsession for keeping records was often useful against criminals. One could not own slaves without registering them with the authorities. The problem for the judge was to discover the source of the money. A resident of Thebes, Ari-Nofer was asked: What do you say about the silver your husband Penhesi brought home? To which she replied: I did not see it. The question How were the slaves bought that were with him? she answered with I did not see the silver with which he paid their price. When he was on the way, they were with him. She explained the source of the silver which Penhesi left with Sobekmesef by saying I acquired it with the barley during the year of the hyaenas, when there was a famine. And no wrong-doing on her part could be proved. Beatings, certainly of common criminals, were a tried and proven way for eliciting if not the truth then at least a confession. Amenpenofer, a New Kingdom grave robber, was beaten until he admitted to having committed further robberies, among them in the tomb of the Third Prophet of the God with four associates previously unknown to the authorities. The threat of a beating or mutilation was sometimes hoped to prevent false witness. Even witnesses not accused of any wrong-doing were at times beaten. Nesuamon, a priest, and Wenpehti, both sons of accused tomb robbers and at the time of the alleged crimes both children, were examined by beating with a rod and Wenpehti, who was merely a weaver, received a bastinado to his feet and hands. The confession was the base for a conviction. Circumstantial 9

evidence, witnesses and torture were means for achieving this confession. When the accused despite everything refused to confess, he was sometimes given the opportunity to have a witness speak in his favour, or as happened more rarely, he was released. Crimes were punished with restitution of stolen property, fines, confiscation, imprisonment, forced labour, beatings, mutilation, banishment, or death. For example, from court documents at Deir elMedina, we know that punishment for stolen or embezzled goods might be as simple as the return of the goods with a fine of twice their value. Simple corporal punishment could involve a hundred strokes of the cane and in more serious cases, 5 bleeding cuts added, or brands as a sign of permanent dishonor. The Pharaoh himself might very well decide the most important criminal cases, or at other times he might appoint a special commission with full authority to pass judgement. Depending on the severity of the case, being exiled to Nubia or the Western Oasis, or sent to to labor in the distant mines or quarries was not uncommon. Some crimes were punished with mutilation consisting of cutting off a hand, tongue, nose or ears. In extreme cases, capital punishment was inflicted by implement on a stake, burning alive, drowning or decapitation. Because the guilty had violated Ma'at, it was also assumed the individual would suffer failure, poverty, sickness, blindness or deafness, with the final settlement awaiting in the Court of the Dead. It should be noted that, while ancient Egyptian punishment is often seen as barbaric, there was some support of basic human rights. For example the pharaoh Bocchoris suppressed imprisonment for debt.

7. The judical system

The judicial system was not a separate entity from the ancient Egyptian government. Egyptians did not have professional judges. In fact there was no word for judge in the Egyptian language. Even though no book of laws from ancient Egypt have been found, court records show that Egyptian law was usually based on a common-sense approach. In fact Egyptian law encouraged reaching agreements to resolve conflicts rather than sticking to a complicated set of laws. The New Kingdom had a council of elders called kenbet. They were responsible for court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. The elders were from regional governments and priests whose official rank in the temples entitled them to be judges. The ancient Egyptian judicial system also had a Great Kenbet which the vizier or pharaoh chaired and the members were high-ranking officials. Usually more serious cases involving murder, major land transactions and tomb robbery were heard at this court. Plaintiffs and defendants represented themselves and much like today, swore an oath that they told the truth. Egyptian women were also allowed to seek justice, and like men could have their day in court. The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes except slaves, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition the vizier and his court for redress. Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated the financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. 10

The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, who was responsible for enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order, a concept the ancient Egyptians referred to as Ma'at. Although no legal codes from ancient Egypt survive, court documents show that Egyptian law was based on a common-sense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes. Local councils of elders, known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. More serious cases involving murder, major land transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to the Great Kenbet, over which the vizier or pharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented the complaint, testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference. Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial mutilation, or exile, depending on the severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to the criminal's family. Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue. The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgment by choosing one or the other, moving forward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on a piece of papyrus or an ostracon.2

8. Conclusion
Not unlike some religions, the ancient Egyptians worshipped death. Society was built around this fascination and so a concern for life before death took a back seat to death after life. Further, papyrus was the medium of choice for record-keeping, a paper-like product with a relatively short shelf-life; certainly not something to last thousands of years except under the most precise of conditions. The word for law in ancient Egyptian was hp, the symbols being the goddess Ma'at and the ostrich feather. The hieroglyphic language also recognized royal laws, which European archaeologists prefer to call decrees. Such a successful and organized society must of had law to create and sustain order but any Egyptian law code a national, Egypt-wide set of laws had evaded archaeologists. Consistent with the fascination with death and a belief in an afterlife, most of the existing piecemeal decrees dealt with the protection of burial sites, especially pyramids. But there were several specific decrees throughout the history of ancient Egypt that have been uncovered and since, roughly translated. All of them are pronouncements from the pharaoh (king) who was considered a god (there was no deliberative assembly). This fact may have discouraged systematic code-making because if the law ever had to be
2

Redford, D., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2 (Oxford: University Press, 2001), pages 114-116

11

known, the answer was as simple as an audience with the current pharaoh. Any pharaoh worth his salt would recognize the disadvantage associated with a law code set in stone or, as it were, on papyrus. The anti-corruption law decrees of Horemheb are set out at Horemheb (d.1315).Other than the host of law decrees which deal with the formalities of death and funerals, and the protection of burial grounds, papyrus collections held in museums around the world can be pasted together to give a glimpse of ancient Egyptian law. In terms of estate and inheritance, the basic rule was: "... It is to the one who has buried (the deceased) that the goods (of the deceased) shall be given."3 Slavery had a decided Egyptian flavour to it, significantly different, in law, to the Roman model. The essence of slavery existed one being required to serve another for life but other aspects were different. In ancient Egypt, it seems that the master owned the slaves labour but not his or her person or property. On women rights, according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt: "Like slaves, women, either married or widowed had, during the New Kingdom (1600 to 1100 BC; and probably before) complete legal authority to manage their own assets.... They were allowed to sell, buy or bequeath anything they owned without their husbands approval. They could (act as) witness to an agreement or a will. If there was no will at their fathers or their mothers death, the shares of the estate inherited by the daughters were equal to those of the sons. (But) it was the husband who had the right to manage The property acquired by a couple during marriage. Should (the husband) die or repudiate (his wife), the wife received a third of all property belonging to the couple." Judicial centres were established in Thebes and Heliopolis. On at least two occasions, under Pepy I (circa 2250 BC) and later under Ramses III (circa 1150 BC), extraordinary commissions of inquiry were established to take witness statements under oath. Some historians place some doubt as to the inquiry ordered by Ramses III but other documents show that he ordered the inquiry to look into an alleged conspiracy within his own harem. The inquiry did not end well for all the commissioners. Four of them were seduced by the wives of the suspects and when this was discovered, Ramses III took away their titles and had the commissioners mutilated. Egyptian courts were not just judicial-they served as notarizing agencies as well, where land transfers and important contracts could be formally recorded. In this way, Court scribes would authenticate legal documents on behalf of a mostly-illiterate population. A person found by the court to be in breach of his agreement had to pay compensation by a specified day or he would be publicly beaten and handed a fine of double the original award against him. In criminal matters, all the court had to do was determine guilt and if guilty, it was up to the king (pharaoh) to decide upon punishment, usually amputation or death.

Allam, Shafik, "Egypian Law Courts in Pharaonic and Hellenistic Times", Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Volume 77 (1991), pages 109-121.

12

References:
Sran, arkid, Opta istorija drave i prava, Beograd, 1999.; Allam, Shafik, "Egypian Law Courts in Pharaonic and Hellenistic Times", Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Volume 77., 1991.; Redford, D., The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2, 2001.; John Henry Wigmore, A Panaroma of the Worlds Legal Systems, Saint Paul: West Publishing, 1928.; http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptlegalsystem.html http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/

13

Content
Introdution...........................................................................................................................................2. Social status in ancient Egypt...............................................................................................................3. Property law in ancient Egypt...............................................................................................................4. Contracts and other legal documents...................................................................................................5. Family and matrimonial law.................................................................................................................7. Criminal law.............................................................................................................................................8. The judical system...............................................................................................................................10. Conclusion............................................................................................................................................11. References.........................................................................................................................................13.

14