There is no reference to the consultation of written law, nor to a discussion among the judges. Egypts Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; A suspect was interrogated by the police and the judge in court and witnesses were brought in to testify for or against the accused. The tasks of these committees seem to have extended over notarial as well as juridical duties. Only in cases of fiscal interest, lawyers were forbidden by a decree of 259 B.C.. A large number of ostraca from Deir el-Medina contain notes, sketches, or drafts for transcripts of court proceedings, but few of them are complete. 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. The Cult of Amun, regularly the most powerful in Egypt, had by this time almost eclipsed the authority of the throne. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Ancient Egypt Magazine ancientegyptmagazine.co.uk; Each section consists of a question and an answer. The heralds (wHmww), local administrators, were also involved in juridical action; they seem to have collaborated closely with the bureau of the vizier, sending in their cases for directives. World History Encyclopedia. In the Third and Fourth Dynasties of the ancient Egyptian state, various decrees and legislations appeared, such as the legislation that defined the times when farmers could work, and the legislation of King Menkaure, which aimed at fighting against forced labor. A forward motion, called hnn, nodding, was considered as affirmative answer, a backward motion, called naj n HA=f, receding, as negative. A lavishly illustrated transcript of an oracular proceeding of the 26th Dynasty with an exceptionally large number of witness copies concerns the transfer of a priest from one priesthood to another and is therefore more administrative than judicial in nature. Parties often relied on lawyers to present their cases. But the individual elements recall earlier conditions: the thirty judges resemble the mabAyt of the Middle Kingdom (see above Middle Kingdom and 2nd Intermediate Period: 1. Ipuwer PapyrusRijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden (CC BY). Although some scholars assume that plaintiffs had to address an official in order to try for an extrajudicial settlement before going to court, there is no evidence for this. Stela of PtahmayOsama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright).
Women could sue for divorce as easily as men and could also bring suits regarding land sales and business arrangements. In ancient Egypt, however, there was no state prosecution for theft from or assault of private citizens. WDa-mdw, literally divider of words, is also found as a designation for officials in a judicial capacity. Since only very few transcripts of court proceedings before the laokritai survive, our main source for the scope of their jurisdiction are the temple oaths (see below). The vizier was ultimately the supreme judge but most court cases were handled by lower magistrates. For example, from court documents at Deir el-Medina, 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. The advantage consisted in the fact that the chrmatistai could be applied to either through enteuxis or directly, and that there was no appeal against their judgments. group of elders in each town. While witnesses were sometimes called, the judge would usually rule on the grounds of documentary evidence and the testimony of each party. heard, and a common sense decision was made by the lower court
The revival of judicial titles reminiscent of the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom, e.g., jmj-rA-sX-xnty-wr, chief scribe of the great prison and jmj-rA-sX(w)-DADAt-wrt, chief (of) scribe(s) of the great court, extended into the 26th and in some cases even the 30th Dynasty. We care about our planet and contribute a share of our revenue to carbon removal from the atmosphere. Even though the Vizier tried to be fair, it was not smart to
Suits concerning taxes were administered by financial officials instead of normal courts. When the Romans took Egypt, their legal system was effected by both the Greeks and Egyptians, and today, we continue to implement a number of aspects of Roman law. However, if you did not like the
The defendant was informed about the plaintiffs claim; if the plaintiff did this himself, he needed witnesses, but the notification could also be given by the judicial organ. Their members were high court officials usually selected by the vizier and occasionally by the king; the king sometimes was even present himself and gave judgment. If an innocent person could be punished by a system which claimed divine origin then either the system was wrong or the gods were, and the authorities were not interested in having people debate those points. The monuments of the Pharaonic civilization indicate the extent of the progress achieved by the Egyptians in the systems of governance and administration. As stated before, the pharaoh, who was supposed to be maintaining the foundation of his entire civilization, was more interested at this time in his own comfort and ego gratification than the responsibilities of his office. Occupations &
However, since the
fair to all people? (2017, October 02). Even if the specifics of their law code are unknown, the principles it derived from are clear. The king "the pharaoh" was the head of the state, who appoints the greatest treasurer or the tax collector. A false charge, therefore, was considered a grave offense and not only because it disgraced an innocent citizen but because it called into question the efficacy of the law. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. A number of juridical terms are preserved in the Stle Juridique and the leather scroll Berlin P 10470, some even in both. This was accomplished by a priest either inside or behind the statue moving it one way or another to give an answer. A bibliography for the key primary sources treated in this entry is given at the end., Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen wrote: Although a number of Old Kingdom titles seem to indicate a juridical office, very little is known about the precise functions of their bearers: sAb is often translated as judge and can be found on its own and in combination with other titles. The great courts probably had to be approached through a petition to the vizier or the king himself. Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk, Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen in Germany wrote: When considering law in ancient Egypt, it is necessary to try to distinguish between our modern concepts and ancient aspects of Egyptian law. Very small villages might have been served by mobile courts. There was a
brought your case in the front of the Vizier to buy yourself
These replacements were known as ka-priests who, for a price, would provide daily food and drink offerings at a tomb. Mark, Joshua J.. "Ancient Egyptian Law." 
Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. Parties in disputes had to plead their case directly to government authorities, often people close to the pharaoh. Therefore we have at least to consider that the Romans subsumed Greek and Egyptian law of Egypt under this heading. Declarations of witnesses probably had to be in the shape of an affidavit deposited beforehand since there are no references to oral testimonies. In general, ancient Egyptians seem to have been law-abiding citizens throughout most of the culture's history but, still, there were arguments concerning land and water rights and disputes over ownership of livestock or the rights to a certain hereditary job or title. It was, however, clearly governed by religious principles: Law was believed to have been handed down to mankind by the gods on the First Occasion (the moment of creation), and the gods were held responsible for establishing and perpetuating the law. CopyRights 1996-2022 Tour Egypt. Perhaps a system like the one assumed for the Middle Kingdom according to which local courts had to refer their cases to the bureau of the vizier in order to receive information about the applicable laws was still in use at the beginning of the New Kingdom (Instruction for the Vizier, R 25 - 26). Accordingly, they were known by the rather unspecific terms DADAt (Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom) or qnbt (Middle Kingdom until the beginning of the Late Period), which simply means committee. Their members are usually referred to as srw, officials, although more specific designations also occur. The pendant of Truth (i.e., the goddess Maat) is well attested on statues from Dynasty 26 onwards, and even original pendants of lapis lazuli have been discovered; Maat is called who is on the neck of the (chief) judge (sAb or tAyty sAb) in temple inscriptions of the Ptolemaic Period. Since Deir el-Medina was under direct supervision of the vizier, the scribe could possibly also have acted as a representative of the bureau of the vizier. Native Egyptian judicature fast declined under the Roman rule. Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; was assassinated. Books Essentially, we believe that Egyptian law was based on a common sense view of right and wrong, following the codes based on the concept of Ma'at. Despite this obviously very complicated situation, neither the judges of the dikastria, the chrmatistai, nor the officials with judicial authority were obliged to receive proper legal training., Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen wrote: Procedure varied according to the judicial organ. Another shortcut, which made judgment unnecessary, was the confession of the defendant. The chrmatistai consisted of three judges, selected by the archidikasts (the highest judicial offical) probably from the Alexandrian upper class, appointed by the king and supervised by the dioiketes. Some crimes were punished with mutilation consisting of cutting off a hand, tongue, nose or ears. A prohibition of lawyers before the Egyptian court as stated by Diodorus I, 76 is therefore possible, but not verifiable. Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities.
Ptolemy II is most likely to be credited with integrating the two parallel systems into a state- approved (and, to a certain degree, state-controlled) comprehensive judicial system. Did laws remain in effect after the death of the legislating king or did they have to be renewed at the ascension of a new king?, Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen in Germany wrote:Egyptian law courts originated as councils of officials, which, besides acting as judges, also had other administrative tasks. (93). In order to be at peace with oneself, one's community, and the gods, all one had to do was live a life of consideration, mindfulness, and balance in accordance with ma'at. In both cases, the aorist or future III main clause contains the legal consequences, e.g., the necessary steps to be taken by the judges. The aim of the commentary was obviously just this: to quiz the (most likely priestly) students for the position of judge about their knowledge of the legal code, which they were supposed to have memorized to a large extent. The earliest form of the law at the regional level was probably quite simple but became more bureaucratic during the Old Kingdom. The forty Ssmw, which, according to the Instruction, are to be laid in front of the vizier during his sessions (actually depicted in the Tomb of Rekhmira), are, however, not leather scrolls containing these laws but most likely leather whips or rods symbolizing the viziers punitive authority over the forty administrative regions of Egypt . The decisions concerning such matters were based on traditional legal practices, although there must have been written codes available for study. The judgment was quite often given conditionally, dependent on whether one of the parties did or did not take the oath that the judges had imposed on him, as evidenced by temple oath texts including the possible judgment in both cases. World History Encyclopedia, 02 Oct 2017. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. Mark has lived in Greece and Germany and traveled through Egypt. License. The parties consent is expressed by hrw, to be content, the taking of an oath by arq, to swear., Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen wrote: Information about procedure is still scarce for the Middle Kingdom. Pepy punished the assassins and made sure their names and likenesses were chiseled off of tomb engravings after they were dead. The fragmentary Papyrus UC 32055 contains the evidence of the plaintiff in which he describes an earlier transaction of his deceased father, either a sale or a loan against security. The range of sources expands from the 6th Dynasty to include documents recording legal disputes and judgments, as well as sources which are not specifically legal but use judicial settings or terminology, such as tales, biographies, and letters. These citations therefore refer to a section of the code that was organized chronologically in the first place and thematically only in the second, if at all. Such cases usually involved minor problems, such as default on loans. At least in some cases, plaintiffs handed in a written claim, but viva voce complaints may have been possible as well before the local courts. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. No amount of caution or cover-up could help, however, because the corruption was so widespread. Theoretically it was possible to appeal against a judgment of the prefect, although this would have involved sending to the emperor himself at Rome. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Law/. If the prefect decided to hear the case himself, it was put on the agenda of the next convent, if not, it was delegated to another official. Then as now, however, these documents were often disputed by family members who took each other to court. Of course, there are any number of other documented legal proceedings. Upon an individual's death, property was often divided equally among both male and female children. Submitted by Joshua J. The Aramaic version of the law code quickly became obsolete after the end of the Persian rule in Egypt; no manuscripts have hitherto been identified. Because of this situation, on the whole it seems every attempt was made to determine the guilt of a suspect and mete out the proper punishment. Even if one were completely exonerated of all wrong-doing, one would still be known in one's community as a former suspect. Additionally, a didactic commentary for the Egyptian legal code existed since at least the Ptolemaic Period. A plaintiff was required to bring suit, and if the case was deemed to have validity, the defendant would be ordered to appear before the court. Ancient Egyptian Life and Culture (36 articles) factsanddetails.com; When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. From the New Kingdom there are finally first direct citations of laws in connection with court proceedings. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). First, he assumes without explanation that the date of the composition of the text is identical to that of the manuscript (mid-Ptolemaic Period), which is not very likely considering the fact that the same manuscript contains another excerpt of clearly Persian Period origin. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. Pharaoh, who assigned his vizier to this job, to hear the case Allam assumes that the courts were restructured from all-purpose administrative bodies to strictly juridical committees with quasi- professional judges.. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ], No lawyers seem to have been present: the parties presented their cases themselves, although sometimes obviously after having taken legal council; women could ask a man to speak for them. Egyptians also used to smear disobedient slaves with asss milk and seclude them until they had been thoroughly bitten by ants, fleas and other insects. guilty, but give you a lesser punishment. Although males dominated the legal system in ancient Egypt, records indicate that females enjoyed considerable rights under the law. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. mdw Hr/m, to litigate lit. Did he have a staff of advisors who proposed laws or did he decide alone? This is also suggested by Papyrus Berlin P 13540, which states that the candidates brought forth for the office of lesonis (temple administrator) had to conform to what Darius the pharaoh has ordereda reference that the priestly laws set down in the Darian law collection were to be applied rather than a new law, which entrusted the selection to the satrap (provincial governor), as it is often interpreted. children would be exiled with you. of courts, i.e., the authentication of documents., Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen wrote: The first unambiguous evidence for an official collection of laws is contained in the report of Papyrus Bibl.nat. As in the Egyptian court, legal documents were the most important evidence, followed by entries in official land registers and oaths of the parties and witnesses., transcription of the heart scarab of Bak-en-Djehuti (a spell), Sandra Lippert of Universitt Tbingen wrote: Diodorus Siculus, who visited Egypt around 50 B.C., also described the Egyptian judicial system , but his account most likely derived from the (almost completely lost) Aegyptiaca of Hecataeus of Abdera, a contemporary of Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I. It was only during the Middle Kingdom that professional judges were installed to preside over courts and the judicial system operated on a more rational, recognizable paradigm. During Egypt's Greek period, Egyptian law continued to influence the separate Greek legal system. Thus Egyptian law continued to be applied during the Ptolemaic Period, with a few limitations: royal jurisdiction seems to have taken over the department of criminal law (except theft), and royal decrees, which mainly concerned fiscal matters, could override Egyptian laws (and also Greek city laws). Until 118 B.C., the case was presented to a Greek or an Egyptian court according to the nationality of the parties. The great courts, presided over by the vizier(s), were situated in the capitals Memphis and Thebes and, at least during some periods, at Heliopolis. The term qnbt, court, is used only in cursive hieratic documents while Demotic ones employ nA wptjw, the judges. Not much is known about the background of the judges, but it may be assumed that, as in the New Kingdom, they consisted mainly of local officials, and, as in the Ptolemaic Period, especially of priests. Besides the great and local courts, special committees for the investigation of major crimes like tomb robbery or conspiracy against the king could be set up. From the 26th Dynasty onwards, the members of the courts seem to have been mainly, if not exclusively, priests with a specific juridical education, called wptjw, judges. [Source: Sandra Lippert, Universitt Tbingen, Germany, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2012, escholarship.org ]. For example the pharaoh Bocchoris suppressed imprisonment for debt. Some of these documents remain, and are some of our best evidence of how the ancient Egyptian legal system functioned. Appeal was impossible if the party already had acknowledged the judgment by his reactions.. The ancient Egyptians often recorded images of the king on their temples and tombs as he presented the symbol of justice and law, in a clear reference to the reverence of the concepts and values of justice and the rule of law in the ancient Egyptian civilization. The judicial titles combined with Hrj sStA seem to refer to positions of special confidence within the court system: Hrj sStA n wDa mdw (and similar), privy council of decision, Hrj sStA n sDmt wa, privy council of solitary examination, Hrj sStA n Hwt wrt, privy council of the court. The Greek population in the rural areas turned to dikastria of frequently ten judges (dikastai) in the larger settlements.