According to inheritance laws in Ancient Egypt, married couples were not allowed to inherit each other unless a will states that, found a study that analyzed 62 ancient Egyptian texts. The findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists.
The examined texts include the Kahun Papyrus from the era of King Amenhotep III, and the Turin Papyrus Map that emerged under the rule of the 20th dynasty. The study led by Mohammed Helmi Issa, associate professor at Sohag University’s Egyptology department, found that in Ancient Egypt, partners in a married couple enjoyed an independent ownership of their properties; both husband and wife had the right to leave their properties to whoever they want of their children, and the other partner had no influence on the decision. In some cases, husbands waived their assets to their wives based on a will that also gave them the right to leave these assets to the children.
The study considered the assets that belonged to the husband before marriage, and those the couple made during the marriage separately. The results showed that based on the marriage contract Ancient Egyptians used, each partner received a share of the joint properties they made together during marriage, 2/3 for the husband and 1/3 for the wife if the marriage ended with divorce or death.
In some cases, husbands sought to circumvent laws to enable their wives to inherit a bigger share after their death. They resorted to legal tricks to skip inheritance regulations such as mock sale. In addition to women inheritance of their husbands, the study reported that females inherited the same share as males in family assets, but the males had the right to choose their shares first. Women also inherited movable and immovable properties.
Finally, the study showed that the oldest daughter in the family had the right to manage properties on behalf of her younger brothers and sisters. Women at the time were also allowed to testify in inheritance-related disputes and had the right to mention their names as witnesses on inheritance documents.
