Ancient Egyptian civilization began roughly seven thousand years ago. It might be hard
to believe but even in those times, Egypt had laws and rules like we have today. But
while on one hand, they had humane practices of equal rights to women and all social classes,
on the other they had piles of amputated limbs, heads,
and phalluses depicting how ruthless and cold their justice system could be.
Welcome to Nutty history, and let’s find out what laws and punishment were like in Ancient Egypt!
Egypt’s first laws emerged when the Upper and Lower kingdoms were unified under King Menes
around 2950 B.C, also known as the beginning of the old kingdom. Local Laws during the old kingdom
and middle kingdom of Egypt was a private affair. Order was kept by the local officials who had
their own private guards, just like how seven kingdoms had their respective armies in Game
of Thrones. There were two types of prosecution for violating the moral norms, the first was the
religious court of the underworld where the deceased is tried in front of Osiris for his
actions, and the second was a civil court where the discipline of the community was imposed.
Most of the judicial matters were controlled by the vizier, the pharaoh’s right hand. Criminal
justice necessitated a hierarchy in the judicial system, depending on the severity of the charge.
The most heinous criminals could be judged only by the pharaoh, often with the vizier conducting the
investigation and turning to the pharaoh for final judgment. In some cases, the pharaoh appointed a
special commission with full authority to pass judgment. Punishment for serious crimes included
penal servitude and execution, while mutilation and flogging were often used to punish offenders
of lesser crimes. The local court or “Kenbet '' was made up of community leaders who would
hear the cases and decide who’s guilty and who’s innocent. The Djadjat or the imperial court was
headed by the vizier, who was the ultimate supreme judge as long as we do not count the Pharaoh,
but most court cases were handled by lower magistrates. Although there was an administrative
building called the judgment hall in every city, the court could be held almost anywhere,
even in the marketplace or on the street. There were no lawyers or appeals, the priests of Amun
were the ones who decided the verdict as the people trusted them to give a just hearing and
to make the right judgment. This was bureaucratic judgment. Instead of weighing evidence and
testimonies, priests would confer with their god to reach a verdict. You can imagine how fair this
system must have been. During the Middle Kingdom which was established around the 20th century BC,
Judiciary became a more rational and logical paradigm in the contemporary world. Professional
judges presided over courts and the judicial system operated based on reason and cause.
This period also saw the creation of the first professional police force which enforced the law,
took suspects into custody, and testified in court. Later, with the dawn of the New Kingdom,
Egypt adopted the idea of a centralized police force which evolved from the Nubian allies of
Egypt, the Medjay. These superior and more organized police officers were equipped with
staff and dogs or baboons, to catch criminals. They took special pride in serving pharaohs
as the guards of Egypt and in their policing neither the rich nor poor were above the law.
Although punishment for criminal offenders could be severe—and, in the modern viewpoint,
barbaric—Egyptian law was nevertheless admirable in its support of basic human rights. The pharaoh
Bocchoris, for example, promoted individual rights, suppressed imprisonment for debt,
and reformed laws relating to the transferral of property. Greek Solon’s judicial system of
reforming Athens’ penal code was mostly inspired by the Egyptian codes. There were two types of
crimes in ancient Egypt, the first kind was committed against the community such as murder,
adultery, theft of personal property, and crimes committed against the state such as bribery,
treason, theft of public property, and any kind of crimes committed against religious institutions.
Citizens guilty of any crime were prone to punishment ranging from confiscation of property,
beating, and mutilation to death without a proper burial. Death without a proper burial
was considered the worst fate as the Egyptians believed that a proper burial was essential for
entering the afterlife, so the threat of this last punishment was a real deterrent.
One of the reasons why Egypt survived so long as a civilization was due to the no-tolerance
policy they had against corruption. Among the most serious crimes of the state’s administrative work
was mainly bribery. It was punished by dismissal from office and the degrading of the stature of
a farmer. On the other hand, the penalty for stealing the property of individuals was to
pay a fine up to two or three times the stolen objects and as for the theft of public property,
the thief would pay up to 180 times the number of stolen materials.
The accused would be ordered to return the stolen goods after a full confession.
But that was not the end of their punishment for he was the subject of a beating. A hundred
strokes by hand followed by forcing the guilty to swear an oath. This whole punishment would
be executed publicly to shame the culprit and make sure they never repeat it again. And if they did,
well-repeating offenders would be thrown into the river to become the delicious lunch of crocodiles.
Based on the inscriptions of Ani, the Bulaq papyrus, and the Leed papyrus, Ancient Egypt
condemned adultery and considered it punishable by death if a complaint was raised by the spouse
of the person involved in adultery. If found guilty of adultery, the accused would pray for
death by immolation, as the alternative to that punishment was having their genitals mutilated.
The sexual violation was considered an equally heinous and reproachable crime.
The ancient Egyptians had their moral stance on sexual transgressions;
harassment and sexual assault were considered greater crimes. According to Moral Papyrus, which
is now located in the British Museum, any harm done to a female was met with severe punishment.
The ancient Egyptians appreciated the sanctity of life and respected it.
That’s why they used the death penalty exclusively to not violate the sanctity.
This is why the penalty of killing a human was divided between murder and manslaughter. This
was pretty humane for ancient times but at the same time, an example had to be made in order to
preserve the non-violation of the death penalty. The death penalty was for intentional murder and
even resorted to psychological sanctions that were viewed as more severe than execution.
For example, A son or daughter killing one of his parents would straight up go on a pyre and be
immolated. But, in the case of the father killing a son or daughter, the body of the killer was tied
with the corpse of the victim for three days until the moment of decomposition, all while
under the protection of guards. Talk about a guilt trip… As grave robbing was considered a huge sin,
if one was found guilty, the death sentence would be given to the accused. An example was made out
of anyone guilty of murders to act as a deterrent for anyone who threatened to kill anyone.
Martyrdom was a gift granted to those sentenced to death by the people. As for involuntary
manslaughter, there was no specific penalty, as the doer wouldn’t enter his house until he cleans
himself of the sin, makes offerings, seeks forgiveness from the family of the offender,
and makes appropriate compensation. The penalty didn’t overlook whoever covers up the murder or
held information regarding the crime as they were to stand in front of judges and if found guilty,
he would stay in his place and takes his life. Whoever kills an animal with a symbolic religious
significance would be executed if it was done intentionally. Treason and treachery were
other crimes for which the highest punishment was reserved. They treated treachery with the highest
disdain and it was almost always ended with certain death on cards. The closer the offender
was to the pharaoh; the higher the chances were of them losing their heads if found guilty. And like
in the case of most other such crimes, there were no grave privileges or rights for the punished.
Grave robbing was considered the greatest sin of all in Ancient Egypt and thus getting caught
meant becoming pretty much lunch for crocodiles or being impaled to death. If the tomb belonged to a
royal figure like a king, queen, or prince, there was no escaping death. However, in other cases,
the laws provided are exempt, they simply cut off offenders’ hands. Quite merciful, isn’t it?
Contrary to the modern world, Ancient Egypt believed that a suspect was guilty until proven
otherwise, which made life very difficult for anybody who was accused of any charges.
And you wouldn’t believe it but it never ended even after they were proven innocent, which rarely
happened, especially in earlier kingdoms. And the ordeal wasn’t just for the suspect alone, the
witnesses were roped in as well and even they were beaten harshly to make sure they spoke the truth.
Once a person was charged with a crime, even if one was finally found innocent,
one's name was kept on record as having been a suspect.
As such, public disgrace seems to have been as great a deterrent as any other punishment.
Even if one were completely exonerated of all wrong-doing, one would still be known in one's
community as a former suspect. A false charge 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. The
law was pretty much considered derived from the divinity of Goddess Ma’at, the goddess of justice,
virtue, and wisdom. If an innocent person could be punished by a system that 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. Anyone who purposely and knowingly lied to the court about
a crime could expect any kind of punishment from amputation to death by drowning. So,
what do you think? Would you dare to take chances of committing a crime in Ancient Egypt?
Tell us in the comments. And if you enjoyed this video check out this video about What
Punishment was like in Ancient Greece? Or if you want more Egyptian content, check out creepy
things that were normal in Ancient Egypt? And as always, Thanks for watching Nutty History.