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EGYPTNEW KINGDOM
Richard Jasnow
- S L
The New Kingdom offers a more abundant and varied corpus of
legal texts than the Old and Middle Kingdoms.^11.1 Law Codes
As with the Old and Middle Kingdoms, no law code proper is pre-
served but only detailed royal edicts (e.g., Nauri Decree), together
with possible references to systematic law collections. In the Decree of
Horemheb, for example, the king declares, “I have given to them (i.e.,
the judges) oral instructions and law(s) in their books.”^2 In P. Bulaq
10, one party cites the “law of the pharaoh” as a precedent,^3 while
in P. Turin 2021, a man introduces a law with the words: “The
King said:...”^4
Iconographic evidence has also been utilized in the discussions of
a law code. A scene in the tomb of Rekhmire (reign of Tuthmosis
III) shows forty enigmatic objects (“smw) on display before the vizier
during an official session. These have been interpreted as the “law-(^1) Still basic is the overview in Seidl, Einführung... Among the most active researchers
in New Kingdom law have been Allam, Théodoridès, and Menu (see bibliography).
An excellent introduction is also McDowell, Jurisdiction...A useful collection of
sources is in Lurje, Studien.. ., 170–98. The relatively few pharaonic legal docu-
ments may be, in fact, exceptional cases; see Eyre, “Feudal Tenure.. .,” 109. See
further Eyre, “Peasants.. .,” 381.
(^2) Kruchten, Horemheb.. ., 154. On the possibility of extensive law codes, see
Lorton, “Treatment.. .,” 53–62; Allam, “Traces...”
(^3) See Janssen and Pestman, “Burial.. .,” 167–68; Théodoridès, “Dénonciation...,”
62–63; Théodoridès, “Ouvriers.. .,” 171–72.
(^4) Johnson, “Legal Status.. .,” 177 (translation). See also Allam, “Papyrus Turin
2021.. .,” 25.
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