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6.3.1.6 A father had no power of testamentary disposition in the
modern sense. He could benefit an outsider only by adopting him
as a universal heir. He could rearrange the shares of heirs and grant
shares to second-rank heirs, such as a daughter or brother, but appar-
ently only within customary parameters that left vested rights sub-
stantially intact.^108 According to LL 31 and LH 165, a father was
entitled to make a special bequest to his favorite son, over and above
his normal inheritance share, provided he recorded it in a sealed
document. Whether it replaced the preferential share of the eldest
son or took effect in addition to it, is not clear. The †uppi “ìmti of
other periods, whereby a father fixed during his lifetime the shares
to be allocated to his sons on his death, is attested only obliquely
in adoption contracts.^1096.3.2 Female Inheritance^110
In lieu of inheritance, a daughter would receive marital property
(nudunnûm). It consisted principally of a dowry drawn from the pater-
nal estate and given to her by her father. This was sometimes sup-
plemented by a marital gift from her husband. In the law codes, a
special term was used to distinguish the dowry proper from other
marital property: Akk. “eriktum, Sum. sag.rig 7.^1116.3.2.1 Dowry was given at the time of the marriage, when the
bride entered the house of her husband. It could, however, be assigned
to the daughter at a much earlier stage, so that it constituted an
identifiable fund within the assets of the paternal estate (CT 8 24).
It was transferred to the husband along with the bride and sub-
sumed into the marital assets. If she entered the house of her father-
in-law in a kallùtumbetrothal, the latter held it on trust (paqid: CT
47 83), presumably until such time as the young couple would set
up an independent household. At the time of transfer of the dowry,
the bride’s father could return the ter¢atumas dowry property, which
he symbolized by wrapping it in her hem (e.g., CT 48 50).(^108) E.g. MHET 2/2 248 (to brother).
(^109) But individual bequests at Susa are said to be in anticipation of death (ina
pàni “ìmti“u), e.g., MDP 23 285.
(^110) Klima, “La position successorale de la fille.. .”; Westbrook, Marriage Law...,
89–102 (unless otherwise stated, all the cuneiform texts cited in this section are
translated in the Appendix thereto).
(^111) On the difficulties of the terminology, see Westbrook, Marriage Law.. ., 24–28.
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