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daughters had no right to inherit, but usually received a share of
the paternal estate in the form of a dowry or marital gift. They
could also be made testamentary heirs. If the testator had adopted
sons without allowing them a right of inheritance, they were not
included in the division. They could, however, be the beneficiaries
of gifts at the testator’s discretion, either in his lifetime or post mortem.
If there were sons from more than one marriage, the issue of the
first marriage received two-thirds, that of the second, one-third.^111 In
the absence of male heirs and testamentary bequests, the estate passed
to the deceased’s brothers.6.2.2 Heirs often postponed division of the estate, holding the prop-
erty in common. During this period it was usually managed by the
eldest son. Postponement gave rise to litigation when the estate was
eventually divided, since the heirs’ other property (e.g., dowries, busi-
ness assets) had by then become entangled with the common holdings.
In one case, an uncle and his nephews had physically come to blows
over their respective shares before resorting to the courts (BM 35508
(+) BM 38259). Division could be partial, for example, of houses
and slaves, with agricultural land remaining in common (Dar. 379).
Where the shares were equal, division could be carried out by lot.
A few documents from the Seleucid period record a division by the
heirs “on the advice” (ina milki “a) their father (and mother). Although
the procedure thus took place in the parents’ lifetime, it was still only
a theoretical division, occurring in practice only after their death.^1126.2.3 Intestate succession was the norm; a testament was drafted only
in special circumstances, for example, to provide for old age, to pro-
tect a non-standard heir, or to make a non-standard allocation of
property.^113 Illness or danger might prompt the testator to act, as in
the case of Mannu-kâ-Attar, who “contracted an illness in Babylon
and did not believe that he would recover.”^114 Likewise, Itti-Marduk-
balà†u made his dispositions in anticipation of a long journey (see
6.2.6.2 below).(^111) NBL 15. Cf. Roth no. 3, in which the husband settles two-thirds on the chil-
dren of his first wife and one-third on the children of his second wife, should they
both have offspring.
(^112) McEwan, “Inheritance...”
(^113) Van Driel, “Care.. .,” 168–70.
(^114) Stolper, “The Testament...”
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