A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

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1.4.10 A few “private” letters from this period (El Hiba letters—

actually from the Twenty-first Dynasty, the transitional period from

the late New Kingdom) concern legal matters and oracular inquiries.^45

1.5 Scholastic Documents

Very few literary works are preserved from the Third Intermediate

period. The Tale of Woe (papyrus inscribed in the ninth century

but probably originally a late New Kingdom composition) contains

an elaborate description of various crimes committed against the hero:

I was unjustly removed; I was defrauded before anything could be said,

and dispossessed, though there was no crime on my part. I was thrown

out from my city, and my property was seized... They robbed me,

and also killed the women that came near them.^46

The Oracular Amuletic Decrees, composed for the divine protection

of individuals, very occasionally refer to legal matters; one may wish,

for example, to be preserved or kept safe from “prison” (≈t ̇).^47

2. C AL

The Third Intermediate period, distinctly multi-cultural in character,

comprises basically the Libyan Dynasties (Twenty-second through

Twenty-fourth) and the Nubian Dynasty (Twenty-fifth).^48 With a few

exceptions,^49 throughout this period Egypt is no longer a very effective

force in Asia, Libya, or Nubia. Particularly in the later Twenty-third

dynasty, there is a breakdown in unity and small kingdoms or spheres

of influence emerge, the political situation being well reflected in the

great Victory Stela of king Piye (Twenty-fifth). In that text, Piye

significantly refers to several individuals as a nswt, “king”—an unusual

state of affairs in Egypt.^50 The centralizing forces effectively assert

themselves again in the Saite (Twenty-sixth) Dynasty.^51

(^45) See Wente, Letters.. ., 205, 207. See also Posener, “Un papyrus d’El-Hibeh.”
(^46) Caminos, Woe.. ., 70–71. The qenbetalso appears ibid., 57.
(^47) Edwards, Oracular Amuletic Decrees.. ., 43.
(^48) See Leahy, “The Libyan Period in Egypt.. .,” noting esp. 59. See also Ritner,
“Libyan Anarchy...”
(^49) One thinks naturally of Shoshenq I’s invasion of Israel.
(^50) On the inflated usage of nswt(“king”), see Grimal, Stèle triomphale.. ., 250.
(^51) Trigger et al., Social History.. ., 232.
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