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after his death.^237 The expectation that a son would inherit the office
of his father is characteristic of this period. Not unexpectedly, there-
fore, a curse may include the statement: “I do not permit his son
to come to the place of his father.”^2386.2.2 The god declares in the Great Dakhla Stela, with regard to
the successful plaintiffand the well which has been judged to belong
to him: “As for the flowing wells...Confirm them unto him, they
being confirmed to son of his son, heir of this heir, to his wife and
to his children, there being no other son of private status belonging
to PN who shall have a share in them except PN, the son of PN.”^2396.2.3 Menu suggests that widows might still cultivate the land “given
to their husbands as payment for their military services.”^2406.2.4 In the statue inscription of Nakhtmut, a man disinherits or ex-
cludes certain daughters and sons, declaring: “No other son or daugh-
ter shall say: ‘Give me the like!’ since like the Great God (= the
pharaoh) said: ‘Let every man make the determination (s¢r) of his
own property!’ ”^241- C
As for the earlier periods, little is known about the economy of the
Third Intermediate period.^242 There is, in any case, ever-increasing
evidence for the drawing up of contracts between private individuals
beginning in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. While the ancient term for
“contract, will, transfer-document,” fimyet-per, still occasionally appears,
other designations such as s ̇nor hralso begin to be employed.^243(^237) Théodoridès, “Testament.. .,” 442, 469.
(^238) E.g., Jacquet, “Deux Graffiti.. .,” 170–71.
(^239) Gardiner, “Dakhleh Stela.. .,” 22; see also Théodoridès, “Concept of Law.. .,”
318–19.
(^240) Menu, “Business.. .,” 199.
(^241) Johnson, “Legal Status.. .,” 182.
(^242) Warburton, Economy.. ., 332.
(^243) E.g., Statuette Cairo 42.208; see Jansen-Winkeln, Ägyptische Biographien.. ., 48.
Menu discusses the evolution of contract form between the eleventh and fourth cen-
turies (“Questions.. .,” 140–41).
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