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3.2.1.2 A declaratory oath was taken “before the god” by an accused
party if a dispute was unresolved on the facts. If the accused did
not take the oath, he was required to pay a fine.^583.3 The Trial^59
The trial itself began with a statement by the plaintiffin the case,
followed by a response from the defendant. Another round of response
and counter response followed. The judges (often members of the
local priesthood) verified testimony by asking questions and also had
authority to send out investigators through the chief of police to ver-
ify facts.^60 Both parties were responsible for marshalling and pre-
senting their own evidence, documents, and witnesses.3.4 The Decision of the Court^61
After considering the evidence provided by the parties to the case,
the judges reached a decision (lit. “gave truth”) based on written
and oral testimony and read it out. In the Asyut trial, the case turned
on a written “law of year 21” (a royal decree or part of a corpus
written in chronological order?).^62 Prior to the decision, the parties
could either consent to settle by agreement of oath or one of the
parties could confess. The decision was binding on both parties and
was, in theory, enforced by the bailiff, but a lack of legal force in
the judgment made justice by means of a trial uncertain. The judges
wrote out the decision and signed the court transcript.3.5 Withdrawal after a Lawsuit
The losing party in a lawsuit regarding property was required to draw
up a withdrawal document (s§[n] wy, sungraphèapostasiou), which ceded(^58) The available evidence for these oaths comes exclusively from Upper Egypt.
See Kaplony-Heckel, Tempeleide.. .; Vleeming, Ostraka Varia, 129–35, with the remarks
of Devauchelle, “Les Serments.” For an oath sworn before the statue of a local
divinity, see Donker van Heel, Abnormal Hieratic.. ., 163–64.
(^59) Allam, “Egyptian Law Courts.. .” There are two main sources for court pro-
cedure, both dating to the second century B.C.E. One, in Demotic, P. BM Siut 10591,
is a transcript of a trial over a family dispute concerning land from Asyut in Middle
Egypt. The other, P. Tor. 1, comes from the Hermias lawsuit in Thebes concern-
ing the ownership of a house. This account is recorded in Greek, since it involved
both Greeks and Egyptians, and the proceeding was held before the local strategos.
(^60) P. Mattha 8:28.
(^61) Taubenschlag, Law.. ., 508–10.
(^62) See Chauveau, “P. Carlsberg 301.. .,” 119–20.
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