University of Cambridge
Women in the Demotic Legal Landscape of Ptolemaic Egypt (332–30 BC): Participation, Property Rights and Change as Reflected in Documents for Money from Upper Egypt
Abstract
dc:description.abstractThis thesis explores women’s role in the demotic legal landscape of Ptolemaic Upper Egypt, and, in doing so, it aims to understand better their overall position in society. Social, cultural and economic contexts have shaped women’s lives throughout history. With its longevity and wealth of preserved records, ancient Egypt offers a unique lens into women’s history. Quantitative (including descriptive and inferential statistics) and qualitative analyses were employed. This comprehensive approach allowed the examination of women compared to men across four primary themes: women’s and men’s activities (i.e., the use of their interest in property), the nature of their interest, the property types in which they had interest and change in their activities over time. These themes were investigated through consideration of 104 demotic legal documents—the ‘documents for money’ from Ptolemaic Upper Egypt recording immovable properties. The mixed methods research demonstrated that one-third of the documents for money’s contracting parties were women and two-thirds were male, except in those related to inheritance, where the numbers of women and men were equal. Women and men had the same types of interest in property and had interest in the same types of immovable property. However, diverse and differing contexts may have motivated women’s and men’s involvement as contracting parties. Over-time analysis suggested that there might have been a change in the pattern of female contracting parties towards the end of the Ptolemaic period. This thesis supports the view that women and men were theoretically and practically equal in the legal landscape of Ptolemaic Upper Egypt. As social practices informed legal practices, women’s legal equality reflected their strong social standing. Women were allowed to have the same rights as men and use them the same way because Egyptian society and the economic model focused on the household and its extended activities. Ultimately, this thesis argues that women’s roles in the past should not be interpreted based on modern notions of equality but contextualised within the society under investigation.
Degree
thesis:*- Name dc:type.qualificationname
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
- Doctoral
- Grantor dc:publisher.institution
- University of Cambridge
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2024
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Fellinger, Renate
- Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Spence, Kate
Subjects
dc:subject × 5Rights
dc:rightsIdentifiers
dc:identifier.*- DOI dc:identifier.doi
- https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.114699
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/378199