Crime and Punishment in Ancient Egypt: The History and Legacy of the Egyptians’ Concepts of Justice

Africa may have given rise to the first human beings, and Egypt probably gave rise to the first great civilizations, which continue to fascinate modern societies across the globe nearly 5,000 years later. From the Library and Lighthouse of Alexandria to the Great Pyramid at Giza, the ancient Egyptians produced several wonders of the world, revolutionized architecture and construction, created some of the world’s first systems of mathematics and medicine, and established language and art that spread across the known world. With famous leaders like King Tut and Cleopatra, it’s no wonder that today’s world has so many Egyptologists.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization was its inception from the ground up, as the Egyptians themselves had no prior civilization which they could use as a template. In fact, Egypt itself became a template for the civilizations that followed. The Greeks and the Romans were so impressed with Egyptian culture that they often attributed many aspects of their own culture to the Egyptians. With that said, some minor elements of ancient Egyptian culture were, indeed, passed on to later civilizations. Egyptian statuary appears to have had an initial influence on the Greek version, and the ancient Egyptian language continued long after the pharaonic period in the form of the Coptic language.

Although the Egyptians may not have passed their civilization directly on to later civilizations, the key elements that comprised Egyptian civilization, including their religion, early ideas of state, and art and architecture, can be seen in other pre-modern civilizations. Indeed, since Egyptian civilization represented some fundamental human concepts, historians often turn to their history when trying to understand other pre-modern cultures.

Throughout recorded history, and across the globe, people have acknowledged the need for rules and regulations that have to be enforced if a society is to function. Accordingly, civilizations constructed legal systems that regulated how individuals were expected to operate within that social grouping. For those who broke these rules in order to further their own desires, punishments were imposed as both deterrents and as retribution.

In ancient Egypt, the underpinning concept in law, in theory, was that rich and poor citizens should be treated equally, but this was an aspiration that was rarely fulfilled in practice. At the same time, the types of treatment delivered to those deemed guilty could also be harsh - common punishments included confiscation of property, slavery, beatings, and mutilation. During both the Old Kingdom (c. 2700 BCE – 2200 BCE) and Middle Kingdom (c. 2030 BCE – 1650 BCE), crime was dealt with by local officials using their own private police forces. However, during the New Kingdom (c. 1539 BCE – 1075 BCE) a centralized police force emerged, consisting of Nubian tribesmen under an Egyptian supervisor, who were armed with staffs and used specially trained dogs.

In extreme cases, the death penalty was invoked, sometimes with the additional punishment of ensuring that the convicted were refused a burial or were buried but without full rituals. Based on the Egyptians’ religious beliefs, both situations resulted in the guilty being denied entry to the afterlife.

It has been asserted by some academics that Solon, following his visit to Egypt in the 6th century BCE, based many of his reforms of Athenian law on Egyptian practices. Following the Athenian reforms, Solon’s measures greatly influenced Roman law, which, in turn, influenced much of the law in modern Europe. As such, the influence of ancient Egyptian law, as with so many other aspects of Egyptian life, spread far and wide.