According to inheritance laws in Ancient Egypt, married couples were not allowed to inherit each other unless a will states that, found a study that analyzed 62 ancient Egyptian texts. The findings were published in the latest issue of the Journal of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists.
The examined texts include the Kahun Papyrus from the era of King Amenhotep III, and the Turin Papyrus Map that emerged under the rule of the 20th dynasty. The study led by Mohammed Helmi Issa, associate professor at Sohag University’s Egyptology department, found that in Ancient Egypt, partners in a married couple enjoyed an independent ownership of their properties; both husband and wife had the right to leave their properties to whoever they want of their children, and the other partner had no influence on the decision. In some cases, husbands waived their assets to their wives based on a will that also gave them the right to leave these assets to the children.
