![]() ![]() ![]() Religion was present in every aspect of the Egyptians' life it was embedded in society, rather than being a separate category. In many instances the emergence of truly legal concepts was derived from religion, although over time law emerged separately from religion. 1 The advent of writing left a record from which the living institutions of the past may be reconstructed. Law has existed as long as organised human society, but its origins are lost in the mists of prehistory. Keywords: Ancient Egypt emergence of Egyptian law importance of religion hp hpw maat jurisprudence justice balance impartiality tradition precedent custom An attempt is made to indicate that the ancient Egyptians indeed had law and to explain what the ancient Egyptians understood by law, followed by a discussion of the development of ancient Egyptian law and key jurisprudence elements of ancient Egyptian law. In this article, the emergence of ancient Egyptian law out of religion and specifically arising from the concept of maat is discussed, as well as the important role played by religion, and specifically maat, in the ancient Egyptians' understanding and development of the law. Lecturer, LLB, MA, D Litt & Phil Department of Biblical and Ancient Studies, University of South Africa The emergence of law in ancient Egypt: The role of Maat ![]()
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