Marriage in Ancient Egypt

ncient Egyptians were very emphasized on their family. A man was encouraged to treat his wife well. Egyptian marriages were monogamous (一夫一妻制), meaning the custom of being married to just one person at a time. A divorce was basically easy to attain, but it was costly. If a woman committed adultery, it was considered grounds for a divorce and could also bring a punishment of burning or stoning.

Marriage

Marriage contracts were registered and signed by three officers.

For commoner, the marriage contracts were arrange and drawn up between the girl’s father and future husband. The girl's father and even her mother had much more say in the matter then the bride. The future husband made a payment to the bride's father, usually amounting to about the cost of a slave. A standard marriage contract contained the date of marriage, the names of mates and parents of both sides, names of the scribe and witnesses and the husband’s profession. On the day of wedding, the bride wore a long dress or tunic made of linen, which may have been covered from head to toe with bead-net. She also adorned herself with jewelries. At the same time, the marriage contract was signed and registered by priest in the temple in the attendance of the couple and most of their families and friends. After sun set was the wedding party.

After the 26th dynasty, the bride appears to have had more say in her future husband.

Royal Marriage

A different set of marriage customs applied for people of nobility and royalty. Polygamy had existed in the royal class instead of monogamy. Multiple wives were common. The chief, or primary, wives of kings were mostly chosen from the royal family for the purpose the royal blood would be continued.

Some kings married daughters of high officials of non-royal blood to strengthen ties with these officials.

Some kings married foreign princesses as a kind of friendly diplomacy between Egypt and the foreign country.

Also, the tradition of brother/sister or father/daughter marriages was mostly confined to the royalty of Egypt. In tales from Egyptian mythology, gods marriage between brothers and sisters and fathers and daughters were common from the earliest periods, and so Egyptian kings may have felt that it was a royal prerogative to do likewise. However, there are also theories that brother/sister marriages may also have strengthened the king's claim to rule. It was not uncommon among common people to marry relatives. Marriage between cousins, or uncles and nieces were fairly common in Egypt. A pharaoh was married to a queen with a distinct title of the “Great Royal Wife.” The male heir to the throne was often married to the oldest daughter (often his sister or stepsister) of the Great Royal Wife. The Egyptians believed that a male heir was the result of a major god mating with the “Great Royal Wife.” This idea led to the belief that the pharaoh was a descendent of the gods.

Commoner Marriage

Marriages for the commoner were not arranged. A man made his intentions known by taking gifts to the girl’s home, and then marriage arrangements followed. The average age for a girl to marry was thirteen. An agreement was drawn up at the start of a marriage, assigning a portion of the man's wealth to the wife and any children to provide for them should a divorce occur at a later time. The woman also brought items into the marriage, but they remained her property to be passed on her children. In addition, the wife and children were protected by a law that forbade transfer of a valuable object to another person without the wife’s and the eldest son’s consent.

Term used

Hemet has been translated as “wife”, but is probably more accurately “female partner”

Hi is the male counterpart to hemet.

Hebswt is another word of female partner, traditionally it has been translated as “concubine” (妾). Another meaning of this word is to describe a second or third wife after the first one died or was divorced.

Queen Mother was higher in rank than the wife of the king.