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'Eldest sons held the power in ancient Egypt,' says researcher

For decades it was thought that the family system of the ancient Egyptians was very similar to our own. However, Ph.D. candidate Steffie van Gompel explains that the reality is somewhat different. "In Egyptian families, it was often the eldest son versus the rest of the children."

"When wealthy people got married in ancient Egypt, in certain periods they had the option of drawing up a marriage contract." This stipulated, for example, how much money each party brought into the marriage and who would receive it in the event of a divorce.

"On the basis of those contracts, it's often said that Egyptian women had a higher status than women in other societies at that time," says Van Gompel. "Unlike women in ancient Greece, for instance, they were allowed to have their own property. This is why you often see ancient Egyptian women portrayed in popular culture as progressive and feminist."

Analyzing the family system

However, the simple fact that Egyptian women were allowed to own property does not necessarily make them independent feminists. "To really understand the status of Egyptian women, you have to look at the whole family system," argues Van Gompel. "It's not only about who marries whom, but also who inherits and how households are established." These are all aspects that are laid down in the marriage contracts.

"I analyzed the texts using the methods of classical Egyptology, translating them and determining as precisely as possible what they actually say," she explains. "I then combined those findings with historical demography, which describes all the different types of family that existed anywhere throughout history."

Clan system

This led to some surprising insights. Van Gompel explains, "Until now, it's been assumed that the Egyptian family system was very similar to our own: a husband and wife establish a household, which ends when the children grow up and establish their own households. But on the basis of those marriage contracts, you can conclude that things worked differently there.

"I argue that the Egyptians had a clan-based family system. In this system, most of the adult offspring do still leave the household, but one of them—preferably the eldest son—is chosen to remain within it. This person and their partner live in the parental home and continue the household there, resulting in three generations living together, at least temporarily."

Eldest sons in top place

This means that the Egyptian "eldest sons" held a great deal of power. "I sometimes say that Egypt was quite literally a patriarchy," says Van Gompel.

"All the power was held by a group of senior men, who for a long time kept control not only over their daughters, but also their sons. For example, they decided on their children's permitted marriage partners and held control over the property, even after a marriage had taken place. After all, it was family property."

The fact that one child took over responsibility for the whole household created a division in that household, which could turn out to be beneficial for women, says Van Gompel.

"In Egypt, it was often the eldest son versus all the other children, not so much sons versus daughters. This gave less opportunity for anti-woman sentiment to develop. And daughters could even be chosen to continue the family line. If there wasn't an eldest son, families would often prefer this option over designating a nephew as the heir, for example."

So women did indeed have some room for maneuver and some control in ancient Egypt. But feminist icons? Van Gompel says, "I'm afraid I've overturned that cherished notion."