Wedlock. Marriage in Egypt was a private matter of little interest to the state. Ceremonies were private celebrations that might have included banquets. Love poetry suggests that parents arranged marriages for their children. Texts describing ideal marriages suggest that younger women were considered more compatible with older men, though men were urged to marry as young as possible. Evidence shows that teenage girls married, but men waited to wed until their late twenties or early thirties. The age difference resulted from the idea that men were expected to pay for maintenance of the household. Thus, men waited to marry until their careers were well established.

Marriage Contracts. Marriage contracts were written to deal with property issues, especially after the birth of children. Many ancient marriage contracts dealt with the rights of inheritance, for both the wife and the future children, and also set the terms for disposal of...