Code and Bank [Second Update]

Nitocris's first step in her reforms was legislation.

In the past, Egypt's laws had still been customary laws, with the power of interpretation controlled by judges. Most judges came from the nobility, so they could use this authority to seek benefits for the aristocrats.

Nitocris, however, broke with precedent and drafted a written code: a body of law with clear, standardized provisions that had to be proclaimed throughout the land and made known to everyone.

Although, due to the limitations of the era, even such laws forced Nitocris to preserve the nobility's superior status to a certain extent, the existence of written statutes meant that nobles could no longer manipulate the law at will. To some degree, it truly protected the interests of the common people, making it an admirable act of good governance.

This code, known as the Nitocris Code, not only set a precedent in Egypt, but in the entire world. Later generations would call it the first relatively complete written code in history.

After drafting the code, Nitocris incorporated it into the civil service examinations in order to spread it smoothly. Everyone taking the examinations had to study the code, while those aspiring to become judges had to know it inside and out. At the same time, she had the code carved onto stone pillars, and every city and larger village was required to erect one. Before long, the code had spread throughout all of Egypt.

Thus, Nitocris gained the titles "Child of Anubis" and "Incarnation of Maat"—Maat was Egypt's goddess of justice and Truth, and often served as the standard by which ancient Egyptians restrained their conduct. Anubis, meanwhile, was the god of death in the underworld, responsible for weighing the scales of judgment. Maat's feather was placed on one side of the scale and the