History of the Mesopotamian Legal System | Middle East And North Africa

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EARLY HISTORY OF THE MESOPOTAMIAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Archeologists have located the sites of many of the ancient cities and learned a great deal about the life of the people who lived in them. Each city was a separate state, worshiping its own god, but gradually certain city-states came to dominate others. In the 24th century B.C., Sargon of the city of Akkad called himself the King and ruled over a large part of what is today Iran, Syria, and Turkey, as well as Iraq. His governance represents the first true empire, as he controlled a large region inhabited by various peoples. A written language, cuneiform, had been developed in the city of Sumer for use in the active local and long-distance trade environment, and Sargon ruled through appointed local governors with a group of officials keeping records. Thus Mesopotamia contributed its experience to two major developments in political history, the multinational empire and bureaucratic rule.[Source: Library of Congress Law Library, Legal Reports]

In Babylonia, the first law-book, was ascribed to Ea, the god of culture, and it was told how he had enacted that the King should deal uprightly and administer justice to his people. “If he regard not justice,” it was said, “Ea, the god of destiny, shall change his fortune and replace him by another.… But if he have regard to the injunction of Ea, the great gods shall establish him in wisdom and the knowledge of righteousness.”[Source: “Babylonians And Assyrians: Life And Customs”, Rev. A. H. Sayce, Professor of Assyriology at Oxford, 1900]

The original Sumerian text is given with its Semitic equivalent, as well as a list of technical legal terms. “If a son,” it is said, “denies his father, his hair shall be cut, he shall be put into chains and sold for silver. If he denies his mother, his hair also shall be cut, city and land shall collect together and put him in prison.… If the wife hates her husband and denies him, they shall throw her into the river. If the husband divorces his wife, he must pay her fifty shekels of silver. If a man hires a servant, and kills, wounds, beats, or ill-uses him or makes him ill, he must with his own hand measure out for him each day half a measure of grain.”

Cuneiform Law

Aaron Skaist wrote in the Encyclopaedia Judaica: In the Ancient Near East the notion of "law" was inseparable and virtually indistinguishable from "justice" and the judicial process, and the idea of "law" suggested to the Mesopotamian mind- and, more or less, to the consciousness of all the peoples of the Ancient Near East — violations of existing obligations, including obligations to the state and society as well as private (i.e., civil) ones, but not the obligations themselves, insofar as the Mesopotamians did not think in terms of "law" in the context of specific regulatory institutions. [Source: Aaron Skaist, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2005, Encyclopedia.com]

The term cuneiform law has usually been understood to denote the legal practice, and the records bearing on that practice, in those cultures or political entities in the Ancient Near East that used Sumerian or Akkadian cuneiform as their written medium. The documentary sources from which knowledge of cuneiform law may be derived are to be divided into a number of categories. Primary among them are the large number of private records of judicial cases which were heard in, and adjudicated by, the courts. These cover many kinds of incidents and situations, most of which fall within the realm of property law.

Litigations, as far as they are preserved, deal primarily with the disposition of family property and suits which may arise among members of a family or between two families over rightful ownership of certain real estate or other property. Contracts between individuals concerning sale, rental, and marriage and adoption agreements also constitute an important category for knowledge of cuneiform law. Here, too, the topic for the most part is property. A lesser number of documents fall into the category of private legal records, such as litigations concerned with matters that may be designated as private torts or crimes, which ought preferably to be subsumed under the more generic name, wrongs. For the present purpose, wrongs may be understood as invasions against persons or property by someone who held no prior claim or right against the victim or the object of this action. Punishments for such acts are not distinguished in terms of the category of the act itself, but rather in terms of the degree of seriousness of the offense or the amount of aggravating circumstances involved in it and could vary all the way from the requirement of simple restitution or pecuniary fine to the capital penalty.

Legal Codes of Ancient Mesopotamia

By far the largest source of information, and the one which has usually been considered the primary source for knowledge of the legal institutions of ancient Mesopotamia, has been that formed by the so-called legal codes, most famous of which is the document known as the "Code of Hammurapi." Many fundamental questions may be raised as to the propriety of construing these legal codes as a reflection of the true legal institutions they purport to represent.[Source: Aaron Skaist, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2005, Encyclopedia.com]

The major bodies of legal rules are listed below, in chronological order. The "middle chronology," which sets Hammurapi's reign at 1792–1750 B.C. will be followed; the "high" chronology sets these dates about 60 years earlier, the "low" about 60 years later; the letters enclosed in brackets are the abbreviations which will be used to refer to individual corpora in the ensuing discussion:
Laws of Ur-Nammu of Ur (21st century B.C.)
Laws of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (c. 1950 B.C.)
Laws of the Kingdom of Eshnunna (c. 1800 B.C.)
Laws of Hammurapi of Babylon (c. 1792–1750 B.C.)
Assyrian Laws (c. 1400–1100 B.C.)
Hittite Laws (c. 1400–1300 B.C.)
There are in addition lesser groups of laws of diverse dates and origins, such as a very fragmentary group from Cappadocia of the Old Assyrian period (c. 1900 B.C.), scattered groups of Sumerian laws, and a small group of laws from the Neo-Babylonian period.

The legal corpora exhibit many similarities both in style and content. There is a remarkable unanimity of expression throughout, whether the language of the individual corpus be Sumerian, Akkadian, or Hittite. This unanimity, which can be traced to the traditions of the scribal schools, manifests itself in duplications of thought and verbal formulation. Most of the rules are presented as sets of postulated acts or circumstances viewed as having occurred in the past or constituting an existing condition, followed by the prescribed sanction for each respective set of circumstances, which is to be viewed as the "decision." Depending on the type of case at hand, the sanction may be penal, civil, or simply in procedural prescription for a case which consists of some "unusual" circumstances not involving any "wrongs". Sometimes the judgment consists only of a denunciatory characterization of the offense without specification of the penalty to be imposed, a phenomenon largely restricted to the Hittite code. Variations in the circumstances of what may be essentially a single situation are treated for the most part as separate "cases" since they entail appropriate variations in their respective rulings.

The usual arrangement of the rules in the corpora is by groups dealing with the same general topic. There appears to be no discernible rationale, however, for the order in which these larger groups or topics are taken up. In some cases, after a subject has been treated in a number of rules presumably considered adequate by the authors or editors of a legal corpus, the transition to the next topic is effected by some suggestive similarity or common element between the first rule of the new subject and the preceding rule. It may be noted that lh, of all the cuneiform law corpora, appears to be the most rationally organized. The arrangement there is by topical, rather than by legal principles, but even this rationale is not uniformly followed. In the other corpora the arrangement seems to be much more arbitrary both as to the order of the topics treated and the order of the individual rules comprising a given topic.

The division of the different corpora into legal "clauses," "laws," or "paragraphs" is in some cases dictated by ruled lines inscribed on the original tablets, as in the case of al, hl, and the excerpt tablets of ll, while the division into separate "laws" of le and lh is the work of the first modern scholars who edited these texts, no indication for such divisions being given in the originals. Generally speaking, a single set of circumstances and the ruling that applies to it are treated as a separate "law" or "paragraph." al, however, often combines sets of varying circumstances of a single basic situation, together with their appropriate rulings, into a single "paragraph." Thus Tablet a of al, ruled off into some 60 sections in the original text, contains in fact many more separate rules or "laws" than that. hl, on the other hand, sometimes divides into two "paragraphs" what is essentially a single rule, and sometimes two unrelated rules are combined into a single paragraph. The numbering of the laws or "paragraphs" in the separate law corpora must therefore not be taken as more than a rough approximation of the actual number of distinct rules contained in each corpus; the standard numbering is best viewed as an aid to facilitate modern reference, with the actual number of separate rules to be determined by closer textual analysis in each case.

Babylon and Hammurabi (18th century B.C.)

By the 18th century B.C., rulers from the city of Babylon controlled most of southern Mesopotamia. A long tradition of legal proceedings had already existed, with records kept in each city of the property holdings of the populace, of written contracts between them, and of the judicial decisions that settled their disputes. There were laws for private and public life, and fragments of codes from this early period have been discovered. However, until Hammurabi, who ruled from 1795-1750 B.C., there was no code in a language broadly understood by the people of the region. In addition to codification of the statutes, Hammurabi took the step of having them carved on a stone monument and, thus, publicly displayed. The discovery of one of these monuments in the early part of the 20th century CE led scholars of the time to an understanding of the influence of the Mesopotamian civilization on surrounding regions and later settlements. The idea that laws should be clearly defined and known to the whole population can be said to have begun with the Code of Hammurabi; it remains an important part of the legal heritage of the region. [Source: Library of Congress Law Library, Legal Reports]

The Code itself consisted of 282 provisions, following a preamble thanking the gods and praising Hammurabi. The legal system it outlined established a society divided into classes, with complex social relations and harsh punishments. It reflected a long experience with legal proceedings and the problems they could entail, including the issues that could arise from false accusations, which were dealt with in the first few articles. Anyone who brought an accusation of a capital crime without proof could be put to death (article 3). There was a belief in the efficacy of an ordeal for determining the truth. When an accusation was made, the accused might leap into the river; if he sank, the accusation was considered to be true, and the accuser would take possession of the accused’s house. If however the accused did not sink, he was considered not guilty. The accuser would be put to death, and the accused would in turn receive his house (article 2).

Experience with the ups and downs of legal proceedings also showed in article 5, on judges, which required that if a judge had made an error in a decision presented in writing that had imposed a fine, then he must pay twelve times the amount in question, in addition to being removed from the bench.

The Code covered all aspects of law, reflecting the society of its time, including marriage and family relations, property, robbery and other crimes, minimum daily wage, purchase and sale of slaves and owner obligations to slaves, and even the fees charged by doctors, lawyers, and accountants.

Hammurabi believed in capital punishment and made all the serious crimes punishable by death. Builders who did a poor job were subject to the death penalty if a house they built fell and killed the owner; if it was the son of the owner who was killed, the builder’s son was executed (articles 229-230). The Code established the "an eye for an eye" standard, with no extenuating circumstances foreseen.

Kassite Dynasty Legal Documents (16th-12th centuries B.C.)

Hammurabi’s dynasty came to an end when the Hittites invaded from Turkey, around 1600 B.C. After vanquishing the Babylonian empire, the newcomers adopted the laws and culture of the region. Because their empire was extensive, including Palestine and Syria, as well as Mesopotamia, and because they traded with all the peoples of the Mediterranean, they spread the Mesopotamian traditions, including the legal heritage, throughout the region. However, they were soon supplanted in the central part of Mesopotamia, including the city of Babylon, by the Kassites, who renamed the city and built a new capital city, called Durkurigalzu. The Kassites dominated the immediate area from 1530 to1170 B.C. While very little is known about their origins, some legal texts from the Kassite period have been discovered. [Source: Library of Congress Law Library, Legal Reports]

The largest number of the Kassite legal writings that have been found are documents of purchase, including the purchase of slaves, as well as cattle, and of disputes related to purchases. From the documents it can be learned that most transactions were done with cash, though some credit purchases occurred. The contracts of sale were very complete, including information on what was sold, what price was paid, and whether any of the cost was paid in goods in lieu of cash; they also included a list of witnesses, the date and a seal, and a renunciation of future claims.

There were also documents describing settlements of disputes and payment of bail. While some of the dispute settlements were court orders, others were more in the nature of mediated dispute settlements, sometimes arranged by the city prefect, a priest, an official, or the king. As an alternative to a judgement or following a judgement, an aggrieved party, such as a person sold inferior goods, could have imprisoned the alleged culprit in his house. A third party could then have come forward to act as guarantor and could have had the detainee released. This guarantor then frequently assumed responsibilities for the offender. Whereas in earlier times a guarantee was a promise to present the offender at a later proceeding, in this period a guarantee could be a promise of payment. The legal system had developed more complexity in handling business disputes. The practice of the river ordeal, established in Hammurabi’s day as a means of determining innocence, continued. The documents of this era thus show the continuation of some aspects of the Mesopotamian legal culture and other developments.

Assyrian Conquest (12th-9th century B.C.)

A later upheaval in the history of the region was the Assyrian conquest of Babylon. The Assyrians, a Semitic people that had lived in northern Mesopotamia for a long time without dominating others, began to expand their authority with the conquest of Syria and Armenia in the 12th century B.C. By the 9th century, Assyrian monarchs had consolidated rule over Palestine, Babylon, and southern Mesopotamia as well. At the time of its greatest extension, the Assyrian realm stretched from Lebanon to the northwestern Iranian mountains. [Source: Library of Congress Law Library, Legal Reports]

To maintain their power over a diverse empire of peoples with different languages and cultures, they instituted a policy of forcing people to migrate to other areas under their control. The policy brought the peoples of the region into close contact, creating a cultural mixing bowl and spreading legal culture along with other institutions. King Nebuchadnezzar, who reigned from 604-562 B.C., continued the policy of moving groups of people from one part of the empire to another by capturing Jerusalem and bringing back 7, 000 Jewish captives to Babylon as slaves.

The Assyrians are considered by some to have changed family law practices in Mesopotamia, instituting rules that were more restrictive to women than those that had been in place. In comparison with Hammurabi’s day, the husbands and fathers had more authority over their families. Men could punish their wives by twisting their ears or pulling out their hair. In addition, while it was traditional for wives and children to be used as debt pawns, sent to work for the family’s creditors, the previous laws limiting the time they could be held and prohibiting their physical abuse while in that status were dropped under the Assyrian rule. Women also had more difficulty getting divorces, and no longer were their spouses required to return the dowries of women they divorced. Women of the upper classes had to wear veils, while other women could be penalized for donning them. However, women did enjoy the rights to own and inherit property.

Other Conquerors (from the 6th century B.C.)

The Assyrian empire declined in power, and Babylon was captured by Cyrus of Persia (today known as Iran) in 539 B.C. His empire eventually was even larger than the Assyrian one had been, reaching from Egypt to the western border of India. The Jews enslaved by Nebuchadnezzar were allowed to return to their homeland. The Persian rule lasted until Alexander the Great conquered Mesopotamia in 333 B.C. Upon Alexander’s death, the country was given to one of his generals, Seleucus, to rule, and later the region became a battleground for various powers, including the Persians, Romans, and Greeks. [Source: Library of Congress Law Library, Legal Reports]

The formerly great cities of Mesopotamia were deserted. [1 The successive invasions brought cultural and social change, which had reflections in the legal system. For example, it has been argued that women’s legal status declined further after the Persian conquest, when they were no longer able to serve as witnesses and were restricted in their participation in legal transactions.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia sourcebooks.fordham.edu , National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, especially Merle Severy, National Geographic, May 1991 and Marion Steinmann, Smithsonian, December 1988, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2024