Download History of Law and Order in the Ancient World

Joseph Randles
Mr Albritton
History of Law and Order in the Ancient World:
Since the dawn of civilization there have been rulers wishing to expand their power and create
order with laws. People look to their leaders to solve disputes and punish the guilty. As villages
became too large to govern with one leader, the king or chief had to put others in charge.
Leaders needed their ideals represented well, which is where the need for written law would
become apparent. The people of these societies needed laws for controversial crimes; while their
traditions usually directed their trials and punishments they would be puzzled on what to do in
instances when their traditions which only covered the more basic crimes failed them. Ancient
peoples needed their leaders to direct them and create a reference for these crimes which had no
definite punishment (“cuneiform law”). The leaders would use the newly formed written
language of Cuneiform to write documents or codes that would literally set their new laws in
stone.
Ancient Mesopotamia brought about the foundation for all subsequent societies.
Mesopotamia or “the Fertile Crescent” was named so because it is fairly fertile land in a very dry
area. Mesopotamians utilized the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to create the first forms of
irrigation, with technologies such as the water screw later refined and renamed as the
Archimedes screw. Mesopotamians also made great strides in architecture moving from simple
mud-brick huts, to elaborate Ziggurats and temples. They were some of the first to use bronze
and copper and other forms of smelting (“Mesopotamia, history of”).
The catalyst for all these inventions was the city and the concept of having a lot of people
in one place. The city could not function without order and law; therefore these inventions
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Mr Albritton
would not exist without the ancient cities which are only made possible by law. The inventions
were based on having a large amount of people in one place and not erupting in chaos.
The Sumerians were the first to write a law code and created the precursor to the famous
Hammurabi’s code. The first written code is thought to be the Uru-inim-gina of Lagash a code
which was created to protect those who are less fortunate and underprivileged (“Mesopotamia,
history of”). This code would introduce the setup for future codes of Prologue followed by a list
of laws, then ended by an epilogue. Along with an epilogue and prologue this code introduces a
system, in which the people could refer to the code to prevent argument and further disorder.
The second great civilization of Mesopotamia was the Babylonians, who were by far the
most advanced and sophisticated of all the Mesopotamian societies. The Babylonians built a
large city unlike any before it. The city of Babylon was large and filled with culture as the
cultures of Judaism and Babylon met to create the Old Testament ("cuneiform law").
Babylon’s greatest achievement in law and order was the famed “Code of Hammurabi”
or Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code is a list of two-hundred eighty-two laws written in
Cuneiform. The list includes a prologue and epilogue describing how Hammurabi will defend
the poor and under-privileged, much like the older codes. The laws deals extensively with both
penal and family law as well as theft and robbery, it also gives specific amounts of fines for
crimes (“Code of Hammurabi”).
The law moves away from the more primitive and uncivilized tradition as it does not
recognize blood feud, private retribution and marriage by capture. An example of progressive
laws in Hammurabi’s code is:
“If any one owe a debt for a loan, and a storm prostrates the grain, or the harvest fail, or the grain
does not grow for lack of water; in that year he need not give his creditor any grain, he washes
his debt-tablet in water and pays no rent for this year. “(Edwards, Chilperic)
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Mr Albritton
This law is progressive because it recognizes the need for stopping extortion and protecting the
less wealthy from unfair abuse. However, it still retains the traditional lex talionis which is the
the classic eye for eye and tooth for tooth system. Along with the utilizing the lex talionis it still
judges peoples innocence by throwing them in the river. It utilizes the “ordeal” a ceremony in
which the accused are judged by licking a burning hot spoon. Hammurabi’s code is thought to
be one of the most important law documents ever created as it brought ancient law out of the
more barbaric methods, and was used as a template for future civilization’s justice systems.
Babylon was arguably the intellectual peak of the Mesopotamian societies as it refined and
improved on what Sumer had pioneered (“Cuneiform law”).
Assyria was a civilization built on imperialistic military expansion: everything from its
children to its art was focused on warfare. Assyria thrived on war and the subsequent occupation
as it reaped the benefits of its conquest. Because Assyria was constantly forcing the inhabitants
of its newly claimed to abide by Assyrian law and tradition. Assyria’s need for order in the new
land led to the creation of the “Code of Assyria”. The code of Assyria is a law tablet similar to
Hammurabi’s code, yet it is far more barbaric and uncivilized suggesting a lesser developed
civilization. For example many of the laws regarding women committing any crime or
disrespectful act have very severe consequences for the woman and usually there is no option for
compensation by wealth but instead physical humiliation and violence (Pollock, Susan).
The code of Hammurabi was used as the first system of laws for some early Greek city
states and became the template for laws of the Mediterranean which we then base our lawand
goverment upon. Of course these laws are a very rough template and have nothing like the
modern judicial system but its very core remains the same. For example the lex talionis is the
basis for crime and punishment as it enforces equal damage to the convicted as the victim. Of
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Mr Albritton
course the lex talionis was later refined to a system where the compensation was greater than the
crime itself. Then the lex talionis was refined more to a point where physical violence would not
be used unless the crime was deemed severe(“Code of Hammurabi”).
Why is it that Assyria regresses so much as a government after Sumer and Babylon
strived forward so much? The reason is as follows: society’s laws and methods of dealing with
criminals and issues is a reflection of the society as a whole. For example Babylon was a fairly
accepting and intellectual society, and the code of Hammurabi was a very progressive law tablet
noted for more financial punishments rather than physical harm. For example, this code entry
states that an injury can be compensated for by a reasonable sum of money rather than more
severe punishment (“Cuneiform law”). “If he put out the eye of a freed man, or break the bone of a
freed man, he shall pay one gold mina.”( Edwards, Chilperic).
The laws of the ancient world are the foundations of the laws of today. Though it may
seem ridiculous to go from burning tongues to jury duty, the fact of the matter is we cannot look
at our laws today without seeing the rough drafts which lead to the final copy that we use today.
Joseph Randles
Mr Albritton
Bibleography:
Pollock, Susan. Ancient Mesopotamia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
"Sumer." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Jan. 2009
<http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9070297>.
"Mesopotamia, history of." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Jan. 2009
<http://search.eb.com/eb/article-55477>.
From: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension
Co., 1901), Vol. III: The Roman World, pp. 9"cuneiform law." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 6 Jan. 2009
<http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9028210>.
Chambliss, Rollin. Social Thought: From Hammurabi to Comte. New York: Irvington Pub, 1982.
"Code of Hammurabi." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 25 Jan. 2009
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/253710/Code-of-Hammurabi>.
Edwards, Chilperic. Hammurabi Code and the Sinaitic Legislation with a Complete Translation of the
Great Babylonian Inscription Discovered at Susa. New York: Kessinger Publishing, 2003.