Cameron Miranda
The Sumerians were one of the earliest known civilisations to have a system of contract law. The Code of Ur-Nammu, dating from around 2100 BCE, is the oldest known surviving law code. It includes laws on marriage contracts, property rights, and slavery, and is written in Sumerian. The Sumerians also invented the cuneiform writing system, which was used to record laws and contracts in ancient Mesopotamia. These laws covered a range of subjects, including criminal law, family law, and property law, and were often created by rulers. Later law codes, such as the Code of Hammurabi, built on these earlier collections and influenced legal systems in ancient Israel and beyond.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Earliest known surviving law code | Code of Ur-Nammu |
| Date of origin | c. 2100-2050 BC |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Number of laws | 57 |
| Topics covered | Witchcraft, flight of slaves, bodily injuries, rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, property, and contracts |
| Other notable laws | If a man slept with a widow without a marriage contract, he need not pay any silver |
| If a slave escapes from the city limits and is returned, the owner must pay two shekels to the one who returned them | |
| If a man falsely accuses another man's wife of adultery and she is proven innocent through a river ordeal, he must pay one-third of a mina of silver |
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What You'll Learn
Marriage contracts
The Sumerians were the ancient inventors of cuneiform, a writing system used in the Middle East for the last three millennia BC. The Code of Ur-Nammu, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC, is the oldest known surviving law code. The code includes laws relating to marriage contracts, as well as property and slavery.
Marriage in ancient Mesopotamia, which included Sumer, was a legal contract. The marriage contract was agreed upon by the suitor and the father of the expected bride, and stipulated a price for the maiden's hand, known as a bride-price. The bride-price was usually handed over by the bride's father to the bride on her marriage, and so came back into the bridegroom's possession, along with her dowry. The dowry was the absolute property of the wife, and she could leave it by will as she pleased. It protected her from tyrannical conduct on the part of her husband, as well as from the fear of divorce on insufficient grounds. If a divorce took place, the dowry had to be restored to her in full, and she then returned to her father's house or set up her own establishment. Where no dowry had been brought by the bride, the husband was often required by the marriage contract to pay her a specified sum of money in case of her divorce.
The Code of Hammurabi, which dates to c. 1758 BC, outlines rules for marriage and divorce. The code states that if a father does not give his daughter to a suitor after accepting his presents, he must return the presents doubled. The code also includes laws relating to the rights of women, including the right to a dowry and the right to divorce.
The Code of Ur-Nammu also includes laws relating to marriage contracts. For example, if a prospective son-in-law enters the house of his prospective father-in-law, but the father-in-law later gives his daughter to another man, the father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had brought.
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Property rights
The Sumerians were the ancient Middle Eastern people who invented the writing system of cuneiform, which was used to record laws. Cuneiform law includes the laws of the Sumerians and other ancient Middle Eastern civilisations. The Code of Ur-Nammu, written in Sumerian and dating from around 2100-2050 BC, is the oldest known surviving law code. It covers matters such as royal power, witchcraft, slavery, bodily injuries, and property.
The Code of Ur-Nammu contains provisions relating to property rights. For example, if a man had leased an arable field to another man for cultivation, but the latter did not cultivate it, turning it into wasteland, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of the field. Another provision states that if a slave escapes from the city limits, and someone returns them, the owner shall pay two shekels to the person who returned them.
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar, a more ample vestige of Sumerian law, also covers property rights. It dates from around 1934-1924 BC and contains a typical prologue, articles, and epilogue. While the specific content of the articles is not detailed, the code deals with matters such as the rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, property, and contracts.
In addition to these codes, Sumerian law tablets provide further insight into Sumerian property rights. These tablets are extremely rare, but they indicate that the Mesopotamians were concerned with the proper disposition of what would now be called property. Thousands of cuneiform tablets refer to customs for ensuring legal, unchallengeable, and fair treatment of individuals with property claims.
Property in Mesopotamia could be divided into two main categories: immovable (land, with or without buildings) and movable (such as slaves, animals, furnishings, jewellery, and textiles). The most valuable and durable property was farmland, and Mesopotamian texts distinguish between fields and orchards. An orchard was smaller than a field and was characterised by its proximity to a water source, typically a canal or river. It represented a long-term investment in the cultivation of trees, most commonly date palms, the primary source of sugar in Mesopotamia.
While there were no laws prohibiting the buying and selling of land, written records from Mesopotamia indicate a tendency against it. Measures were taken to keep land within a family and to prevent it from being divided into plots that were too small to be viable for agriculture. For example, the ancient kudurrus, some of the earliest written records, provide evidence that for a field to be sold, all male members of an extended family had to consent.
Overall, the Sumerian law codes and tablets provide valuable insights into the property rights and practices of this ancient civilisation.
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Slavery
The Sumerians had a well-developed legal system, and their laws covered a wide range of topics, including contracts, trade, slavery, and duties of workers. The oldest surviving law codes are those of King Ur-Nammu of Sumer, which date from the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. These laws dealt with various forms of punishment for crimes such as murder, kidnapping, and sorcery. While the original text of the Code of Ur-Nammu has been lost, it is known that it provided protection for slaves. For example, if a slave was killed, beaten, maimed, or injured, the offender had to pay the slave owner a measure of wheat every day until the slave recovered.
The Code of Hammurabi, which was written in Sumerian, also included laws relating to slavery. These laws addressed the relationship between slaves and masters and stated that if a slave denied their master, their ear would be cut off. Other laws regulated the sale of slaves, including provisions for returning a slave who developed epilepsy within one month of purchase.
Overall, while slavery was a part of Sumerian society, their legal system provided some protections for slaves and regulated the sale and treatment of slaves.
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Contracts in business transactions
The Sumerians were a civilisation native to Mesopotamia, in the Middle East, and are known for inventing the world's first writing system, cuneiform. Sumerian cuneiform was used to record legal customs, which were generally known and accessible to the public.
The Code of Ur-Nammu, dating from around 2100 BCE, is the oldest known surviving law code. It is written in Sumerian on tablets, and deals with various legal matters, including contracts. For example, the code stipulates that if a man slept with a widow without a marriage contract, he need not pay any silver. It also outlines the penalties for false accusations of adultery, which involve financial compensation.
Another example of a Sumerian law code is the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, which covers matters such as the rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, property, and contracts.
The Sumerians' use of contracts extended to business transactions, where a formal contract would be drawn up and sealed in the presence of witnesses. This practice was also observed in other ancient Middle Eastern civilisations, including the Babylonians, Assyrians, Elamites, Hurrians, Kassites, and Hittites.
In ancient Mesopotamia, contracts were used for various purposes, including the purchase of mortgages, as evidenced by a contract from the second year of Evil-Merodach, 560 BCE. This contract illustrates how the interests of creditors were conserved in the sale of mortgaged property, and how debtors could obtain the equity in their property.
Overall, the Sumerians' use of contracts in business transactions was an important aspect of their legal system, and their influence can be seen in the legal practices of other ancient civilisations.
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Ancient Sumerian law tablets
The Code of Ur-Nammu, written in the Sumerian language c. 2100–2050 BC, is the oldest known surviving law code. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on clay tablets in cuneiform script. The tablets were created by inscribing characters onto a block of soft clay with a stylus, which was commonly made of reed. These tablets were then sun-dried, making them fragile, or fired in kilns, making them hard and durable.
The Code of Ur-Nammu contains strong statements of royal power, such as "I eliminated enmity, violence, and cries for justice". It also invokes the deities for Ur-Nammu's kingship, Nanna and Utu, and decrees "equity in the land". The code deals with a range of matters, including witchcraft, the flight of slaves, bodily injuries, and property and contracts. For example, if a man knocked out another man's tooth, he would have to pay two shekels of silver.
Another example of Sumerian law tablets is the Code of Lipit-Ishtar (c. 1934–24 BC), which also contains a typical prologue, articles, and epilogue. This code deals with the rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, and property and contracts.
The laws of Assyria and Babylonia were also written on clay tablets in cuneiform script. The existing Assyrian tablets, dating from the 15th to the 13th century BC, deal with personal property, landed property, and women and families. The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1758 BC) was discovered on a stone monument in 1901–02. It deals with penal law, the law of persons, family law, and price lists.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Sumerians had contract law.
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code from Mesopotamia, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC. It includes laws on witchcraft, the flight of slaves, bodily injuries, and marriage contracts.
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar (c. 1934–24 BC) is a more comprehensive example of Sumerian law. It includes a prologue, articles, and an epilogue and covers rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, property, and contracts.
The Code of Hammurabi is an extensive Mesopotamian law collection from c. 1758 BC. It covers criminal law, family law, property law, and commercial law. It is considered the most complete record of ancient law and is often cited as the starting point for all later law.
Sumerian law tablets are extremely rare. They were made of clay and were sun-baked, light brown in colour, and around 20 by 10 centimetres in size.
