The wisdoms texts from each civilization reflects the societies ideals and ideas that the ruler had for his subjects and in these cases, they were able to put their laws on a relative paper in order to solidify the expectations of the citizens and peoples living under the rule of these leaders. The four texts come from around the same area of the world where there was enough prosperity to form an ancient civilization that had the capability to write however they also come from different times in history where the views of leaders could have changed regarding the roles of women and children or how these groups could be treated respectively. This analysis will delve into each aspect as it relates to the leaders of the ancient civilizations and the roles that were expected from each class of citizen and person. While coming from the same area, the laws and codes may vary greatly.
The Instructions of Shuruppak were written on clay tablets in Mesopotamia circa 2600 BCE and is thought to be the oldest text to be recovered on a cuneiform tablet regarding the laws of the land so to speak. The articles inside the instructions mainly refer to the expectations of men and male children seemingly directed to his own son, there has been some debate to whether or not the texts were written by Shuruppakk or by his no after the fact. For example, a law exists which states “Do not buy a donkey which brays too much” (Biggs,1974) which is not truly a law but again, an instruction and advice given to his son. Serious instructions are also given within the text with “Do not commit rape upon a man’s daughter” (Biggs,1974) appearing within the tablet alongside a translation which essentially reads that a son should not backtalk his father.
Not many of the instructions address women directly with the only time instructions relating to them are given they are to men advising them to refrain from attacking them or stealing from their mothers. So, as it is understood these instructions were primarily directed at the males in the ancient Mesopotamian society to ensure their behavior was not malicious and also that they were respectful of their fathers. The role of women appears to be a birth giver and a care giver to children with a small bit of attention given to the fact that they may be threatened by men but also there was the fact that young children were being told from a young age to respect women but always listen to their father. These instructions aren’t an outline of how to live in society as there are examples seen in other civilizations, but they are more of a set of expectations of the men and young boys living during this time should follow and basic life ideals such as not buying a loud donkey.
127 our experts are availableright now
As with the previous text the Code of Ur-Nammu was written by the king of Mesopotamia about five hundred years after the Instructions of Shuruppakk circa 2100 BCE and as the previous text was written on clay tablets in cuneiform. Only the preface, which directly credits the laws as written by King Ur-Nammu however there is dispute as to whether they were written by Ur-Nammu’s son, Shulgi and several of the laws remain of the code. The Code of Ur-Nammu is one of the first true legal documents to be recovered and also was one of the first to have a clear if/then system of punishment for criminals in the civilization. As seen in other law codes it mostly deals with the men of the civilization but also has more laws that deal with the punishments given to women that may commit malicious deeds.
An example of this is “If the wife of a man followed after another man and he slept with her, they shall slay that woman” (Roth,1995) showing that women would be punished as a man would for crimes committed. Many of the laws in the code deal with the punishments to be given for criminal deeds and the various fines that may occur as the code also sets the currency of the civilization. The responsibility of a woman was to follow the laws same as a man and also have and raise children that followed the laws as well. Children are not addressed in the code, but it can be inferred that get were to uphold the law the same as any citizen but assuredly with less severe consequences for the minor offenses, as an example men would be put to death for stealing (Kramer.1955) so hopefully if a child were to steal they were not put to death the same as a grown adult would be. This document is the predecessor to the Code of Hammurabi which has a similar nature to this text.
Unlike the previous documents the Code of Hammurabi is well preserved Babylonian document that, using cuneiform, was carved into a seven-and-a-half-foot tall stone. Similarly, to previous law codes this code is mainly consists of “eye for an eye” style of laws, the only difference being that there is scaling to the class of a citizen, whether that be a man, woman or an enslaved individual. There are two hundred and eighty-two laws, many of which pertain to the amount of money a person is to be paid for their labor based on occupation. This document was the first to have the idea of a presumption of innocence that is used even today and also suggests the accused and accuser have an opportunity to provide evidence to a court. The laws within the code were meant to eliminate bias towards groups of people there were still prejudices towards lower classes and lower ranking individuals. For example, if a surgeon were to kill a lower-class patient he would be required to pay financial compensation, but if that same surgeon killed a high-class patient then he would have his hands cut off.
Also, as seen in previous documents women faced punishments that men did not face, an example of this is that men could have affairs with servants and slaves with no consequences but if a woman were to sleep with another man then she would be harshly punished for her crime. Another thing previously seen is the lack of an inclusion of children in the law, the only law that relates to a crime committed by a child is “If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn off” (Bartz,2005) showing that children may have been held to the same level as adults in the eye of the law. Something new that is seen is that there are protections of women in the law as well with items such as divorce being covered, the law states that if a woman is not at fault and wishes to divorce her husband she may collect her dowry and return to her father’s house (Fant,2008). Under Hammurabi women and men may face different punishments for different deeds, both were protected in different ways under the law which is a pioneer idea in this time period.
All of the laws seen in this area of the world build upon each other with this document being no exception. The Middle Assyrian Law Code was written in the twelfth century and addresses clearly the expectations of men and women in this society but also as seen in previous law codes children are not mentioned save for a few times. There is a newly seen fairness to the punishments in this code, for example if a married woman is caught cheating and her husband decides to let her off then the man she cheated with will also be let off, but if the husband were o choose to kill or mutilate his wife then the same fate would be held for the man she cheated with. This formula seems to be the case for most of the laws that are included in the code with the added variable that is seen in other law codes, the river ordeal. This is when the guilty party is thrown into the river to determine whether or not the truth is being told, guilt is decided by whether or not the guilty party floats when thrown into the river. Unlike the previous codes there is an emphasis on the role of women in crimes and how she may or may not be entirely responsible for the actions or the crime itself and how she may or may not be punished accordingly. In fact, most of the laws begin with “If a woman” or “If a married woman” (Driver,1975) showing how women are getting this spotlight on them so they would be held responsible for their actions and that they would also have protections under the law.
All four documents clearly state the expectations of men under the law and how they are meant to behave and there is also an evolution of the law codes seen over time with more inclusivity when it comes to women’s rights and protections under the laws that have been created in the different areas. Each civilization builds upon what is already in place from one law
