EARLY LAW AND CIVILIZATION

Abstract

The author attempts to convey some idea of the scope and influence of pre-classical law in a large part of the ancient Near East where that law came to have supreme authority and a prominent role in the advancement of civilization. The focus is on cuneiform materials, and the nature of cuneiform legal documents is therefore set out prior to the discussion of law as the touchstone of civilization. The author concludes with a survey of the Mesopotamian law as a uniting force inside the variations of civilization.