Ancient Law Givers

M-3-A&B
 HAMMURABI
• The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest and
most complete written legal codes and was
proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who
reigned from 1792 to 1750 B.C. Hammurabi expanded
the city-state of Babylon along the Euphrates River to
unite all of southern Mesopotamia. The Hammurabi
code of laws, a collection of 282 rules, established
standards for commercial interactions and set fines
and punishments to meet the requirements of justice.
Hammurabi’s Code was carved onto a massive, finger-
shaped black stone stele (pillar) that was looted by
invaders and finally rediscovered in 1901.
• Written in cuneiform (a system of writing used by
Sumerians) and the Akkadian language, the laws
are divided into several parts: introduction, legal
procedures, family law, slavery, economic dealings,
religion, and conclusion. More than just being a
vital part of history and allowing people from the
21st century a glimpse into life and culture long
gone, the Hammurabi Laws also introduce many
concepts we still find relevant today.
• Cuneiform,
Cuneiform, system of writing used in the ancient
Middle East. The name, a coinage from Latin and
Middle French roots meaning "wedge-shaped," has
been the modern designation from the early 18th
century onward.
• The Code of Hammurabi includes many harsh
punishments, sometimes demanding the
removal of the guilty party’s tongue, hands,
breasts, eye or ear. But the code is also one of
the earliest examples of an accused person
being considered innocent until proven guilty.
 MOSES
• Moses was one of the most important figures in
ancient Judeo-Christian history. According to the
bible, Moses was a prophet and religious leader
who received God's commandments directly on
Mount Sinai.
 Laws

Laws of morality, such as those pertaining to murder, theft, integrity,

adultery, and so on.
Laws regarding marriage, divorce, inheritance, and property are
examples of social laws.
Food regulations, include what is considered clean and unclean, as
well as how to cook and store food.
 Greek law givers
Draco
• Draco was a lawmaker who was famous for
framing very harsh laws (i.e. draconian laws) in
the 7th century b.c. Draco's laws, also known as
Draconian constitution, were extremely repressive
as they made many offences, including minor ones,
punishable by death.
• Draconian laws that made minor offences carry the
death penalty.
• Draco's laws were made in such a way that they
were to be enforced by a court of law. Thus Draco is
commonly known as the first Athenian lawmaker
elected (by the elites and wealthy landowners) in a
democratic fashion.
• According to historians, the laws were written on
wooden tablets (axones) so as to make sure that all
Athenians were aware of them. Those wooden
tablets were then placed on a three-sided pyramid,
allowing them to be read from any side.
side.
Examples of Draco's laws
• The survivors of a murdered individual are allowed to
pursue and apprehend the murderer and thereafter turn
him/her over to the city's authorities who will then try the
accused. Should the murderer be killed by the relative of the
murder victim, then he or she will be prevented from
entering a public place (i.e. agora), or he or she will be
prevented from taking part in any religious or sporting
festival.
• Anyone who takes the life of another Athenian, regardless of
whether it was an accident or premeditated, will be exiled
from Athens indefinitely. However, if the murderer
apologizes to the victim's family and the family accepts the
apology, the murderer will be allowed to stay in Athens.
• Draco's legal codes were infamous for being
extremely harsh, even petty or minor offences.
offences.
• The law was very much biased towards the few
creditors, aristocrats and landowners as it created a
system where debtors of a lower status or class
ended up losing their lands and properties.
• Draco also imposed the death penalty for minor
offences like say stealing a vegetable. And since the
lower classes were more likely to engage in such
petty crimes, the law seemed to target the poor
more than the rich. According to Greek historian
and philosopher Plutarch, Draco was of the view
that those minor crimes deserved those harsh
punishments.
 Solon,,
Solon
• Solon was BCE—died c. 560 BCE),
born c. 630 BCE—
Athenian statesman
• Solon the Athenian was a great philosopher and one
of the seven sages of ancient Greece. However, he's
mainly remembered for being the legislator who
laid the foundation for Athenian democracy with
his reforms and efforts to legislate against political,
economic, and moral decline.
• Solon's legal code replaced Draco's harsh laws except
for those concerning homicide He introduced two
important changes into judicial practice: any
Athenian—
Athenian —not merely the injured party —might
party—
initiate a suit, and some measure of control over
the verdict of magistrates was provided by right of
appeal to a court of the citizens at large.
 Chines law giver
Confucious
Confucius is known as the first teacher in China who
wanted to make education broadly available and
who was instrumental in establishing the art of
teaching as a vocation. He also established ethical,
moral, and social standards that formed the basis of a
way of life known as Confucianism
• 1. Silver Rule of Behaviour
• The rule is simple, and it implies that what you do
not wish to choose for yourself, never impose it on
someone else.
• 2. The five virtues
• (i) Jen – Helpfulness, empathy, and kind nature
• (ii) Yi – Rightness, duty as guardians of nature and
humanity
• (iii) Li – Right conduct, appropriateness and outward
expression to demonstrate your inner attitude
• (iv) Chih – Wise thinking
• (v) Hsin – Trustworthiness and faithfulness
• These virtues are very important for everyone, but it
is important especially for the leader.
•
• 3. Five relationships
• (i) Father and Son
• (ii) A Ruler and a Citizen
• (iii) Husband and Wife
• (iv) Older Brother and Younger Brother
• (v) Between two friends
• Each one of these relationships must contain mutual
respect to keep the relationship working. Each one of us
must perform our role to the best of our relationship, and
one must honor and remember the members who have
died. Ancestors are not to be seen as gods but
remembering them is considered as an important act Hsin.
• 4. Marriage

According to Confucianism six separate things happen during marriage

rituals-
• (i) Proposal – Both sides of the relationship share and compare the hour,
day, month, and year of the birth of the bride and groom. If any upsetting
events happen within the bride’s family within the next three days of the
proposal, then it is believed that she has rejected the proposal.
• (ii) Engagement – After the couple decides the date of the wedding then
the bride announces the wedding with invitations and gifts of cookies that
are shaped like the moon.
• (iii) Dowry – A dowry is considered as the transfer of parental belongings
when their daughter is getting married.
• .
• (iv) Procession – The groom then proceeds to the
bride’s home and then brings her back to his
home with much happiness and excitement.
• (v) Marriage – The couple then recites their vows
that will bond them together for their entire life,
toast each other wine and then take the center of
the stage with their families and their friends.
• (vi) Morning After – On the morning after the
bride serves breakfast to the groom’s parents and
then the parents do the same
5-Death
• After the death of the loved one, the family members cry loudly to
inform the neighbors of the bad news. The body of the beloved one
is then placed in a coffin, and many family members and friends
bring money to help with the funeral. The foods and objects that
were of some importance to the deceased one are placed along with
him or her into the coffin. The priest performs the burial ritual,
and the guests follow the coffin carrying the large branch of the
willow tree. This willow tree is meant to symbolize the soul of the
person who died. After that, the branch is taken back to the family
altar where it is believed that it is used to install the spirit of the
deceased one.
•
 Hindu law givers
• Manu
• The Manusmriti, or 'The Laws of Manu', is considered to be
one of the most authoritative texts in the Brahminical
tradition which lays out social and civil laws and codes of
conduct which are necessary for the maintenance of dharma.
It prescribes the conduct for men and women of the four
social classes or varnas – Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya,
Shudra – and rules of interaction between them. In addition,
it lays out rules of conduct for people in the four stages of life,
ashramas – brahmacharya, grihstashrama, vanprastha and
sanyasa.
• It also prescribes rules and obligations for the King –
rajdharma – and laws related to civil matters like
business and contract. The purpose of these rigid social
rules and boundaries is to preserve dharma – the social
order marked by hierarchical varna system, where the
Brahman enjoys most social privileges and Shudra the least.
The proper sphere of activity for the Brahmin is study of
the Vedas and begging, for Kshatriya is statecraft, for
Vaisya it is trade and moneylending, and for Shudra is to
serve the above three. The Shudras are not entitled to an
education.
• All four varnas enjoy complete control over the
women of their social category. Thus the 'Laws of
Manu' do not contain a distinction between secular
and religious laws. It is the social law which
dominates the political as well as the personal
sphere. Even the kingly functions are aimed
towards preservation of the social order.
 Raja Dharma
• According to Manu,a king is superior to all other
living beings because he is made out of divine
elements from the gods. Manu demands total
obedience to the laws of the King. It is the king
who preserves and protects the social order of
the four varnas, the dharma. Hence,
disobedience of the king is akin to sacrilege and
invites severest reprisal. The instrument
employed by the king to preserve and protect the
social order is danda or punishment.
 Political Concern
• Regarding war, Manusmriti has a range of
practical advice. The principle of saam (conciliation),
dam (bribery), dand (force), bhed (dissension) is to be
employed. Force is to be used only when other three
strategies have failed. A king should only wage war
when he is assured of his superiority and his
enemies' weakness and all other forms of
diplomacy have been exhausted..
exhausted..
• It is always advisable to have a weak but trusted
friend than to make him an enemy. The text
advises against waging war if the army of the king
is weak and his ammunitions inadequate. In case
the enemy is too strong, it is advised that the king
should divide his armies into two and take
refuge in some other friendly kingdom
• The Laws of Manu advice the King to be extremely
cautious of getting poisoned and assassinated, should
have an elaborate system of spies to watch over not
just the external enemies, but also the enemies within.
within.
• The Manusmriti envisages a system of administration
which extends from village to the king. Village is the
unit of local administration as each village is to have a
lord, who shall report to the lord of ten villages, who in
turn shall report to the overseer of twenty villages.
• The lord of the village shall see to it that the
expected amount of – food, drink and fuel – is
being supplied from the village under his command
to the King. A minister of village affairs will
oversee the functioning of all these lords. Similarly,
a superintendent is to be appointed in each town
who shall look after the work of officials in each
department of town administration.
• The social laws enshrined in Manusmriti allow us to
study ideas and practices on politics, statecraft, social
organization, religion and ethics which were prevalent
in early India. As a text, it is a valuable source to
explore the history of early India. The fact that
Manusmriti is the culmination of hundreds of years of
thought by Brahminical thinkers adds to its value as a
historical text. A study of Manusmriti also teaches us
the value of locating such texts in their social context,
which also helps us in understanding its continued
relevance in religion and politics
• The text needs to be placed in its historical context. Manusmriti,
thus, is not a simple commentary on religion, politics, ideas of
justice, administration and society. It is, infact, a text produced by
Brahmins to consolidate their social and political position, and to
place themselves at the very top of a graded society. The ideas of
virtue, religion, justice, law and ethics propounded in the
Manusmriti are all geared towards maintenance of a social order
which secures political, social and economic power in the hands of
the three upper varnas – the Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas,
while extracting labour and service from shudras and women. The
instrument for maintaining this social order is danda, which
explains the significance attached to political power in the text.