1.1 Historical Records
1.1.1 Distribution
1.1.1.1 The vast bulk of our records come from Mesopotamia, in
the form of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing. The reason
is the chance circumstance that clay, when baked or at least dried,
is a very durable material. Paradoxically, the destruction of a city
by fire would help to preserve the tablets under a mantle of ash and
rubble until unearthed by the archaeologist’s spade. Tens of thou-
sands of legal records in this form have been excavated, and more
are discovered every year. They are unevenly distributed over time,
being concentrated mainly in two periods: the Old Babylonian period
(nineteenth to sixteenth century) and the Neo-Babylonian/Persian
period (sixth to fourth century).1.1.1.2 In Syria and Anatolia, a growing number of cuneiform
tablets have been discovered from the third and second millennia.
In the first millennium, alphabetic scripts on perishable materials
were adopted in these areas, which cease thenceforth to be a significant
source of records. Some compensation is provided by the Hebrew
Bible, a major source of law for Syria-Palestine of the first millen-
nium. It differs, however, from other records in deriving from a con-
tinuous manuscript tradition, rather than excavation. Special problems
arise from its not being a strictly contemporary source, especially as
regards the chronology and practical application of the legal rules
that it contains.1.1.1.3 Records from Egypt are mostly in the form of papyri, with
a necessarily small supplement of inscriptions from tombs, monu-
ments, and temples. Due most probably to the accidents of preser-
vation, their number is tiny until the Hellenistic period.1.1.1.4 The uneven distribution of sources creates an innate dis-
tortion in any survey of ancient Near Eastern law. The focus of
attention will inevitably fall on Mesopotamia, by reason of the sheer
abundance of records available. Egypt had no less law in quantity
or complexity, but large areas of it are lost to us or are represented
by isolated pieces of evidence. Unevenness of distribution in the type
of records available gives rise to further distortions. 5
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