property disputes; injuries, both accidental and intentional;
and labor matters. Aft er the body of laws came the epilogue,
which urged those seeking justice to read and heed the laws
of Hammurabi. Additionally, the Babylonian ruler called on
all later kings to follow the laws carved on the stela. Hammu-
rabi’s appeal to future kings revealed that his code was not so
much a set of laws describing what was and was not illegal as
it was a model for how justice should be dispensed. Indeed,
on the stela Hammurabi’s legal statements were termed de-
cisions rather than laws. In other words, the code was a list
of decisions, each of which was probably based on a number
of cases but not on any specifi c case, and each of which was
meant to serve as a guide in rendering future judgments.
To what extent Hammurabi’s code was used in actual
judicial proceedings is unknown. Still, stelae, some with ad-
ditional commentary expanding on the meaning of Hammu-
rabi’s laws, were erected throughout the ancient Near East as
late as the fourth century b.c.e. Th e Assyrians appear to have
accepted Hammurabi’s code, though they imposed consider-
ably harsher penalties than did the Babylonians for the same
crimes. Th ere were no police to enforce the laws of the ancient
Near East. In general when one person accused another of
wrongdoing, the accuser, along with relatives, friends, and
neighbors, would see that the accused appeared at the trial.
In cases of treason or other crimes against the king, soldiers
would bring the suspect to trial.
Most trials were local aff airs, at which the accuser would
lay out his complaint before a council of elders who acted as
judges. Serious crimes, such as murder, would be heard by
a judge appointed by the king. Verdicts from local councils
could also be appealed to these royal judges as well as to the
king. For most of the ancient Near Eastern period, there were
no lawyers; the accuser prosecuted, and the accused defended.
In the Persian Empire, however, a group called speakers of the
law specialized in explaining legal matters to those involved
in court cases as well as helping them present their cases. At
a trial witnesses would be called, some of whom had to make
long journeys to be present. Documents would be produced
and examined. If all else failed in reaching a verdict, the
judges would order the accused to undergo a “river ordeal,”
in which he or she was thrown into a river. Th ose who sur-
vived were declared innocent, while those who drowned were
deemed guilty.
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
Only the ancient Indians and Chinese left extensive written
legal codes; therefore, the laws of other cultures are mostly
lost. Th e history of laws in Asia suggests that laws were re-
garded as a defense of civilization against barbarism. For ex-
ample, by the Han Dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) the rulers of
China regarded human sacrifi ce as evil, and laws were made
to outlaw it, giving regional legal authorities the backing of
the government in stamping out the practice.
In India the fi rst laws were Vedic laws, which were de-
rived from the religious epics of the Aryan invaders who mi-
grated through most of northern and central India from 1500
to 500 b.c.e. As the Vedic peoples adapted to their environ-
ment and mixed with the original populations, much of the
religious law became too vague and unrealistic for practical
use; from about 500 to 200 b.c.e. the laws were revised. Th e
laws were w rit ten dow n as sastras and sutras. Th e sastras were
books of rules written in verse, and the sutras were books of
prose combined with verse. Th e book most oft en cited by his-
torians is the Code of Manu, a sastra dating to between 200
b.c.e. and 100 c.e.
Th e Code of Manu and other codes made kings ultimately
responsible for justice in their kingdoms. Kings were expected
to hear complaints from petitioners, to make sure that justice
was served, and to prosecute cases when there were no plain-
tiff s. Kings delegated much of their legal authority to magis-
trates who were expected to k now t housands of laws and were
supposed to be of irreproachably high moral character. Th ree
magistrates were responsible for 10 villages. Th ey had scribes
and police to serve them. Th e tradespeople of Indian society
frequently belonged to guilds devoted to their professions.
Sometimes entire villages were devoted to just one trade. In
such cases the guild was responsible for maintaining the law
in the city and could punish people convicted of crimes, usu-
ally by fi ning them.
In the case of some crimes, punishment was swift. If the
police caught someone burglarizing a home or other property,
he or she could be taken to the center of town and executed, but
in most cases people accused of crimes would be tried in court.
A defendant was given three days to write a defense, with the
aid of a legal scribe. Up to three witnesses could speak for the
defendant in court. Brahmans, criminals, women, and certain
other people could not be called as witnesses. Witnesses who
were caught lying could be tortured as punishment. In cases
when guilt was likely but not certain, the defendant could
be tortured until he or she confessed or until an appeal was
granted. Each defendant was allowed to appeal to higher au-
thorities until reaching the king, who had the fi nal word.
Not much is known of China’s laws during the Shang
Dynasty (1500–1045 b.c.e.) and the Zhou Dynasty (1045–256
b.c.e.), but the laws tended to favor emperors and aristo-
crats. During the Warring States Period (453–221 b.c.e.) of
the Zhou Dynasty, several legal philosophies arose. One of
these was legalism. Th is philosophy was law taken to the ex-
treme. Every action was supposed to have a law governing it,
and everyone, except the king, was subject to the law. Every
profession had its designated responsibilities and its social
rank. Even nobles were ranked in importance. Each person
was allowed a certain amount of land and a certain number
of servants according to his or her status. Punishments for
breaking the law were severe, to dissuade people from com-
mitting crimes; actions considered benefi cial to society, such
as valor in battle, were rewarded. People who did not report a
crime that they knew about were executed.laws and legal codes: Asia and the Pacific 625