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Grand Statements About Justice: On the Laws of Ur-Namma
- retrac 5y agoNot only were the ancient Mesopotamians probably the first people to invent codified laws, but they were the first people to drown themselves in legal paperwork. The legalistic nature might be hard to overstate. In Sippar north of Babylon c. 1600 BC we find the majority of homes have written legal contracts and property deeds. A few homes are stuffed with archives of legal paperwork related to the businesses and lives of the owners. As later law codes state, many forms of commercial transaction relating to property, slaves, gold or basically anything particularly valuable, were illegal (and presumed the owner a thief) without transfer of the written deeds with witnesses. And like my favourite Sumerian proverb says "A harsh mouth brings litigation documents."