The And The Middle Assyrian Laws - 1205 Words

The Middle Assyrian Laws are a collection of laws that were put together for the people of Mesopotamia, although the author is unknown. These codes of law were originally written in Akkadian, one of the earliest Semitic languages. The excerpts are from the Code the Assyrians, which was made in 1075 BCE. According to the document, They were found during the twentieth century in ancient Assur (currently Northern Iraq) at the site of Qal’ at Shergart. These laws are significant because they implemented structure into their society by setting standards for what women and men can and cannot do. They are important to us today because they give us valuable ideas as to how ancient society was in Mesopotamia, particularly gender roles in 1075 BCE.†¦show more content†¦This law punishes both individuals involved. This code also gives the impression that this society had an immense focus on respect for relationships. These laws were perhaps created with the intention of maintai ning and keeping relationships in order. Divorce is another subject covered in these law codes. I. 37, explains how after a divorce the man has the right to keep everything that the couple once owned together; this could be anything including the house, furniture, property, etc. However, the man has the ability to leave her with something if he wishes, but if not, then â€Å"empty shall she go out.† Although the subject of divorce is only mentioned in this law, it still shows that a divorce is in a man’s favor and he has the right to end up with all of their belongings. According to law code I. 16, men appear to be able to cheat freely if the woman they are cheating with is okay with it. Finally, another important topic throughout these law codes is pregnancy. This society seems to place a high value on pregnancy and the well being of pregnant women. As a result of the pregnancy being so important to this society, there are a few laws made up specifically for that topic. Law codes I. 21, 50, 51 and 52 all have to do with pregnancy and abortion. Some of which say, if someone is to harm a pregnant