The History of Laws

 The history of laws that govern civilization is probably even more ancient than civilization itself. It is impossible to know this for sure for various reasons. The first is that the earliest laws in most places were almost certainly based on the concept of common law, which is a major part of the modern British and American legal systems. Common law works by giving precedence to decisions made by judges. In the case of early humankind, these judges would be the chiefs of tribes, who eventually “evolved” into the ruling classes in major civilizations like Sumeria until finally the modern “judge” was created.

The earliest law code known was written almost exactly four thousand years ago in ancient Sumeria. For some reason it took over a thousand years from the birth of writing until this relatively primitive legal code finally developed. This is probably because the legal systems of the civilization that employed Sumerian cuneiform used common law and did not need a written system. Eventually, civilizations became large enough that the history of the laws of Sumeria needed to take a leap forward and kings began to write down their legal codices in ever increasing size. The most famous of these is the Code of Hammurabi, which exists today in complete form in the Louvre in Paris. This massive finger-shaped stele is considered the earliest form of constitution. The legal system was still common law because all of the different statues were simply decisions that judges had made over the years, but this attempt to solidify the legal system of Hammurabi's native Babylon would become incredibly influential in the ancient world.

The ancient Greeks took another step forward in the history of laws by essentially inventing the modern form of the constitution. The statesman known as Solon is described by various Greek philosophers as having done so in Athens in the 6th century BCE. Unfortunately, none of his laws remain, so we are forced to trust the writings of people like Plutarch and Herodotus to figure out what he wrote. Essentially, Solon's legal reforms came at a time when Athens was undergoing a great dispute in its common law system. The poor were sick of paying incredibly high taxes to the rich parasites while simultaneously paying outrageous interest rates for debts incurred and the possibility of slavery if debts were not repaid. Solon's solution was to abolish all debt, but he also enacted reforms that the rich would hopefully accept so as to attempt to make everyone happy. Unfortunately, like all compromises, what was designed to be accepted by all ended up accepted by none. Eventually, people realized Solon's brilliance and selflessness and learned to embrace the Athenian constitution, which is still revered to this day.

The final major step in the evolution of the history of laws was the development of the Roman civil code in 535 C.E. by Justinian, emperor of Byzantium (otherwise known as the Eastern Roman Empire). This law was a more solidified legal constitution that held jurisdiction over all masters of public life. For this reason it is considered the basis of Civil Law to this day. This law held itself as higher than any human being that was ruled by it, whether they be slave, free person, aristocrat, or emperor.

The law codes of the world continue to develop, though they are for the most part based on either common or civil law. China is one of the few countries in the world that has never adopted a British-style common law system or a Roman-style civil law system. This is because its law system is even older than Rome's and has always worked well without need of major adaptation. That said, it is likely that the history of laws will change for China, as well of the rest of the world.