How Did Egypt Law Influence Mesopotamian Laws

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The four most influential ancient societies when it comes to the evolution and advancement of laws were the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Roughly 5000 years ago, the two of these civilizations, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians, established and consolidated civilizations that were politically centralized along with proliferating laws to govern their citizens. While the laws of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were founded during the same period, they formed in separate areas of the near east. While both societies were established in areas with rivers that allowed for trade, Egyptian laws were known for being kindly disposed towards foreigners, due to the amount of trade the river Nile promoted with other territories. People from these other civilizations were also influenced by the laws they encountered with their trade with the Egyptians, thus promoting the spread of some of these laws to other regions in the area. Ancient Egyptian laws also were instrumental in introducing the first known presentation of scientific evidence into their trials. (Butkevych, 2003, p. 192-210)…show more content…
These laws are arguably the most extensive set of laws yet found from ancient civilizations. Established in around 1754 BC, the legislation carved into the steles mandated the actions of the populace it covered, along with charging and authorizing the punishments to be meted out to those who broke its tenets. The structures of punishments to be doled out to offenders also depended on the status of those found guilty of breaking the laws. (Kelly, 1995, p.

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