Assyrische Rechtsprechung Im 1. Jahrtausend V. Chr.

Betina Faist offers a systematic presentation of the jurisprudence in the Neo-Assyrian period based on a detailed examination of the traditional cuneiform texts. The methodological starting point is the analysis of the linguistic design of the texts, the research of the relevant terms and expressions as well as the critical examination of the available sources with regard to their thematic significance. This philological-historical approach is supplemented by a comparison with other epochs of the cuneiform tradition and with other legal circles. The sources available come from the "living" law of the Assyrians. First and foremost, these are documents in Neo-Assyrian language and script that were written down in the context of the settlement and settlement of private legal disputes. These are characterized by their formal diversity, which sets them apart from the other major types of documents such as A distinction is made between sales contracts and debt certificates, which follow a uniform form. The jurisprudence documented in the procedural documents mainly concerns disputes under private law ("civil jurisdiction"). Legal disputes affecting public interests, d. H. relating to the king, the palace (as an institution) or the temples are not recorded, but are discussed in royal correspondence. From this finding a more or less conscious distinction between individual and collective interests, between injustice against a fellow human being and injustice against the "state", between "private" and "public" law can be derived. In contrast, no distinction is made between private and criminal law. An appendix offers editions of 14 exemplary texts. Extensive lists of the documents examined complete the study.