Code of the Nesilim

by Anonymous

The Code of Nesilim (Imperial Hittites) is an ancient Hittite (Nesili) legal code dating from c. 1650 – 1500 BCE. This contained the laws that reflected the Hittite empire's social structure, sense of justice, and morality, addressing common outlawed actions such as assault, theft, murder, witchcraft, and divorce, among others. It is particularly notable due to a number of its provisions, covering social issues that included the humane treatment of slaves. Although they were considered lesser than free men, the slaves under the code were allowed to choose whomever they wanted to marry, buy property, open businesses, and purchase their freedom. In comparison with The Code of Assura or the Code of Hammurabi, the Code of Nesilim also provided less-severe punishments for the code's violations.

While it is not known who exactly authored the legal document, some historians believe that its source was someone important or of high power in the Hittite society and this could even be a king. The ancient legal document was posted online by Paul Halsall, a professor at Fordham University as part of his Internet History Sourcebooks Project.

-Wikipedia

Genres: Classics

4 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1601

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Enrico · Rating 4 out of 5]

The law code of the Hittites, who called themselves Nesilim. Only fragments exist.