In his inaugural dissertation, Dr. Peiser, under the title of
_Jurisprudentiae Babylonicae quae supersunt_, commented upon and
illustrated the above text by numerous examples of cases, actually
occurring during the period of the second empire. But the whole collection
of fragments of law with which he had to deal was too small to do more
than show what may be hoped for as the result of future discoveries.
As specimens of these laws we may take the following:
(M211)
Law A. [Col. II. 4-14.]
The man who has sealed a tablet, by the name of another, in favor
of an owner of a field, or has sealed a bond, and has not caused
to be executed a deed giving him power of attorney, or has not
taken a duplicate of such a tablet [cannot take possession]; the
man, in whose name the tablet, or bond, is written, shall take
that field, or house.
If a man acted as buyer, or lender, for another, he incurred liabilities,
for which he could not indemnify himself, unless he had secured from his
principal a deed empowering him so to act. But, if without such power of
attorney, A had acted for B, and bought a house, or field, of C, and had
the conveyance made out to B, of course paying C; or had lent money to C,
in the name of B; and the transaction had been completed, by sealing the
deed of sale or bond; then B was the owner of the field, or house, or the
creditor for the loan. A could not plead that he was the real owner, even
if he had not been able to recover the purchase-money or loan from B, in
whose name he had made it. B, whose name appeared in the deed or in the
bond, was the rightful owner.
(M212)
Law B. [Col. II. 15-23.]
The man, who has sold a female slave and has had an objection made
concerning her, shall take her back. The seller shall give to the
buyer the price named in the deed of sale, to its exact amount,
and shall pay half a shekel of silver for each of the children
born to her.
How long after sale objection could be raised is not stated. In early
times a month was allowed for fever to develop; in Assyrian contracts a
hundred days were allowed for fever or seizure. But a _sartu_, or “vice,”
could be pleaded, at any time, as ground for returning the slave. Here it
is clear that time was allowed for a slave to bear one or more children,
before the repudiation lost effect. It is noteworthy that the seller had
to buy back such children. The maid may have been bought to bear her
master children, and if these were not sound, the master had ground for
complaint and could not be held responsible for them. Also it was
objectionable to separate mother and children. The price named is
trifling. Compare § 278 of the Code, where, however, no mention is made of
the children of a maid.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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