A collection of legal rulings written at the time of the reign of Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.E.), king of Babylon. Hammurabi is granted rule by the gods Anu and Enlil, and is instructed to “make justice prevail in the land”. These are not the earliest known laws from Mesopotamia, but are the most complete. The laws lend great insight into the structure of social classes in ancient Babylon, especially as to the conduct of women and slaves. Law #142 illustrates that women are treated fairly when a marital relationship is breaking down:

142. “If a woman repudiates her husband, and declares, ‘You will not have marital relations with me’- her circumstances shall be investigated by the authorities of her city quarter, and if she is circumspect and without fault, but her husband is wayward and disparages her greatly, that woman will not be subject to any penalty; she shall take her dowry and she shall depart for her father’s house.”

See also:
  The Epic of Gilgamesh 

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