Middle Assyrian Laws

Historical source page 20

An Assyrian Law Code 19 (The rest of the paragraph — four lines apparently — is broken off.) 15 If a man [violates] 67 another man's wife, her mouth 68 there is no guilt attaching to the man. The husband can impose punishment on his wife according to his pleasure. But if by force he has violated her, they seize him and determine his guilt, the punishment being" the same as that imposed upon the man's wife. 69 16 If a man says to another, thy wife has been raped, 70 and there are no witnesses, they bind him (i. e. the accused) in fetters and take him to the river. 71 17 If a man says to his companion, whether in private or in a brawl, 72 ' thy wife has been raped and I caught her', but it turns out that he could not have caught her, and the man actually did not catch her (in the act), he receives 40 lashes and must perform posed of 5<f and rls ('head'), still maintained by Zimmern, Akkadische FremdwOrter, page 6, is to be abandoned in view of our Sarhen which clearly points to a stem saraku. At the most, it might be claimed that sd-ri§ is an etymological play upon the supposed meaning of sarsen, but even this is unlikely and certainly an unnecessary supposition. 65 1, e., ears and nose are cut off and possibly his eyes are put out. We have not actually encountered this method of punishment, except in the historical annals of Assyrian kings as meted out to the enemy. • 6 i-na-fyu-ru, 'they destroy'. " To be supplied. The half of the line is broken away. 68 No doubt in the sense of 'consent.' The balance of the line is broken away. The context indicates that the woman gave herself to the man willingly. 69 1, e., whatever the man would do to his wife, in case she were guilty, is done to the adulterer. 70 it-ti-ni-4k-kxi. 71 1, e., for an ordeal, to test the truth of the charge. The ordeal occurs again, §§23, 24; also in the Hammurabi Code §§ 2 (suspect of sorcery) and § 132 (suspect of adultery). 72 1, e., when others are present to hear what is said. It is rather charac- teristic of social conditions in Assyria, that the word for a 'fight', becomes a synonym of 'in public'.