Middle Assyrian Laws

Historical source page 44

An Assyrian Law Code 43 the land, he may take away from his wife what she may have secured on loan, 94 (but) on her sons whom she bore to her second husband he has no claim. 95 Her second husband takes (them). The field and the house which for her support at the full value were deeded (to her) as a loan, 96 if he (sc. her first husband) was not in the service of the king, 97 he must refund what was deeded to her 98 and (then) take (it). But if he does not come back and dies in another country, then his field and his house in place of what the king gave 99 is to be given. 45 If a woman whose husband dies had not left the house of her husband within a year, 100 and if her husband has not assigned 1 94 a-na ki-i-di, as above, § 6 (col. 1, 71). 96 la-a i-kar-ri-ib 'he may not draw nigh' in the sense of having no claim, as above §§ 26, 28, 37, etc. This is in agreement with § 135 of the Ham- murabi Code — the case of a woman whose husband (without providing for her support) has been captured and who marries another man and has chil- dren through him. She must go back to her husband on his return, but the children belong to their father, i. e., to the second husband. The assumption in §§ 134 and 135 is that the husband has been captured while on 'royal service' — as in our text. 96 Again a-na ki-i-di, which here is equivalent to our loan. The reference is to the action of the state which had placed the field and house at her dis- posal for two years for her support. 97 1, e., had not gone away in public service, whether to war or on some mission as is assumed in the first part of the law. The phrase used, a-na dan-na-at sarri, 'the service of the king', occurs a number of times in the Hammurabi Code, e. g., § 27, which also bears on our law. It reads: 'If a garrison officer or constable returns from the service of the king after they have given his field or his plantation to another, upon his return to the city, they restore to him his .field or his plantation and he attends to his business (sc. as before)'. Assuming that this was also the law in Assyria, the man who goes away on private business is at a disadvantage, in being obliged to refund the state for the support of his wife during his absence. 98 ki-i la-ad-nu^ni, i. e., he must pay the sum 'pledged' or deeded to her before he can get possession of his property — the field and house. 99 His estate falls to the State, in return for the support given her for two years by placing a property at her disposal. It is interesting to note that the king in this Assyrian Code is still looked upon as the source and represen- tative of all governmental authority, but the use pf the plural verb (id-du- nu^ii-ni with a-sar sarri) also shows that the term has become a conventional one for the state or the court as a collective body. 100 1, e., had not separated from him within a year of his death. 1 U4u-ra-ai-Se (=isturasa), 'written for her'.