Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates, is home to the first civilizations in the Middle East. Dependent on the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Mesopotamian civilizations, including those led by Hammurabi, Dadusha, Nebuchadnezzar, developed a system of communal canals and irrigation works and a legal framework to govern these works. For all their legal developments Mesopotamians left a dearth of written water law. For example, of Hammurabi's 282 laws only four deal with water. However these laws established a regime for liability, they also aimed at restoring the injured party to his former position.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Benvenisti, E. (2004). Asian traditions and management of shared water resources: Ancient practices informing future regional cooperation. In Proceedings of the role of law in a developing Asia (pp. 617–631). Singapore: National University of Singapore, Asian Law Institute.
Dellapenna, J. W. (1996). The two rivers and the lands between: Mesopotamia and the international law of transboundary waters. Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law, 10, 213–261.
Ellickson, R. C., & Thorland, C. D. (1995). Ancient land law: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel. Chicago-Kent Law Review, 71, 321–411. Genesis 12:1, 12:5. Genesis 29:1–11.
Hirsch, A. M. (1959). ‘Water legislation in the Middle East. American Journal of Comparative Law, 8, 168–186.
Hoffner, Jr H. A. (1997). The laws of the Hittites: A critical edition. Leiden: Brill.
King, L. W. (Trans.) (1910). The code of Hammurabi, available at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/ avalon/medieval/hamframe.htm
Kjeilen, T. (2006). Mesopotamia. In Encyclopedia of the orient, available at http://lexicorient. com/e.o/mesopotamia.htm
Kornfeld, I. E. (2004). ‘Trouble in Mesopotamia: Can America deter a water war between Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Environmental Law Reporter, 34, 10632–10641.
Kliot, N. (1994). Water resources and conflict in the Middle East. London: Routledge.
Kramer, S. N., & Tanaka, H. (1981). History begins at sumer: Thirty-nine firsts in recorded history. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Leveson, D. (1980). Geology and the urban environment. New York: Oxford University Press.
Leick, G. (2002). Mesopotamia: The invention of the city. New York: Penguin Books.
Metz, H. C. (Ed.) (2004). Iraq: A country study. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger.
Mumford, L. (1961). The city in history: Its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. New York: Harcourt, Brace &World.
Neufeld, E. (1951). The Hittite laws. London: Luzac.
Roth, M. T. (1995a). Mesopotamian legal traditions and the laws of Hammurabi. Chicago-Kent Law Review, 71, 13–39.
Roth, M. T. (1995b). Law collections from Mesopotamia and Asia minor. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press.
Sax, J. L., Thompson, H. Jr, Leshy, J. D., & Abrams, R. H. (2006). Legal control of water resources: Cases and materials. St. Paul, MN: Thompson/West Publishers.
Sivan, B., & Levenston, E. (1975). The New Bantam-Megiddo Hebrew & English dictionary. New York: Schocken Books.
University of California (1995). Pleistocene, available at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ quaternary/ple.html
Veenhof, K. R. (1995). “In accordance with the words of the sele”: Evidence for old Assyrian legislation. Chicago-Kent Law Review, 70, 1717–1744.
VerSteeg, R. (2000). Early Mesopotamian Law. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
von Soden, W. (1985) (G. Schley Trans.). The ancient orient: An introduction to the study of the ancient near east. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
Wright, R. (2000). Nonzero: The logic of human destiny. New York: Pantheon Books.
Wright, R. (2005). A short history of progress. New York: Carroll & Graf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kornfeld, I.E. (2009). Mesopotamia: A History of Water and Law. In: Dellapenna, J.W., Gupta, J. (eds) The Evolution of the Law and Politics of Water. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9867-3_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9867-3_2
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-9866-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-9867-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)