These regulations for the conduct of a woman, whose
husband was captured in battle, give an intimate picture of the manner
in which the constant wars of this early period affected the lives of
those who took part in them.
Under the Babylonians at the period of the First Dynasty divorce was
strictly regulated, though it was far easier for the man to obtain one
than for the woman. If we may regard the copies of Sumerian laws, which
have come down to us from the late Assyrian period, as parts of the code
in use under the early Sumerians, we must conclude that at this earlier
period the law was still more in favour of the husband, who could
divorce his wife whenever he so desired, merely paying her half a mana
as compensation. Under the Sumerians the wife could not obtain a
divorce at all, and the penalty for denying her husband was death. These
regulations were modified in favour of the woman in Hammurabi's code;
for under its provisions, if a man divorced his wife or his concubine,
he was obliged to make proper provision for her maintenance. Whether
she were barren or had borne him children, he was obliged to return
her marriage portion; and in the latter case she had the custody of the
children, for whose maintenance and education he was obliged to furnish
the necessary supplies. Moreover, at the man's death she and her
children would inherit a share of his property.
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