Europe, Middle East, Foreign & International Law, Air & Space, European, Middle Eastern, History, Law, Political Science 

Cambridge studies in international and comparative law 

"This study of the origins of international law combines techniques of intellectual history and historiography to investigate the earliest developments of the law of nations. The book examines the sources, processes, and doctrines of international legal obligation in antiquity to reevaluate the critical attributes of international law. David J. Bederman focuses on three essential areas in which law influenced ancient State relations - diplomacy, treaty-making, and warfare - in a detailed analysis of international relations in the Near East (2800-700 B.C.E.), the Greek city-States (500-338 B.C.E.), and Rome (358-168 B.C.E.).Containing up-to-date literature and archeological evidence, this study does not merely catalogue instances of recognition by ancient States of these seminal features of international law: it accounts for recurrent patterns of thinking and practice. This comprehensive analysis of international law and State relations in ancient times provides a fascinating study for lawyers and academics, ancient historians and classicists alike."--Jacket. 

Contents:
1. A methodological introduction: this study and its limitations -- 2. State relations in ancient civilizations -- 3. Religion and the sources of a law of nations in antiquity -- 4. Making friends: diplomats and foreign visitors in ancient times -- 5. Making faith: treaty practices amongst ancient peoples -- 6. Making war: the commencement and conduct of hostilities in ancient times -- 7. Civilization and community in the ancient mind. 

Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-302) and index.
Includes maps.