The legal code was a common feature of the legal systems of the ancient Middle East. Many of them are examples of cuneiform law. The oldest evidence of a code of law was found at Ebla, in modern Syria (c. 2400 BC).[1] The Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100–2050 BC), then the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC), are amongst the earliest originating in the Fertile Crescent. In the Roman empire, a number of codifications were developed, such as the Twelve Tables of Roman law (first compiled in 450 BC) and the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian, also known as the Justinian Code (429–534 AD). In ancient China, the first comprehensive criminal code was the Tang Code, created in 624 AD in the Tang Dynasty. In India, the Edicts of Ashoka (269–236 BC) were followed by the Law of Manu (200 BC).
The following is a list of ancient legal codes in chronological order:
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