Download or read book A Global History of Crime and Punishment in Antiquity written by Adriaan Lanni and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together experts of ancient Near Eastern, Greek, Roman, and Chinese law to explore understandings of crime and mechanisms of criminal enforcement in a variety of cultures in the period from the 3rd Millennium BCE to 800 CE. The topics addressed--ranging from sex crimes in ancient Rome to policing in Ptolemaic Egypt to punishment in ancient China--are aimed at highlighting key features of ancient approaches to crime. Can we discern broad similarities in the legal systems of multiple ancient societies that set them apart from modern legal systems? Conversely, are there some aspects of criminal enforcement that varied widely across ancient societies, helping to define a culturally distinctive approach to these offenses? The book considers how 'crime' was understood and categorized at different times and in different places, how different societies understood the causes and nature of criminal offending, what informal and formal mechanisms and institutions were used to enforce criminal laws and norms, punishment practices in different societies, and how crime, criminals, policing, and punishment were presented and represented for the 'public' in the various forms of media available at different times. The authors explore these questions through a cultural historical lens, examining literary as well as legal texts, and examine how law and legal institutions affected the lives of both marginalized and elite members of ancient societies.