Impact of the Legal Tradition of the Ancient Near East on the Interior and Exterior Regions - Focus on the Period of Ancient Babylon and Neo Babylon -

This paper examines the impact of Ancient Near East legal tradition on the interior society and the regions exterior based on the Old Babylonian and Neo Babylonian Document.<br/> First, the central power of legal authority was the king. Among the laws of the king, only selected laws were entered into the code of the king. The local region had, autonomy over legal reglement and administrative rules. However, if the king wanted to enforce his own law, he could replace local law with his law. Further an individual could request the king to apply the king’s law in any particular case. Therefore, the legal tradition of the Ancient Near East could be practiced two directions as per the central power of the king or according local power.<br/> This legal tradition of the Ancient Near East has an impact on local regions away from the king’s central geographical area. This impact can be verified in a document of the Syro-Palestine region. The legal tradition of central Ancient Near East could be found in scholarly documents of the Canaan region during the Bronze Age. Biblical law partially followed the legal tradition of central Ancient Near East and partially adopted a different tradition. It means that in this region, legal ancient tradition was accepted selectively.<br/> In conclusion, the legal tradition of Ancient Near East did not have a forceful impact on the interior and exterior regions of the Ancient Near East. In the interior regions, it was two directional, and in the exterior regions, it was accepted selectively.