Early History and Roots of International Law

This Episode deals with roots and early developments in international law. Though the modern International System is merely 400-500 years old, the building blocks of International Law could be traced back to thousands of years ago.

S. No.	Timeline	Treaty Between/Reign	Treaty Regarding/Remarks
1.	2600 BC	Rulers of Ancient Sumerian Cities of Lagash and Umma (Modern Iraq)	Border treaty defining boundary marks, found on a stone block.
2.	1200 BC	Egyptian–Hittite Peace Treaty between Pharaoh Ramesses II of Egypt and King Ḫattušili III of the Hittites	Establishment of Peace, Respect for Territorial Integrity, No State Aggression, Defensive Alliance
3.	800 BC	Prophet Isaiah of Ancient Israel	He said that Agreements must be respected, even when made with the enemy.
4.	Around same time	Hellenistic/Greek Civilization	Numerous treaties linked the city-states together in a network of commercial and political associations
5.	Around 30 BC to 476 AD	Roman Empire	Jus civile – Early Law that applied only to Roman citizens.   Jus gentium – Simplified rules to govern the relations between foreigners and citizens. (Instrument – Preator Peregrinus)   Later on, jus gentium became the norm and jus civile took the backseat.   Natural Law was incorporated in the Roman Law to serve as the ultimate justification for jus gentium (rational principles common to all civilized nations).   Legal Compilation – Corpus Juris Civilis – It contained the classical rules of Roman Law.
6.	1000 AD	Early Islamic World	Dar al-Islam – It is term used by Islamic Scholars that literally means house of Islam. It connotes all the countries that were under Muslim Sovereignty. Abu Hanifa is generally considered as the founder of this concept. In order to be a part of Dar al-Islam, certain requirements were laid down.   Aman – The law dealing with hospitality and safety of diplomats and foreigners.