Institutions of Family and Marriage of Western Asia (on the Example of Babylonia, Assyria, Hittite Kingdom)

Introduction. The article examines one of the topical issues for the history of the Ancient world - the characteristics of the features of the institutions of the family and marriage of the Ancient East. The modern development of historical knowledge reveals not only the reception of the specificity of legal relations that developed in antiquity, but also their transformation, as well as the search for the most universal and acceptable variants of marriage relations, some kind of standards of relations between the subjects of these institutions. Addressing the issue of the formation of the institutions of family and marriage relations through the study of available historical and legal sources is justified and relevant. There are separate scientific studies on this problem, but there are no systematic, fundamental developments. As a rule, the historical and legal sources of Asia Minor (Old Babylonian laws, Assyrian, Hittite and New Babylonian legal acts) are characterized in general terms. The role of the woman of Western Asia, her place in the patriarchal family, is assessed ambiguously. Materials and methods. The material of the research is presented directly through the systematization of theoretical developments on the named family legal relations, as well as the analysis of the legislative monuments of Southwest Asia. Within the framework of the study, the author uses a system-structural method that allows us to consider family-legal relations as an integral system of interrelationships between phenomena and events, to determine the main content of this research topic. The institutional approach used by the author presupposes a systematic study of the legal institutions of family law that have developed in the East during the antiquity. Results, discussion. Analysis of the historical and legal documents of the Ancient East, as well as a comprehensive study of the conceptual provisions of scientific research, allowed the author to highlight the main characteristics and foundations of building a family of the countries of Southwest Asia. Conclusion. The institutions of family and marriage of the ancient Eastern states are built on the norms of patriarchal law. In the subject composition of the family, a woman acts as an equal participant in legal relations. However, in some cases it acts as an object of law («thing», «property»). The author singles out two categories of women: relatively free and completely deprived of legal and legal capacity.

Assyria, Babylonia, Hittite kingdom, patriarchal family, Law of Hammurabi, ancient Eastern societies