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10 - Property

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2024

By
Joseph G. Manning ,
Edward Harris ,
David Ibbetson ,
Timothy Lubin  and
Geoffrey MacCormack
Edited by
Caroline Humfress ,
David Ibbetson  and
Patrick Olivelle
Caroline Humfress
Affiliation:
University of St Andrews, Scotland
David Ibbetson
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Patrick Olivelle
Affiliation:
University of Texas, Austin
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Summary

Chapter 10 surveys the history, the concepts and the institutions of property in premodern India, China, the Near East, Egypt, Greece and Rome. Formal rules of ownership and inheritance formed the basis of all premodern legal regimes and undergirded economic performance (for instance, growth), as has been frequently stressed by New Institutional Economists. The enforcement of property rights reveals a good deal about the diverse economies, environments and cultures of premodern societies. The chapter summarizes the sources for property rights, which are rich and varied; and the control and use of resources occupy a considerable part of private legal documentation in all premodern systems that have yielded written material.

Keywords

AristotleCommon PropertyDisputesHenry MaineHermopolis legal compendiumHammurabiKauṭilyaGaiusMoveable PropertyReal PropertySlavery
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Comparative History of Ancient Law , pp. 512 - 564
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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