International law in antiquity

the long version

"This study of the origins of international law combines techniques of intellectual history and historiography to investigate the earliest developments of the law of nations. The book examines the sources, processes, and doctrines of international legal obligation in antiquity to reevaluate the critical attributes of international law. David J. Bederman focuses on three essential areas in which law influenced ancient State relations - diplomacy, treaty-making, and warfare - in a detailed analysis of international relations in the Near East (2800-700 B.C.E.), the Greek city-States (500-338 B.C.E.), and Rome (358-168 B.C.E.). Containing up-to-date literature and archeological evidence, this study does not merely catalogue instances of recognition by ancient States of these seminal features of international law: it accounts for recurrent patterns of thinking and practice. This comprehensive analysis of international law and State relations in ancient times provides a fascinating study for lawyers and academics, ancient historians and classicists alike."--BOOK JACKET.