Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed.

Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilisations[1] and operates in the wider
context of social history. Certain jurists and historians of legal process have seen legal history as the
recording of the evolution of laws and the technical explanation of how these laws have evolved with
the view of better understanding the origins of various legal concepts; some consider legal history a
branch of intellectual history. Twentieth-century historians viewed legal history in a more
contextualised manner - more in line with the thinking of social historians.[2] They have looked at legal
institutions as complex systems of rules, players and symbols and have seen these elements
interact with society to change, adapt, resist or promote certain aspects of civil society. Such legal
historians have tended to analyse case histories from the parameters of social-science inquiry, using
statistical methods, analysing class distinctions among litigants, petitioners and other players in
various legal processes. By analyzing case outcomes, transaction costs, and numbers of settled
cases, they have begun an analysis of legal institutions, practices, procedures and briefs that gives a
more complex picture of law and society than the study of jurisprudence, case law and civil
codes can achieve.[3]

Ancient world[edit]
Main articles: Ma'at, Babylonian law, Ancient Greek law, and Leviticus
See also: Urukagina, Hittite laws, and Ostracism
Ancient Egyptian law, dating as far back as 3000 BC, was based on the concept of Ma'at, and was
characterised by tradition, rhetorical speech, social equality and impartiality.[4] By the 22nd century
BC, Ur-Nammu, an ancient Sumerian ruler, formulated the first extant law code, consisting of
casuistic statements ("if... then..."). Around 1760 BC, King Hammurabi further developed Babylonian
law, by codifying and inscribing it in stone. Hammurabi placed several copies of his law code
throughout the kingdom of Babylon as stelae, for the entire public to see; this became known as
the Codex Hammurabi. The most intact copy of these stelae was discovered in the 19th century by
British Assyriologists, and has since been fully transliterated and translated into various languages,
including English, German and French. Ancient Greek has no single word for "law" as an abstract
concept,[5] retaining instead the distinction between divine law (thémis), human decree (nomos) and
custom (díkē).[6] Yet Ancient Greek law contained major constitutional innovations in the
development of democracy.[7]

African law[edit]
See also: Law in Africa

The African law system is based on common law and civilian law.[38] Many legal systems in Africa
were based on ethnic customs and traditions before colonization took over their original system.
[39]
The people listened to their elders and relied on them as mediators during disputes. Several
states didn't keep written records, as their laws were often passed orally. In the Mali Empire,
the Kouroukan Fouga, was proclaimed in 1222–1236 AD as the official constitution of the state. It
defined regulations in both constitutional and civil matters. The provisions of the constitution are still
transmitted to this day by griots under oath.[40] During colonization, authorities in Africa developed an
official legal system called the Native Courts.[41] After colonialism, the major faiths that stayed were
Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism.