Strongest Empires Throughout History And The Jurisprudence That Shaped Them.

Introduction: The Legal Foundations of Power

Before we proceed any further with the subject of this article, it is important that we understand the etymology behind “law” and “jurisprudence”. The word “law” finds its origins in Old English word “lagu,” which in turn comes from the Old Norse word “lǫg,” meaning "things laid down or firmly established." The word “jurisprudence” is an amalgamation of two latin words, “jus/jur” meaning “law” and “prudentia” meaning “knowledge,” so it translates to “knowledge of the law”. Jurisprudence can also be interpreted as “philosophy of law”. Many well-renowned jurists have tried to define law and confine it to their definition of it. The purpose of this article is to gaze at the distant past where great rulers of the strongest empires in history shaped law to exert their dominance over their domains. I think the most appropriate definition that would meet the ends of my article is the one propounded by John Austin. According to him, law is “an aggregate of rules set by men politically superior or sovereign to men as politically subject.” Ancient rulers like Genghis Khan, Chandragupta Maurya, Alexander the Great, and a few others commanded vast empires for years, shaping the legal and philosophical foundations of their domains. Each imposed their own system of laws, binding their subjects to a distinct vision of governance, justice, and order. Legal systems around the world, as they are seen today, are largely shaped by the legal systems developed by European nations during the 18th and 19th centuries. But where did the European Nations take inspiration from?

"The Most Powerful Empires in History and the Legal Systems

That Shaped Civilization: How Ancient Rulers Like Genghis Khan, Hammurabi, Justinian I and others Defined Justice, Governance, and Order"

Origin of Law:

Laws and legal systems have existed for millennia; the oldest law code known to mankind dates to 2100-2050 BCE (“before the common era”), it was created in Mesopotamia, i.e., modern day Iraq, by the King of Ur and is known as “the Code of Ur-Nammu.” It was engraved on stone tablets by scribes of the ancient King in the Sumerian language. The code laid down the kind of justice that the King would provide his people with. A few centuries later, warlike leaders in central China inscribed ideograms onto bamboo strips and bronze vessels, which set out long lists of crimes and punishments. Their successors adopted the same methods to impose discipline on the officials and people of their expanding empires. Meanwhile, on the banks of the River Ganga or Ganges, its anglicized name, Indian scholars were busy framing their own set of laws which dictated a way of life through dharma based on the ancient Vedas left by their ancestors. The Brahmins inscribed Sanskrit characters onto the palm leaves to create Dharmashastras, which are the foundational texts of Hindu Law. We can see from the above that the Code of Ur-Nammu promised justice to the people, the laws of the Chinese were more oriented towards punishment for crimes and non-observance of discipline, and laws crafted by the Brahmins showed a way of life. Though all of them are distinct in nature, all modern jurisprudence is the amalgamation of these three. But this was not the case for several centuries subsequent to the framing of the aforesaid legal systems, where kings and rulers each had their own ambition and way of ruling. Let’s delve deeper into the jurisprudence that shaped the ancient empires ruled by the most ambitious men throughout history.

The Empires and the laws that shaped civilization:

Kings and Rulers like Hammurabi, Cyrus the Great, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Chandragupta Maurya, and Emperor Justinian I, among many others, shaped civilizations through their idea of justice, governance, and order. The developments in jurisprudence during their reigns are as follows:

Reign of Hammurabi: At the near end of the millennium, i.e. around 2017 BCE, the reign of the Ur Dynasty of Mesopotamia came to an end. This fall was a result of several factors, including invasion from the Elamites, an ancient civilization of modern-day Iran. Thereafter, without a dominant king, the rulers of different city-states fought each other for control over the territories for centuries. Literacy had widespread by then throughout Mesopotamia, and people were trading and settling disputes using contracts and written agreements. During this period of literacy, the Amorites arrived at Mesopotamia, nomadic herders from what are now Palestine and Syria. They established the famous city of Babylon and within it their own royal dynasty. Hammurabi, the prince of the royal dynasty of Babylon, decided to pursue his grand ambition after the death of his father in the year 1793 BCE and started waging wars against the Elamites and other distant rivals to conquer more territory. After conquering the whole of Mesopotamia, Hammurabi created laws that he declared would ensure justice for generations to come. That is how the famous Code of Hammurabi came into being. Under his reign, society was divided into three classes - the amelu (the elite), the mushkenu (free men), and ardu (slaves). The laws were presented in groups so that citizens could easily read what was required of them based on their class. His rule followed the philosophy of presumption of innocence; his Code is seen by many as an early form of a Constitution, and it also gave the citizens the ability to present evidence in their case. It is most famous for the “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” form of punishment. The impact of his Code was seen for the next 1500 years or so, where it was studied, copied, and heavily relied on for legal reasoning.

Cyrus the Great: The Blueprint for Human Rights?

A millennium after the fall of Hammurabi’s dynasty, i.e., in the year 538 BCE, Cyrus the Great, a Persian Ruler of the Achaemenid Empire, modern day Iran, parts of Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and regions in the Caucasus and Central Asia, conquered the city of Babylon. His rule was the first one to recognize the philosophy of Racial Equality. He passed an edict, famously known as the Edict of Restoration, which freed those he defeated from slavery as long as they obeyed the rules. This is also regarded by some as the first charter on Human Rights.

Alexander the Great: A Conqueror Without a Legal Code

Let's jump a couple of centuries and travel to ancient Greece and the kingdom of Macedon. After the death of his father, Philip the Second, Alexander the Third, also known as Alexander the Great, succeeded him in the year 336 BCE as King of Macedon. He was one of the few Conquerors who established one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. His empire stretched from Greece in the west to northwestern India in the east, encompassing the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia. The Kingdom of Macedon did not have any codified law. As most of his life, Alexander was busy conquering lands and expanding his empire, he did not bother to codify his laws. Jurisprudence in his vast empire was a mix of Macedonian law, Greek customs, and the legal systems of the conquered territories, with Alexander often acting as a judge and lawgiver. Macedonian kings were not answerable to the higher authority of the law when they violated it because there was no civil institution that could enforce the law on them: the mere existence of such a body would mean that it had more power and authority than the king. His reign is an appropriate example of the maxim “The King can do no wrong.”

The Great Mauryan Dynasty: Kautilya’s ‘Arthashastra’ and the Art of Governance

Chandragupta Maurya seized the throne of Magadha, modern-day Bihar, from the sons of King Mahapadma in the year 320 BCE and conquered a vast chunk of northern India, which led to the foundation of the Mauryan Empire. The Mauryan Empire lasted for 150 years. Chandragupta had asked his Chief Minister Kautilya to devise a plan on statecraft to administer his vast empire. Kautilya was the first one to define a “State” in his treatise Kautilya’s Arthashastra. According to him, a State is made up of 7 limbs- The King, the Ministers, the People and the Territory, Fortification, the Treasury, the Army, and the Allies. He made ministers a statutory requirement. In the Mauryan Empire King was the Sovereign Supreme; he was the supreme authority in military, judicial, legal, and executive matters. He was considered the greatest commander of the army, the chief justice of justice, the maker of laws, and the enforcer of religion. When there was a conflict between the scriptures and the king's justice (dharmanyaya), only the latter was considered as proof. The Ministers were tasked with assisting the King in carrying out his duties. Apart from the King, the Mauryan Empire saw two other types of courts of justice, which were i) Dharmasthiya and ii) Kantakasodhana. In modern terms, it could be equated to Civil and Criminal Courts. The punishments were very harsh. Common crimes carried monetary fines. The establishment of such courts was never seen before in India prior to this point.

The Byzantine Empire and Emperor Justinian

The Byzantine Empire was founded by Emperor Constantine in the year 330 AD and lasted for almost 1000 years. It was also known as the Eastern Roman Empire and was formed after the division of Rome. The territories of the Byzantine Empire continued to change throughout its history, but at one point it encompassed regions like Italy, Greece, the Balkans, the Levant, Asia Minor, and North Africa. The most remarkable achievement that was seen in the field of law was during the reign of Emperor Justinian I in the 6th Century, which saw the birth of Corpus Juris Civilis, i.e. Body of Civil Law. It was the first compilation of its kind which codified Civil laws for the citizens of the Byzantine Empire. He had set up a committee of legal scholars who consolidated existing legal texts and formulated a cohesive legal code that would provide clarity and consistency across the empire. The Corpus Juris Civilis still remains the cornerstone of legal systems across the world. The Napoleonic Code of France and the German Civil Code are extensively based on the Corpus Juris Civilis.

The Great Khan of the Mongols

Genghis Khan, often known as one of the most dominant emperors and a great conqueror, was the founder and first Khan of the Mongol Empire. He united most of the scattered Mongol tribes under his flag and conquered large parts of China and Central Asia. At its height, the Mongol Empire was the largest stretch of kingdom in history, stretching from the Sea of Japan to the Carpathian Mountains in central and eastern Europe. One would wonder how he managed so many scattered tribes, people of diverse religions, cultures who all had their different beliefs. How did he make them obey his rule? He had created a book of law known as Yassa, which was the combination of his will and tribal customs. The Yassa had three main goals: absolute loyalty to Genghis Khan, uniting the unruly nomadic clans, and delivering swift, merciless justice to wrongdoers. It wasn’t concerned with property—only people. No confession? No problem—unless you were caught red-handed, you were presumed innocent. And in a world where reading wasn’t a thing, a Mongol’s word was as good as a signed contract—breaking it was not an option. Though there is no copy of Yassa retrieved to date, it is presumed that these were the contents of Yassa.

Conclusion

Laws are often seen as rigid, bureaucratic structures, but history tells a far more fascinating story. Behind every legal system lies the vision of a ruler who sought to control, protect, or shape their empire in their own image. From Hammurabi’s stone-carved decrees to Justinian’s grand legal codex, from the ruthless justice of the Mongols to the philosophical governance of the Mauryans, law has never been just about rules—it has been about power, ambition, and legacy.

Think about it: without Cyrus the Great, would we have the first charter of human rights? Without Alexander’s vast empire, would cultures have blended so seamlessly under a shared legal framework? Without the Mauryan courts, would India have set the foundation for administrative governance? Even today, when you sign a contract, invoke your legal rights, or debate justice, you are carrying forward ideas that have been in motion for thousands of years.

The laws we follow today were once the grand experiments of conquerors, philosophers, and kings. And who knows? Maybe centuries from now, future scholars will look back at our time and marvel at the legal legacies we leave behind.

About the Author- Mulanshu D. Vora is a Final Year Law student at KC Law College, Mumbai

References

1. The Rule of Law: A 4000–Year Quest to Order the World by Fernanda Pirie.

2. Royal Power, Law and Justice in Ancient Macedonia by Joseph Roisman

3. https://law.uok.edu.in/Files/5ce6c765-c013-446c-b6ac-b9de496f8751/Custom/jurisprudence-Unit-I.pdf

4. https://shrikanth-hebbar.medium.com/rise-and-fall-of-ancient-dynasties-byzantine-empire-382f796f555e

5. https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4104&context=ndlr

6. https://www.unitedforhumanrights.in/what-are-human-rights/brief-history/#:~:text=He%20freed%20the%20slaves%2C%20declared,Akkadian%20language%20with%20cuneiform%20script.