Ancient Law and Ancient Society

Roman Empire 

Law and order in ancient Roman Empire had no centralized structure of enforcement. During his reign however, Augustus constituted the “urban cohorts” a police unit that was supposed to work alongside the Praetorian Guard. The Praetorian Guard was an elite taskforce mainly tasked with guarding the high ranking individuals such as the emperor and governors (Fuhrmann, 2012) . The urban cohorts were tasked with stopping of riots, among other heavy policing duties which could not be handled by the vigils who were regular police tasked with policing the streets, fire fighting among other light duties. The urban prefect was the commander of the urban cohorts, and was an office which had been established long before the creation of the Roman Empire by the Roman kings (Fuhrmann, 2012) . However, the roman soldiers and the people played the biggest role in maintaining law and order within the non-urban parts of the empire. 

The legal system was intertwined with the political system. During the kingdom era, no formal laws existed. The law of the twelve tables, however, later came into force handling matters that pertain to court and trial procedures, debt, possession, crimes and rights, land, among numerous other areas (Fuhrmann, 2012) . The judicial system was undefined, and judges were often male Roman civilians whom the disputing parties had mutually chosen to arbitrate their issue. 

Greek Empire 

The formal legal system in ancient Greece can be traced to the Draconian law code. Before the draconian law code, the people often took the law into their own hands and handled disputes as they saw fit, resulting to numerous conflicts and blood feuds (Kehoe & McGinn, 2017) . Draconian law dealt with such issues as homicides and was known for its harshness, which is why Solon sought to bring reforms to it. Greek legal systems are often compared to the Romans’ due to their similarities (Kehoe & McGinn, 2017) . The Twelve Tables system used by the Roman Empire was, in fact, drawn from Greek philosophy. 

In ancient Greece, slaves were often used to police the streets and to apprehend robbers and thieves. They would also control crowds and maintain order during public meetings (Kehoe & McGinn, 2017) . Foreign slaves were often used for this purpose as it was undesirable to use Greek citizens. For instance, policing in Athens was carried out by 300 Scythian slaves. 

Asia 

Before Tokugawa Iyeasu Unified Japan in the 15 th century, there were no systems for maintenance of law and order and individuals and groups were often responsible for their own security (Cunningham, 2004) . After Japans’ Unification, the samurai warriors took up the role of internal security, where they had previously been trained to protect Japan from external enemies (Cunningham, 2004) . The Tokugawa Shogunate also established an administrative system, as well as a legal system with a universal code of conduct. 

The Chinese legal system was based on Confucianism and legalism and consisted of a moral code. The Chinese laws were enforced using a system consisting of harsh punishments for crimes. Public whipping was common for minor crimes, while decapitation, exile and torture was allowed for major crimes (Wong, 2009) . Major disputes were decided by magistrates while minor disputes were left to local elders. Magistrates generally had the power to mete whatever punishment they saw fit based on their judgment. The Chinese legal system was characterized by communist principles which emphasized on imposing general responsibility to the citizens to remain peaceful (Wong, 2009) . The people were decided into groups consisting of families or clans in which members were to ensure that they watch each other’s behavior. Crimes of one member often resulted to shared punishments imposed on all members of the unit. 

Middle Ages 

In the middle ages, English law and order was characterized by harsh punishments which were designed to deter criminals from committing crimes. Communities were divided into groups of ten, referred to as the tithing system (Musson, 2001) . In this system, if a member of a tithing committed a crime, the other members were obligated to be present to judge and witness judgment (Janin, 2004) . There was a law that governed the land, which mainly consisted of decrees given by the kings. When one broke the maw in medieval England, they were tried at the Kings court or by a jury (Musson, 2001) . Other types of trials also existed, such as trial by water, trial by fire and trial by combat, none of which had any legal basis. A constable was the leader of the tithing system. 

Given the inadequacy of security offered by the Spanish kingship, bands of armed militia named holy brotherhoods were formed (Turner & Butler, 2014) . These brotherhoods were often employed to guard sections of land or valuable property against bandits and thieves. Two towns would collaborate in ensuring that the roads between them were guarded (Janin, 2004) . The brotherhoods were also often used by politicians to facilitate their political agendas. Even after the adoption of the Holy Brotherhood as the formal national police force after the War of the Castilian Succession, small brotherhoods still remained and functioned as local police forces, guarding different neighborhoods. 

Policing responsibilities in France were handled by the Constabulary and the Marshalcy (Roth, 2001) . These law enforcement mechanisms drew their names from their heads, who were the Constable of France and the Marshall of France, known as the Great Officers of the Crown of France (Turner & Butler, 2014) . King Francis I merged the two during his reign (Janin, 2004) . The middle ages were generally characterized by decentralized and community based policing whereby bands of armed men would often come together for a common goal (Turner & Butler, 2014) . Bounty hunters or thief-takers were also common during this era. 

British Empire 

Constables had long been in operation in the British policing system, although the post was generally voluntary and unpaid. From the 16 th century, night watchmen became popular. The first police force was formed in the 18 th century, known as the River Police, in order to guard cargo at the London port which had become the country’s busiest port (Hay & Craven, 2004) . Police force evolved steadily into the 19 th century at a time when people were against the idea of law enforcement because they were afraid the police would abuse their power (Roth, 2001) . The police steadily grew more equipped and organized in the 20 th century. The scope of duties was also expanded to include investigation of crimes. 

In the extension of British Rule to outside colonies especially African and Indian ones, Governors were usually appointed to head a region. Under these governors, a police system was established to replace the local systems that exist in the place of interest and colonize their inhabitants (Hay & Craven, 2004) . This, in effect, means that in most places, components such as court systems were absent. Local laws systems such as local tribal elders and chiefs were separated from the British system which sought to introduce a universal law of the land. Such concepts as legal representation and appeals were non-existent. Under the governor was an elaborate administrative and police system whereby a judicial system was also introduced. 

References Top of Form 

Cunningham, D. (2004).  Taiho-Jutsu: Law and Order in the Age of the Samurai . New York: Tuttle Pub. Bottom of Form 

Fuhrmann, C. J. (2012).  Policing the Roman Empire: Soldiers, administration, and public order . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Top of Form 

Hay, D., & Craven, P. (2004).  Masters, servants, and magistrates in Britain and the Empire, 1562-1955 . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Top of Form 

Janin, H. (2004).  Medieval justice: Cases and laws in France, England, and Germany: 500-1500 . Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co. Top of Form 

Kehoe, D. P., & McGinn, T. (2017).  Ancient law, ancient society . Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Bottom of Form 

Top of Form Musson, A. (2001).  Public order and law enforcement: Local administration of criminal justice, 1294-1350 . Woodbridge: Boydell Press. Bottom of FormBottom of FormTop of Form 

Roth, M. P. (2001).  Historical dictionary of law enforcement . Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. 

Turner, W. J., & Butler, S. M. (2014).  Medicine and the law in the Middle Ages . Leiden; Boston: Brill Top of Form 

Wong, K. C. (2009).  Chinese policing: History and reform . New York: Peter Lang.