Divorce and its consequences in ancient Iraqi society

Abstract

The Divorce in ancient Iraqi society is part of the personal status that was legally legislated in most ancient Iraqi laws because of its importance in evaluating family structure in Mesopotamian society. The Sumerians expressed divorce with the term (tag4), which means abandonment, while the Akkadian-Babylonian expressed it with the term (uzubbu). Or uzubbum) and this term is derived from the verb root (ezebu), which gives the same meaning. Divorce had several legal procedures regulating the process of separation between a man and a woman, including oral procedures without documentation on clay tablets and others procedures written on those tablets. The Babylonians used a number of phrases or Actions that indicate the husband’s desire to separate from his wife, and among these phrases are “You are not my wife,” as the divorce occurred after the man most of the time. If the wife filed for divorce from her husband, her rights would be forfeited and she would leave empty-handed. Old Iraqi laws required both parties to bring witnesses when the divorce occurred between them. Document this, and it is preferable for the witnesses to include a priest or priestess. This is because the status of priests in ancient Iraqi society was high and important, and there are two types of divorce in ancient Iraq. The first type is unfair divorce, in which the husband divorces his wife without a legitimate excuse, and in this type he is required to give the wife her full rights, and even some ancient Iraqi laws Severe penalties were imposed on the husband in such cases, but the Assyrian laws did not impose anything on the man, and thus the man became unrestrained and had priority in the matter of divorce. As for the second type, it is fair or just divorce, and in this type there must be a convincing reason for the divorce to occur, and he was not neglected. The ancient Iraqi legislator recognized the rights of children after divorce and even established legislation to guarantee their rights.