Photograph from Prof. Albert T. Clay 

 A DEED OF TRANSFER OE A CULTIVATED ESTATE, WRITTEN 2,100 YEARS AGO 



While no proof has come to us that Babylonia and Assyria had a Wall Street, there is 

 much evidence in the contract literature that the men and women loved to speculate in those 

 days just as much as they do in modern times. A great many tablets have been unearthed, 

 which show that partnerships were formed for the purpose of buying wheat and other grains 

 before they were harvested for future delivery. While there is nothing to indicate that these 

 purchases were on "margins," }^et the advanced stage of civilization shown by many of the 

 laws might well lead to the belief that "margins" as well as "futures" were known in ancient 

 Mesopotamia. 



als took place usually when the parties 

 were young, and as a rule the engage- 

 ments were made by the parents. If the 

 father died before all the sons were mar- 

 ried, when the estate was divided the 

 sums needed for those not having wives 

 were deducted before the distribution 

 was made. 



MARRIAGE CONTRACTS REQUIRED 



A marriage contract was necessary to 

 make a marriage legal. In some of them 

 peculiar conditions were made, such as 

 the bride being required to wait upon the 

 mother-in-law, or even upon another 



wife. If it was stipulated that the man 

 should not take a second wife, the woman 

 could secure a divorce in case her hus- 

 band broke the agreement. 



Concubinage, as in the case of Abra- 

 ham, was indulged in, especially when the 

 wife was childless and she had not given 

 him a slave maid that he might have chil- 

 dren. The law fully determined the status 

 of the concubine and protected her rights. 



At the husband's death the wife re- 

 ceived her marriage portion and what 

 was deeded to her during the husband's 

 life. If he had not given her during his 

 life a portion of the estate, she received 



181 



