Law of Contracts in Late Antique Persia

Abstract

The article is about private law contracts and their social, economic, and religious background in Sasanian Persia (224–651) before the advent of Islam. After a brief introduction to the sources and research method, the paper examines Zoroastrian moral teachings about obligations in general and contractual obligations in particular. To emphasise the religious background, the Avestan hymn to Mithra and the Vendidad are scrutinised which have a classification of contracts and a pyramid of sanctions for their breach. The second part of the article analyses private law contracts, which can be found in the Sasanian Law Book called Madigan I Hazar Dadestan, such as sale, barter, donation, lease, and loan, together with legal guarantees such as surety and pledge. In addition to legal dogmatics, attention is also paid to gaps in the law and the opportunities they provide for parties to achieve unlawful ends with legal means, as well as the prudence of Sasanian lawyers and how they stopped such abuses of the law.