Education and development of the Arab Caliphate

Statehood among the Arabs (self-name - al-arab) originated and developed on the Arabian Peninsula. In the 6th century, Arabia was a series of independent pre-feudal states. The Arabian tribes were divided into South Arab (Yemenite) and North Arab.

In western Arabia, Mecca became the most important city - an important crossroads of caravan routes from Yemen to Syria, which flourished due to transit trade. There was a pan-Arab temple here - Kaaba(“cube”, because it looked like a cube).

The process of feudalization in Arabia was especially evident in the 6th century. and affected city-states, particularly Mecca. Movement appears Hanifs, recognizing one God, influenced by Christianity and Judaism. The most active follower of Hanifism was Muhammad (lit. "praised"), in European transcription Magomed (about 570-632). He was born in Mecca and came from a family Hashim tribe Koreishites. He was orphaned early, worked as a shepherd, accompanied trade caravans, and became rich by marrying a rich widow. A “revelation descended” on Muhammad, and around 610 he preached a new religion - Islam (“surrender to God”, “submission”). He opposed polytheism and for the establishment of the cult of a single god Allah(from "ilah"– deity, with the addition of a certain member "al", or from Aramaic " of Allah" - God). It was proclaimed that the Arabs would be led by a prophet - “the messenger of Allah on earth.” Muhammad advocated social justice and against tribalism. This caused persecution against him by the tribal elite of the Koreish, therefore in 622 Muhammad and his followers - muhajirs(from Arab. hajira- “to move”) flees from Mecca to Yathrib, where he led the Muslim community. Year of relocation – hijra in 622 under Caliph Omar I (between 637 and 639) it began to be considered the beginning of the Muslim chronology.

In the new place, Muhammad’s sermons fell on prepared ground, and the city of Yathrib received the name Medina, i.e. “city of the prophet.” The new religion reflected the peculiarities of Arabian socio-economic development, with strong remnants of tribal relations and pastoralism. Islam interprets that religious power is the basis of secular power and is inseparable from it.

Muhammad built the Muslim community in the form of a religious-military organization, which very quickly turned into a political force and became the center of the unification of Arabia into a single state.

In 630, most of Arabia recognized the power of Muhammad and at the same time he was proclaimed the Prophet and head of Arabia. In the state created by Muhammad, he becomes the spiritual, military leader and supreme judge.

Successors of Muhammad caliphs (“deputies”, “vicars”) continued the unifying policy of the Prophet and subjugated Palestine, Syria and Egypt to their rule, undertaking successful campaigns in Iran, Byzantium, Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Spain. The first four caliphs, called “righteous,” were especially successful in this. As a result of such conquests, a huge feudal, relatively centralized state is formed - the Arab Caliphate.

The history of the Arab Caliphate is divided into three periods based on the names of the dynasties and the location of the capitals: the Meccan period (622-661) - the reign of Muhammad and his relatives; Damascus (661-750) – Umayyad rule (from the founder of Omoya); Baghdad (750-1258) - the reign of the Abbasid dynasty (from Abbas - Muhammad's uncle).

Further feudalization social order caliphate strengthens the power of large feudal lords and governors of the caliphs - emirs(“overlords”) who turn into independent rulers. This leads to the gradual collapse of the state. For example, in the 10th century. On the Iberian Peninsula (in the south of modern Spain), the Cordoba Caliphate is formed, which in 1031 breaks up into many small emirates. The sultanates of North Africa become independent. Many conquered countries are also liberated from the power of the caliphs. The destruction of the Asian possessions of the Arabs finally occurs as a result of the Mongol conquest. For several centuries, the power of the dynasty of sultans (Mamluks) remained only in Egypt and Syria, but at the beginning of the 16th century. and they ceased to exist under the blows of the Ottoman Turks and entered their empire.

Social order

Arab feudal society had its own characteristics. In particular, a class system was not established there, as in European countries. Nevertheless, the caliphs and feudal lords constituted the ruling class, and, above all, it included numerous relatives of the Prophet and the caliphs, tribal leaders, local nobility, spiritual hierarchs, as well as major dignitaries and military officials. The descendants of Muhammad, the sherifs and seids, enjoyed a special privilege. One of their differences was wearing a green turban. The most noble clans had special elders who kept clan lists and ensured that members of the clan did not violate their dignity.

More attention has been paid to the religious differences between Muslims and non-Muslims. The adherents of Christianity and Judaism were called dhimmias and differed by law from both Muslims and pagans. The dhimmiyah enjoyed autonomy, were governed by their own civil customs, and were even governed by their own elected elders. However, they were responsible for their crimes and misdeeds according to Sharia, and their transactions with Muslims were regulated by the same law.

During the initial campaigns of conquest, Muslims treated the conquered more or less tolerantly, however, subsequently their humiliated position worsened. Dhimmiyas had no right to marry Muslims or have Muslim slaves. Their difference from the faithful was the wearing of special clothing; they were forbidden to ride horses, but only on donkeys and mules. They paid a heavy land tax and a poll tax. Their responsibility was to supply the Arab army with food. There were also some other restrictions.

The peasantry was divided into numerous ethnic groups. Arab peasants had a number of privileges, in particular they did not pay some taxes. The conquered peasants experienced heavy oppression, paying regularly increasing taxes, natural and monetary levies, and in some regions they began to attach themselves to the land.

The urban population consisted of merchants, small traders, artisans and day laborers. Cities developed rapidly, becoming centers of crafts and trade. Trade turnover within the country and in foreign trade is expanding. However, neither the city nor the townspeople had any special status (freedoms and privileges).

Muslims continued to maintain slavery. By law, slaves were not considered a subject of law, but in practice there were a number of deviations from this. For example, with the permission of the master, they could engage in trade and craft, and enter into agreements with free people. The liberation of slaves, especially Muslim slaves, was considered a godly deed for a Muslim.

Political system

The political system at the beginning of the existence of the caliphate was very different from the caliphate during its heyday and then collapse.

The caliphate was a feudal-theocratic state headed by a caliph - the successor of the Prophet and the “vicar” of Allah on earth. The "representative" of god had spiritual power ( immat) and secular ( emirate).

The power of the caliph was acquired by election (by the Muslim nobility) or by testamentary disposition of the caliph. The second method is gradually becoming common.

To occupy the position of caliph, certain prerequisites were required: the candidate must come from the family of the caliph or from the same family as Muhammad; be of legal age and free of charge; have a certain degree of education and be without physical defects, as well as have known moral qualities.

The functions of the caliph were extensive and actually approached the power of eastern despots: head of state, supreme judge, commander-in-chief of the army, protection of internal security, collection of taxes, appointment of officials, etc. His main function was to preserve the purity of the teachings of Islam and the preservation of religious rituals.

However, in practice, only some caliphs from the Umayyad dynasty had unlimited power. With the collapse of the caliphate and the replacement of the tribal militia by the hired guard of the Mamluks, the power of the caliph becomes illusory, and they turn into hostages of their guard.

According to the teachings of Muslim jurists, the power of the caliph ends with death, renunciation of power, or physical or moral incapacity of the ruler.

Under the Abbasids, the system of government bodies changed radically. The old system is being replaced by a new one, borrowed from Iran. The closest assistant to the caliph and the second person in the state becomes vizier , who was initially the senior head of the caliph's office, and then headed the state apparatus. Viziers could be of two kinds: with very broad power and with limited, narrowed power. The vizier of the first kind independently ruled the state on behalf of the caliph, only giving an account to him of his actions. The vizier of the second kind only carried out the orders of the caliph.

Other important officials of the caliphate were those who supervised other officials; chief of police; chief of bodyguards; postmaster. The post office in the caliphate, in addition to its direct duties, was mostly engaged in collecting various information for the caliph with the help of an extensive bureaucratic apparatus, and performed the functions of the secret police.

Under Caliph Omar (644-656), central governing bodies emerged. He decided to keep four books, following the example of Iran, containing the most important state information. For this purpose, special offices are established - sofas (from Persian “state office”, “public place”). At the head of the sofas stood sahibs, divided into three ranks.

The following first divans arose: a military affairs divan for storing books about the persons who were part of the standing army, and indicating the salaries they received; internal affairs, containing financial and statistical information; a divan of officials with their lists and indicating their salaries; the sofa of finance or internal affairs concentrated information on all types of taxes and their revenues. As public administration becomes more complex, the number of sofas is growing.

The territory of the state was divided into provinces, which, as a rule, corresponded to the conquests of the caliphate, and into regions. There were two types of local rulers who bore different names: emirs, valii, hakims and doli. The most common name is emir (lit. "lord") The caliphs appointed them at their discretion from the bureaucracy, but sometimes they were appointed from representatives of the conquered nobility and those who had previously been local rulers. The power of the emirs also varied; sometimes they were assigned to perform only some duties. The emirs had assistants - naibs.

As the feudal disintegration of the caliphate began, the power of the emirs began to increase, gradually becoming independent. A number of dynasties of emirs arose, and their representatives began to bear more sonorous titles - Shahinshahs(lit. “kings of kings”).

In the provincial administration there were also - Amir- commander of regional troops, and amyl, who was mainly engaged in collecting taxes. Each region had its own representative office in the capital in the form of a corresponding divan.

Smaller administrative units were governed by custom. At the head of cities and villages were various officials, who in Arabia were called elders - sheikhs.

Financial device also had some peculiarities. Muslim law provided for the following taxes: 1) zekat - a forced tax for the benefit of the poor, collected by special persons ( amylami). Tax was paid by every free adult Muslim who owned a certain amount of property during the year; 2) Kharaj – land tax on lands conquered by Muslims from infidels and which became the inalienable property of the caliphate; 3) ushriy , tax paid on lands owned by Muslims ( milk or mulk); 4) jizet - tax paid by non-Muslims.

Muslim law

A feature of Muslim law was its close connection with religious and moral norms, regulations and guidelines. Another feature was the strict need for Muslims, wherever they are, in whatever country they live, to be sacredly guided exclusively by Muslim law.

Muslim law took shape within the framework of the Arab Caliphate and was closely intertwined with the development of this statehood from the beginning of its formation in the 7th century. and until its highest development in the VIII-X centuries.

From the beginning of its existence, Muslim law was exclusively confessional law related to the faith of Islam and its religious and moral ideas and views.

The main source of Islamic law is Koran (beech. "reading") - the main holy book of the faithful, a collection of stories, teachings, rules, laws, communicated to Muhammad by Allah through the Archangel Gabriel, or the sayings and provisions of Muhammad himself. Muslims called him sharia - legislator, that’s why the entire system of Islamic law is called Sharia. These "revelations from God" were written down by the followers of Muhammad, and the compilation of the Koran spanned several decades. Its final revision took place under Caliph Omar. The Qur'an is divided into 114 chapters ( sur), which consist of different numbers (from 3 to 286) ayats - poems. There are 6,225 of them in the Koran. The vast majority of the Koran consists of theological and mythological subjects. Only 500 verses are devoted to issues of law, while only 80 can be directly attributed to law.

Most of the verses of the Qur'an are of a casual nature, the Prophet's interpretation of specific cases, and many of them are of an uncertain nature, which is why they were subsequently interpreted by theologians and jurists in forensic theological practice.

From the end of the 7th century. under Caliph Ali, an addition to the Koran appears - Sunnah (Arabic “custom”, “behavior”, “mode of action”) - a sacred tradition set out in stories ( hadith), sayings and actions of Muhammad. This second source of faith and religious law after the Koran finally emerged in the 9th century. in the form of six orthodox canonical collections. The Sunnah contains “sacred traditions” about the decisions, decrees and instructions of the Prophet, preserved in the memory of his disciples and passed down from generation to generation orally.

As Arab society developed, it became clear that there were gaps in the Koran and Sunnah, and these holy books did not provide answers to many vital questions that arose. This is how the third source of Sharia appears - Ijma (“general agreement of the Muslim community”), formed from the concurring opinions of the Prophet’s companions and influential Muslim theologians and jurists on religious and legal issues (imams, muftis).

The fourth source of Islamic law includes fatwa (“opinion”, “decision”) - a written decision and opinion (in the form of questions and answers) of the muftis on legal, political and other issues. Among these muftis-lawyers, the first four caliphs enjoyed special authority: Abu Hanif (702-772), Ibn Anas (716-780), al-Shafi (772-826) and Hanibal (786-863). G.). They are considered the founders of the most important schools of Islamic law. The works of lawyers are divided into three types: usul - a treatise on the basic principles of Sharia; sanaan- a collection of traditions and rules for applying laws to issues not covered in the Koran, and fatwa– a collection of court decisions.

Kiyas is also one of the sources of Islamic law. This is the solution of dubious legal cases by analogy. Qiyas allowed the use of legal customs. The doctrine of Qiyas was systematized in the 8th century. lawyer Abu Hanif. It was further developed by his followers, the Hanifites. This source of Islamic law is the most controversial, and, in particular, it is not recognized by Shiites.

Along with the law (“ ball") an additional source of Muslim law were customs: urf, which have developed in Muslim society itself, and adat- a custom among the peoples conquered by the Arabs.

Finally, the source of Islamic law includes firmans - decrees and orders of the caliphs. Subsequently in other Muslim countries laws began to be considered as a source of law - eves . Both of these “newest” sources of Sharia should not have contradicted the principles of Islamic law. They mainly regulated the activities of state authorities and their relations with Muslims.

Muslim law is set out according to a completely different system than Roman or Western European law.

Ownership. Things were divided into property belonging to Muslims and things withdrawn from civil circulation. The latter included air, sea, desert, mosques, etc. There was the concept of “unclean things” (wine, pork), or those that did not benefit Muslims (books that contradicted Islam, images of gods).

Law distinguished property ( milk) from possession. Muslim law also knows the concept of possession without any legal basis, e.g. capture. Such possession should never have been defended or restored.

Property consisted of the right to unlimited disposal and use of its fruits.

The issue of land ownership has been developed in detail. It was based on the theory that the earth is God's property. The right to dispose of property belonged only to the caliph, who could transfer the land to private individuals with the obligation to pay a tax. According to this theory, land conquered from the enemy was inviolable for private owners and was used for the benefit of the entire Muslim society. Conquered lands could be transferred to private individuals only on the right of use, but not on the right of ownership.

Lands were divided into state-owned, privately owned, abandoned lands, and lands unsuitable for cultivation.

Hijaz - holy land, part of the Arabian Peninsula in which Muhammad lived. It consisted of two parts: the city of Mecca with its region and the rest of the Hijaz. The lands of Mecca were dedicated to God; infidels could not settle here; no animal should be killed there by hunting; no tree or plant that grew naturally could be damaged or dug up. Residents of this area paid tithes. In the rest of the Hejaz, infidels were not allowed to live more than three days in one place; dead non-Muslims were prohibited from being buried on this land.

Lands conquered as a result of the “holy war” (waqf) became the property of the state. The vanquished were forced to enter into an agreement with the Muslims with the renunciation of ownership of their former land, but it could be transferred to them with the condition of paying a tax - Kharaj. The tax was levied depending on income and in a fixed amount.

The right to land, called mulk (“possession”), approached the right of ownership. These included lands whose owners converted to Islam after the conquest; lands conquered by Muslims and transferred to the winner due to the murder or flight of the former owner; lands, unoccupied by anyone, irrigated and cultivated by Muslims.

Subsequently, other types of land holdings arose, for example the system icts – lands seized and transferred to feudal lords for military or government service. Gradually they began to be inherited. Owners of iqts received the right to collect land taxes from peasants.

Arab rulers also gave lands on a special right, the so-called “waqf law” (the term of Russian lawyers). They were transferred by the feudal lord for charitable purposes to mosques, religious schools (madrassas), cemeteries, mazarats (tombs of saints), hotels and shelters. Such land was withdrawn from circulation, neither mortgaged nor donated.

Law of obligations . Obligations were divided into unconditional and time-dependent obligations; obligations in which one or more persons were interested; simple and alternative; divisible and indivisible; unilateral and multilateral.

Obligations differed from causing harm ( madarrat) and from the contract. Persons who intentionally or negligently caused harm were forced to compensate for the damage. By negligence, the law understood both carelessness and inexperience of a person.

A feature of Muslim law of obligations was that it recognized unilateral statements, so-called vows, which were mainly of a religious nature and confirmed by an oath. Failure to fulfill a vow was punished by an expiatory sacrifice, for example, buying a Muslim slave and setting him free.

Muslim law mainly governs obligations from the contract. Transactions were concluded in written and oral form. For its validity, the presence of at least two witnesses on both sides was required; voluntary consent to conclude a transaction; subject of the contract. The agreement was allowed to be concluded by persons with legal capacity. Those considered incompetent were minors, the insane, bankrupts, slaves (if they did not receive permission from their owners), the sick (they could only dispose of 1/3 of their property), and those who were unfaithful in relation to certain contracts, for example, to acquire ownership of land or Muslim slaves.

Contracts concluded through deception, coercion, with an immoral purpose, or with things withdrawn from circulation were considered invalid. According to the system of contracts, transactions were distinguished with the goal of giving something in order to receive an equivalent, and all other contracts.

Contracts of the first type include barter, exchange of money, settlement, rental, delivery, loan, marriage. All of them were concluded, like the purchase and sale agreement, through an offer by one party and acceptance by the other. This was followed by the transfer of the item. If the transfer of money and goods did not take place within three days, the transaction was considered invalid.

According to the loan agreement, it was forbidden to turn an unpaid debtor into slavery, but it was allowed to force the debtor to work off the debt.

The second type of agreements included a pledge agreement, a debt transfer agreement, a surety agreement, a power of attorney agreement, a loan, a partnership agreement, a gift agreement, and deposits.

Marriage and family. Marriage was considered a contract in the form of a trade transaction in which the woman does not participate, but is the subject of the contract. At the time of marriage, the woman had to present her guardian (velia).

Muslim law knows three types of marriage: permanent, temporary and marriage with a slave. The first could only be concluded with four wives, to each of whom the groom was obliged to assign special property and, if he refused to enter into marriage, he lost half of it. Each wife had to be provided with maintenance, separate room and a separate servant.

Obstacles to marriage are considered to be blood relationship, relationship by nurse, property, and idolatry.

The marriage contract was preceded by religious ceremonies. The marriage was performed in writing by a judge ( cadium) and was certified by two male witnesses.

The law regulates the marriage life of spouses in great detail, delving into all its details. For example, what means were allowed to be used to decorate the body. The wife was obliged to run the household and raise children. The husband had the right to subject his wife to corporal punishment.

Temporary marriage allowed only among the Shiites, one of the branches of Islam. When concluding it, it was required to indicate the period for which the marriage was concluded. Children born in such a marriage are considered legitimate and participate in the father's inheritance. After the death of her husband, the wife was deprived of her inheritance.

Marriage with slaves allowed to poor people who could not support wives of free origin. The children from this marriage were recognized as legitimate, and the slave wife, who did not receive freedom during her husband’s lifetime, received it after his death.

Divorce, for the most part, depended on the will of the husband, and he was not obliged to explain to his wife the reasons for the divorce and only had to pay the wife he left behind a certain amount. This freedom of divorce was called talaq.

Sharia knows four types of divorce: 1) the wife’s purchase of a divorce; 2) termination by a judge at the request of the wife, if the husband does not fulfill his financial obligations, has physical disabilities, is not in a marital relationship with her, or due to cruel treatment; 3) the release of the wife; 4) divorce due to mutual curse ( liana), which is pronounced by the husband before the judge when he believed that the child was not born from him. For her part, the wife could deny such an accusation under oath. The marriage was then completely dissolved.

Concerning inheritance law, then Sharia knew inheritance by law and by will. Inheritance was one of the ways to acquire only the rights of the deceased.

For the validity of a will, it was required that the testator be an adult, of sound mind, have the right to dispose of himself and property, and that the heir should not belong to the legal heirs. The will could be in written or oral form. To recognize a will as valid, two pious witnesses were required. The testator could transfer only 1/3 of his property.

The right of inheritance was granted to male persons: sons, grandchildren, father, grandfather, brother, paternal half-brother, maternal half-brother, nephew, paternal half-nephew, cousin, paternal half-cousin, spouse. As for women, daughters, granddaughters, mother, maternal and paternal grandmothers, sister, paternal half-sister, maternal half-sister, and spouse were allowed to inherit.

Infidels could not inherit in relation to the property of a Muslim (as well as Muslims in the property of an infidel), those guilty of the death of the testator, divorcees and slaves.

Each heir had the right to a specific share of the inheritance, which was proportionally reduced if there were other heirs. For example, if the deceased wife had no children, grandchildren or granddaughters in the male line, the husband received half of her inheritance; for children - a quarter of the inheritance.

Criminal law considered the most poorly developed part of Sharia. For example, blood feud is allowed. The doctrine of crime is not developed: there is no concept of relapse, there is no elementary doctrine of complicity, and concealers and connivers are not considered accomplices in the crime. There were no concepts of mitigating or aggravating circumstances.

Crime, firstly, meant violent actions against persons - murder, injury (punishable by equal retribution or payment of a ransom). Secondly, actions for which punishment was prescribed in the Koran ( hadd). Thirdly, actions for which no punishment was established, but they violated the orders of the authorities.

According to Sharia law, a murderer or a person who mortally wounded another was supposed to be killed unless the immediate relatives of the murdered person agreed to a monetary ransom.

If the murder was committed without intent or a fatal injury occurred, then the perpetrator was obliged to set the Muslim slave free or fast for two months and, in addition, pay a ransom to the relatives of the murdered man, which could be spread over three years.

Murder or wounding was not subject to punishment when it occurred in defense of oneself, one's property or the life and property of another person. Thus, the killer of a night thief was not punished at the crime scene unless he was a minor or insane.

A free man who killed another's slave was subject to blood feud, but only when the murder occurred intentionally. In this case, the culprit had to pay the value of the slave. If a slave killed a free man, then his master gave the slave to the heirs of the murdered man, and in some cases the owner must pay a ransom.

The ransom was divided into heavy and light. The heavy one consisted of 100 camels and 16,000 dirhems, the light one - of 100 camels (80 females and 20 males) and 12,000 dirhems. A heavy ransom was required to be paid for killing on sacred ground or during the holy month, for killing a member of one's own family, or for killing a Muslim. For the murder of a woman, the ransom was imposed in the amount of half, for the murder of an infidel - in the amount of one third, for the murder of a pagan fire-worshipper, the ransom was imposed in the amount of 1/15.

The ransom was collected not only from the property of the criminal, but also from the property of blood and half-relatives and even comrades, with the condition that they belonged to some kind of corporation. The ransom was to be paid within three years.

In Sharia, for murder there was mutual responsibility for the residents of a village, neighborhood or house if they did not find the killer.

Blood feud was used when wounded with premeditated intentions, as well as against a Muslim for a wound inflicted on an infidel. It was not applied to a man for a wound inflicted on a woman, nor to a free man for a wound inflicted on a slave.

The ransom was charged in full for the deprivation of sense organs, both legs or ten fingers. For the deprivation of one arm or leg, the ransom was charged in half, for the deprivation of a finger - a tenth of the ransom, for the knocking out of a tooth - one twentieth.

The second type of crime includes those that could not be forgiven by the injured party: adultery (prescribed by stoning); drinking wine (40 strokes with a stick); theft (cutting off the right hand, and if repeated, cutting off the left hand); robbery (cutting off a hand), and for robbery murder - hanging or beheading; apostasy (disenfranchisement or death penalty); for participation in the rebellion the death penalty was imposed; Blasphemy was punished on the same basis as apostasy.

The third type of crime included vagrancy, flight from the battlefield, false accusation of any offense, and false testimony. The punishment was a simple admonition, lashing, a fine, and expulsion.

Judicial system

At the first stage of the caliphate, judicial functions were directly performed by Muhammad himself, then he began to transfer them to his governors, and even later the caliphs were vested with judicial power. Muslim legal scholars, who gradually turned into professional judges, began to play a major role in governorships. Under the Abbasids, the position of supreme judge was established, who selected and appointed them on behalf of the caliph. Justice remained in the hands of the clergy. Judge - cadi - was appointed caliph exclusively from adult Muslims with an impeccable lifestyle who knew Sharia and Arabic. The appointment indicated which region or city the judicial power of the qadi extended to. He could be appointed to resolve both special cases (for example, civil ones), not exceeding a known amount of the claim, and for a certain part of the region or city, or even for a specific time.

In difficult cases, the qadi was allowed to consult with lawyers, whose presence in court was considered desirable. The Qadi had the right to appoint assistants to himself - naibov. If the judge was a wealthy person, then he was not entitled to a salary for the performance of his functions.

The qadi was also entrusted with other matters: the appointment of guardianship and trusteeship; marriage of women without guardians; supervision of public roads, squares and buildings; monitoring the execution of spiritual wills, certification of wills, control over the division of inheritance, places of detention, checking the legality of land use, etc.

Muslim legal proceedings are characterized by the following features: legal proceedings in civil and criminal cases were carried out in the same way; there were no procedural forms for the qadi, with the exception of questions of evidence. The process was simple and uncomplicated and usually took place in a mosque. There were no prosecutors or lawyers. Judicial representation was allowed only in civil cases. Cases were resolved in one meeting and until the 8th century. without written records.

Judicial evidence included one's own confession, witness testimony, the discretion of the judge, an oath, rumors, and written documents. When testifying, as a rule, preference was given to a man, in particular in cases that provided for strictly defined penalties. In adulterous cases the testimony of four men was required; in other cases - two men. In less significant cases and disputes, the testimony of one man was sufficient, albeit with additional testimony of two women.

The trial was accusatory in nature. The plaintiff in criminal and civil cases was called the same - muddai, and the accused and the defendant – mudda aleiti.

If a crime was discovered, the qadi had no right to personally initiate a case until the plaintiff presented charges. The judge could not force payment of the debt until the creditor demanded it through the court.

The Arab Caliphate arose in the 7th century. in the southwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula as a result of the decomposition of the tribal system among the Arabs who inhabited this territory - settled farmers and nomads and their unification under the banner of the religion of Islam.

Before the formation of the Arab Caliphate, the vast majority of the population of Arabia were nomadic pastoralists who were at the stage of tribal relations. They inhabited vast spaces Arabian steppes and semi-deserts, known as “Badawi”. This word passed into European languages ​​in the form of Arabic plural- Bedouin. The Bedouins were engaged in cattle breeding, mainly camel breeding.

Each tribe (depending on its size and the size of the territory it occupied) consisted of a large or small number of clans and clans.

At the head of each tribe was its leader - the seyid (lord); in a time closer to us, they began to call him a sheikh.

Individual clans and large groups of nomads also had their own sayyids. In peacetime, the seiyid was in charge of migrations, chose a place for the camp, was a representative of his tribe and negotiated on its behalf with other tribes. If there was no judge in the tribe, he would sort out the disputes and lawsuits of his fellow tribesmen, in special cases could perform the duties of a minister religious cult. In raids and war, the Sayyid commanded the armed detachment of his tribe; then he was called rais (leader).

Each tribe, or even a large clan, was a completely independent organization, independent of anyone.

Muslim jurists developed a detailed doctrine of the methods of acquiring property rights. These included: conquest, discovery, transfer of a thing by the owner, inheritance, contract, etc.

The conquered lands were considered as the property of the state and were placed at the disposal of the caliphs and emirs. Other property seized by force from the enemy was divided into several parts. One of them became the property of the miner, the second was transferred to the state, the third - to mosques, madrassas, etc.

Sharia regulated a special category of things that could not be owned by a Muslim. This is the air, the sea, mosques, the desert, etc. The attitude towards the so-called “unclean things” (wine, pork, non-Islamic books, etc.), prohibited by the provisions of Islam, was also regulated. During wars of conquest, such items were often subjected to mass destruction.

The issue of land ownership is developed in detail in Islamic law. It is based on the theory that the land is the property of God, and the right to dispose of it belongs only to the caliph as his vicegerent. He can transfer land to private individuals with the obligation to pay taxes. Based on this theory, jurists believed that land conquered from the enemy was inviolable for private individuals and was used for the benefit of the entire Muslim society. Conquered lands can be transferred to an individual only on the basis of the right of use (even if eternal), but not the right of ownership.

Types of land holdings. Hijaz (holy land) is a part of the Arabian Peninsula, where, according to legend, Muhammad lived (the city of Mecca with its adjacent territory). It was forbidden for infidels to settle and live on this land for more than three days; it was forbidden to hunt, cut down trees, bury infidels, etc.

Ikta is a temporary grant of state land, together with the peasant population living on it, to individual representatives of the feudal elite for military and public service (corresponding to benefits). Owners of iqta were given the right to collect land taxes in their favor from the peasants inhabiting and cultivating their lands. Over time, iqta began to be inherited and, in fact, its position began to approach lands secured by private property rights (mulk).

Mulk - private land holdings. Since the rights of the owners of these land plots were very extensive, these lands actually belonged to them as private property. These lands included lands whose population converted to Islam after the conquest; lands conquered by Muslims and passed to the winners due to the fact that their previous owners were killed or fled; later - hereditary land grants to Arab military leaders and local aristocracy.

Waqf - grants of state, as well as private lands for any religious and charitable purposes to mosques and madrassas. They were not subject to sale or any alienation. No taxes were collected from the treasury. That is, it was one of the forms of conditional holding. A private individual who transferred land in this way for charitable purposes lost ownership of it, but retained the right to act as a waqf manager and reserve a certain income from the waqf for himself and his heirs.

Community lands. The size of communal lands after the Arab conquests decreased as a result of forcible seizure by the conquerors. Peasants were forced to cultivate state and private lands on sharecropping leases, thus falling into feudal dependence. Land was provided to peasants on the terms of payment of a quarter, sixth or eighth of the harvest, depending on who (the sharecropper or the landowner) owned the livestock, tools and seeds.

Law of obligations. The development of commodity-money relations in the Caliphate led to the widespread development of obligation relations, although their general concept was not formed. But practical issues of contract law have received comprehensive development. Obligations were divided into bilateral and unilateral, compensated and gratuitous, fixed-term and unlimited.

The sources of obligations were contracts, damage and unjust enrichment.

Being essentially an expression of the agreed will of the parties, the contract was recognized as concluded at the moment when the wills of the parties were agreed upon. The validity of a transaction under Islamic law is not subject to the condition of compliance with the formalities established by law: presentation in writing or participation of an official in the transaction.

A contract concluded with conditions that were immoral or contrary to the law was considered invalid. The obligation to honor one's contracts was considered sacred in the Qur'an.

Sharia law regulates in detail various types of contracts: purchase and sale, loan, gift, hire, loan, storage, union, partnership, etc. In connection with the development of trade, the most developed was the purchase and sale agreement.

For marital and family relations of Arabs during the 6th-7th centuries. characteristic was the presence of remnants of matriarchy and polyandry - polyandry.

The remnants of matriarchy were expressed in the fact that after getting married, a woman remained to live in her previous family, and her husband visited her from time to time. Children from such a marriage remained in their mother's tribe.

The remnants of polyandry consisted in the fact that a woman was married to several men (each of them lived with the woman for one month). Paternity in this case was established at the direction of the woman. The woman took the initiative for the divorce. To do this, she just had to turn the entrance of the tent in the opposite direction, and hand her husband a broadsword and a spear. Remnants of polyandry were expressed in the fact that among the Arabs temporary marriages were also common (for several months, days and even hours). Apparently, this was explained by the nomadic nature of life, the long absences of the husband accompanying the caravans.

IN Islamic era Among the Arabs, polygamy (polygamy) developed and dominance in the husband's family was established. The Koran allowed a devout Muslim to have up to four wives. But the husband was obliged to provide each wife with property, housing and clothing that would correspond to her position. In addition, it was allowed to have any number of concubine slaves.

The Muslim religion views marriage as a religious obligation for a Muslim. Marriage was formalized by a contract (oral or written) or an agreement between the parents of the bride and groom. Marriage age had no strict limits. It was believed that persons who had reached puberty could enter into marriage by consent.

A ransom was paid for the bride. According to the Koran, the ransom became the property of the wife and remained with her in the event of divorce.

During the pagan period, a dowry was not considered obligatory. However, after Muhammad gave his daughter Fatima a carpet and pillow as a dowry, this became mandatory. The Koran prohibits marriages between close relatives.

Divorce was relatively easy. The termination procedure was simple - it was enough to tell the wife three times in the presence of two witnesses: “you are free”, or “talaq” - “divorce”, after which the wife had to pack her things and leave the house. After the divorce, adult children remained with their father, and the mother could take the minors to complete feeding. There was a divorce by court. The reasons for divorce could be: death, apostasy of one of the spouses, absence of the husband for more than six months, mutual consent, violation of marital fidelity, initiative of the husband, failure to fulfill all the terms of the marriage contract, prolonged ill-treatment of the wife.

Inheritance law. In the pre-Islamic era, the Arabs had a rule: “Those who are not able to ride a horse and wield a sword should not receive an inheritance.” The Koran and Sharia have preserved this tradition. However, under Muhammad, under the influence of the customs of Mecca, a limited right of inheritance was allowed for women or relatives by birth. female line. A woman's share, as a rule, was half that of a man.

Islamic law provides for inheritance by law and inheritance by will. However, a will is considered as a secondary basis for inheritance. Characteristic feature rules on inheritance is a requirement for their absolutely exact implementation.

When inheriting by law, the grounds for opening an inheritance are: the death of the testator (actual or intended); apostasy.

From the property of the deceased, the expenses associated with his burial were first covered, then his debts were paid, and only after that the remaining property passed to the legal heirs. Legal heirs were divided into several categories. First of all, the children of the deceased inherited, then his brothers, uncles, etc.

A will under Islamic law is exempt from any strict formalities. It can be either written or oral. The presence of two witnesses is considered sufficient for the validity of the will.

Crimes and punishments. Criminal law was characterized by the archaic nature of its norms, there was no clear separation of legal norms from the religious and moral norms of Islam, there was no general concept of crime, such institutions as attempt, complicity, relapse, aggravating and mitigating circumstances were not developed.

Back in the Middle Ages, Muslim jurists divided all crimes into three groups.

The first group consisted of crimes derived from the main sources of Sharia and going back to Muhammad himself. Forgiveness was not applied to those who committed such a crime. These included apostasy from Islam, rebellion and resistance to state authority, which were punishable by death. This group also included theft, robbery, the punishment for which was cutting off right hand. In cases of adultery, as well as false accusations of adultery, the perpetrator was stoned to death. Drinking wine was punishable by 40 lashes.

The second group of crimes consisted of violent actions against persons. This group included intentional murder, reckless murder, intentional wounding, unintentional wounding, etc.

Intentional murder or mortal wounding permitted blood feud. If the relatives of the murdered person forgave the killer, Sharia provided for the possibility of replacing blood feud with a ransom. The ransom was too much for common man(100 camels and 1000 dinars in gold).

For manslaughter and involuntary wounding, only a ransom was due. For other crimes in this group, in particular bodily harm, the principle of talion (“an eye for an eye”) was applied. Killing a non-Muslim and a woman carried less responsibility.

The third group consisted of actions that were not considered criminal and were not mentioned in the main sources of Sharia. Such actions were vagrancy (violation of place of residence), false testimony, gambling, hooliganism. The punishment for them is a simple admonition, a fine, expulsion, etc.

An analysis of the norms of criminal law shows that punishments for crimes of the first and second groups were strictly fixed and severe. Punishments for the third group of crimes were varied and also had a punitive function. All punishments of Islamic law were typical of the Middle Ages and were designed to intimidate. Thus, the death penalty was carried out by hanging, quartering, drowning, and burying alive. Self-harm and corporal punishment included cutting off hands, scourging, and stoning. Disgraceful punishments were also common - shaving the beard, deprivation of the right to wear a turban; imprisonment; link and expulsion.

Trial. The process was, as a rule, accusatory in nature. The initiation of the case was usually carried out by the victim or his relatives. For some crimes (crimes against religion, adultery), a case could be brought by any devout Muslim.

When a crime against the social order involved causing damage to a private person, two claims were brought: criminal (brought by the judge) and civil (brought by the victim).

The process took place orally. It was only under the Abbasids that court records began to be kept in civil cases. The statute of limitations was established only for civil cases and was 10 years.

Under the Abbasids, a criminal police force, the shurta, was established on the Iranian model. The head of the shurta led the search and investigation of the murder, himself investigated these cases and applied the penalties established by law, thereby combining both police and judicial functions in one person.

The evidence was: one’s own confession (repeated four times at the court hearing), testimony (as a rule, the testimony of two eyewitnesses from among the “honorable” Muslims was considered sufficient). In cases of adultery, confirmation of four witnesses, always male, was required. Women's testimony was equal to half that of men. Sometimes, in the absence of evidence, the accused were sworn in.

If the killer was not discovered, the population of the area where the corpse was found was obliged to present 50 witnesses who swore an oath to the authorities that the killer was unknown to them. However, in this case, the local population was obliged to pay the relatives of the killed “the price of blood.” During robbery and robbery, a survey of the local population was used.

1. Arab Caliphate: emergence, social

and the political system, the main features of law... 3

2. The first French Constitution of 1791... 9

3. Main trends in state and legal development

USA and Modern Times... 13

Problem... 17

References… 18

1. Arab Caliphate: emergence, social and political system, main features of law

The Arab Caliphate (Arabic: خلافة إسلامية‎‎) is a theocratic Arab-Muslim state that arose as a result of Arab conquests in the 7th-9th centuries. and headed by caliphs.

The death of Muhammad raised the question of his successors as supreme leader of the Muslims. By this time, his closest relatives and associates (tribal and merchant nobility) had consolidated into a privileged group. From among her they began to choose new individual leaders of Muslims - caliphs (“deputies of the prophet”).

Under their leadership in the 7th-8th centuries. Huge territories were conquered, including the Near and Middle East, North Africa and some other areas. One of the important incentives for the movement of Arabs to new lands was the relative overpopulation of Arabia. The indigenous inhabitants of the conquered lands offered almost no resistance to the newcomers, since before that they were under the yoke of other states that mercilessly exploited them, and were not interested in protecting the old masters and their orders.

As a result, a new large state arose on the conquered lands - the Arab Caliphate. Arabia also became part of it.

Having given their new homeland a new religion, the Arabs received in return productive forces that were at a relatively high level development. Entering the areas ancient culture(Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt), they found themselves at the mercy of the deep social revolution unfolding here, the main direction of which was the formation of feudalism. Under the influence of this process, the decomposition of the primitive communal system among the Arabs quickly ended.

Arab feudalism, along with the main features common to the feudal society of any country, was characterized by important features.

The degree of development of feudalism in individual regions of the Caliphate was uneven. It was directly dependent on the level of their socio-economic development that preceded the conquest. If in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt feudalism reigned almost completely, then in most of Arabia significant remnants of the tribal system remained.

The state apparatus of the Caliphate was quite centralized. This was largely facilitated by the concentration in the hands of the head of state of a significant part of the country's land fund. The highest power - spiritual (imamate) and secular (emirate) - belonged to the caliph. The first caliphs were elected by Muslim nobles from among themselves. However, quite quickly the power of the caliph became hereditary. The Arab state took the form of a centralized theocratic monarchy. The power of the caliph was, in principle, recognized as unlimited, but in reality he had to reckon with the largest feudal lords of the country, who often organized palace coups and overthrew rulers they did not like.

The central bodies of government were the following departments (divans):

1) divan-al-jund, who was in charge of equipping and arming the army. Under his control worked officials who compiled lists of militias and mercenaries, and also determined the amount of payment and land grants for service;

2) diwan-al-kharaj, who controlled the activities of the central financial bodies involved in accounting for tax and other revenues to the treasury;

3) divan-al-barid, who was in charge of roads and mail, supervised the construction of roads, wells, etc. Being virtually the only organization capable of very quickly ensuring the transfer of information, this department also carried out secret surveillance of the activities and political mood of local authorities and the population . This determined its significance. Postal officials were not subordinate to provincial officials.

The highest ranks of departments were appointed by the caliph and were directly responsible to him. Among them, the first place belonged to the vizier (or vizier). Relying on the support of the nobility, the viziers gradually concentrated control in their hands and thereby, to a certain extent, pushed the caliphs away from real power.

Simultaneously with the emergence of the Caliphate, its law was formed - Sharia (translated from Arabic “Sharia” - the proper path). Law was originally formed as the most important part religion. His main sources were:

The Koran is the main holy book of Islam. The instructions contained in it are in the nature of religious and moral guidelines.

Sunnah - collections of legends (hadith) about the actions and sayings of Muhammad, set forth by his companions. To a large extent they contain instructions regarding family inheritance and judicial law. Subsequently, the attitude towards this source in Muslim world has become controversial: Shia Muslims do not accept all hadiths.

Ijma - decisions made by authoritative Muslim jurists on issues not covered in the above-mentioned sources. Subsequently, these decisions received recognition from prominent legal theologians. It is believed that Muhammad, under these conditions, encouraged the free discretion of judges (ijti-had). According to legend, Muhammad said: “If the judge made a decision at his own discretion and was right, then he should be rewarded twice, and if he judged at his own discretion and was wrong, then he should be rewarded in a single amount.”

Fatwa - a written opinion of the highest religious authorities on decisions of secular authorities regarding certain issues public life.

Later, as Islam spread, other sources of law appeared - decrees and orders of the caliphs, local customs that do not contradict Islam, and some others. Accordingly, law became differentiated, and legal norms were determined in a given region by the dominant direction of Islam there, as well as by the level of development public relations. But at the same time, there has been a tendency towards theoretical generalization of legal norms.

Muslim law initially proceeded from the fact that people's activities are ultimately determined by “divine revelation,” but this does not exclude the possibility of a person to choose and find the proper direction of his actions. Therefore, failure to behave properly is considered not only a legal violation, but also a religious sin, attracting the highest punishment. The actions of a Muslim differ as follows: 1) strictly obligatory, 2) desirable, 3) permitted, 4) undesirable, but not punishable, 5) prohibited and strictly punishable.

This differentiation is especially important in relation to the main values ​​protected by Islam: religion, life, reason, procreation and property. According to the essence of the encroachment on them, as well as the nature of the punishment, all crimes are mainly reduced to three types:

1) crimes directed against the foundations of religion and the state, for which precisely defined punishments follow - hadd;

2) crimes against individuals, for which certain sanctions are also imposed;

3) offenses, including crimes for which penalties are not strictly established. The right to choose punishment (tazir) is given to the court.

Hadd crimes included, first of all, apostasy and blasphemy, which were punishable by death. However, according to many prominent jurists, the repentance of an apostate allows for his forgiveness. All speeches against state power were also punishable by death.

Among crimes against individuals, the law paid the most attention to premeditated murder, and provided for alternative punishment. According to legend, Muhammad offered the relatives of the murdered man to choose one of three: the death penalty, forgiveness of the murderer, or acceptance of a blood ransom (diya). The ransom amount was usually determined as the value of 100 camels. The subjective side of the crime was taken into account. The person who committed manslaughter paid a ransom and made religious atonement (kaffarah).

Causing bodily harm was generally punishable by talion.

Theft, as an attack on one of the main values ​​protected by religion, was prosecuted very severely: the hand of the convicted thief was cut off. Such a sanction was applied if the stolen property was valued at no less than a certain value and was permitted for Muslims (therefore, such a sanction was not provided, for example, for the theft of wine or pork). There were other restrictions.

The use of alcohol was considered a crime, objectively encroaching on another important value protected by law - reason. The Sunnah indicates that Muhammad personally punished drunkards with 40 blows from a palm branch cleared of its leaves.

In the law of the Caliphate, norms regulating property relations also received some development. A beginning was made for the formation of basic legal land statuses. This:

1) Hijaz - lands where, according to legend, Muhammad lived and for which a special legal regime was established: tithes were collected from Muslims living on these lands;

2) waqf - lands transferred to mosques, Muslim schools and other organizations for religious and charitable purposes. They were exempt from taxation and were considered inalienable. The waqf could consist of other immovable and movable property;

3) mulk - lands that, by the nature of the powers of their owners, could be identified with private property;

4) iktpa - temporary grants of land along with the peasant population living on it for service. The owner of such land had the right to taxes from the peasants.

The law of obligations has not yet developed in full, but in the approach to resolving a number of specific disputes, some important principles were defined - the prohibition of enslaving debtors, the condemnation of usury. There were some differences in the approach of authoritative jurists to the grounds for the emergence and content of obligations. Although in the main they were united. The grounds for the emergence of obligations were considered to be: the expression of will of the two parties, i.e., an agreement; unilateral expression of will, such as a promise or vow; manifestation of dishonest will, for example, intentional damage to someone else’s property. The subject of the agreement should not have been an action that in any way violated Sharia. Contracts were divided into non-exchangeable and exchangeable (at the will of one of the parties). Thus, the purchase and sale agreement was, in principle, recognized as non-exchangeable, but could be exchanged in seven cases (for example, unilaterally terminated until the seller and buyer separated). The conclusion of the agreement did not require a special form. The exceptions were two contracts: marriage and a purchase and sale agreement with delivery of goods after a certain time. In these cases, the presence of witnesses or written documentation was necessary.

2. First French Constitution of 1791

The first Constitution of the Kingdom of France dated September 3, 1791. The constitutions of the period of the revolution contained provisions on the foundations of government and the form of government, on the methods of ensuring natural and civil rights and on state authorities - legislative, executive and judicial. The adoption by the National Assembly of the first written Constitution on September 3, 1791 falls on a relatively peaceful and legal (constitutional) period of the conflict between the king and the assembly of estates, which proclaimed itself an assembly of representatives of the nation. It is characteristic that the legislative assembly swore during this period “to support the Constitution of the kingdom, issued by the National Assembly during the years 1789, 1790 and 1791” (Article 5, Section 11).

The preamble to the Constitution stated the direction of change in the social and political structure of the nation.

Ensuring natural and civil rights The Constitution proclaimed and ensured the following natural and civil rights:

Access to places and positions for all citizens, taking into account both virtues and abilities;

Uniform distribution of all taxes according to the property status of citizens;

Equal punishment for an equal offense regardless of any personal differences;

Freedom of movement without fear of arrest or imprisonment; freedom of spoken and written speech without prior censorship; freedom of assembly (except for meetings of workers and artisans to discuss “general issues” or meetings that violate police laws for the maintenance of order and public peace); freedom to practice one's religious rites; freedom of circulation of petitions signed by individual citizens;

Prohibition to make laws that interfere with the exercise of the listed natural and civil rights or violate these rights;

The right of citizens to elect and appoint ministers of worship; marriage was recognized by law only as a civil contract.

Freedom was understood as the ability to do everything that does not harm the rights of others or public safety (some clarification of the Declaration with reference to the interests of public safety). The Constitution guaranteed care for abandoned children, the poor and the search for work for the healthy poor (this topic would be supported and expanded by the Jacobins). Public education was declared common to all citizens and partly free.

To maintain “brotherhood between citizens, devotion to the motherland, the constitution, the laws,” the Constitution said, national festivals would be established to commemorate the memory of French Revolution.

About government authorities

Sovereignty belongs to the nation, it is united, indivisible, inalienable and inalienable. The Kingdom consists of 83 departments, which are divided into districts and cantons. Communes are formed in cities and rural districts. Legislative power is entrusted to the deputies of the National Assembly, chosen people for a certain period.

The form of government in the country is a constitutional monarchy, in which executive power is entrusted to the king.

Legislative power belongs only to the legislative body. The executive branch is deprived of this opportunity; it can issue orders and appeals only on the basis of laws in the name of their implementation.

Judicial power is entrusted to judges elected by the people for a specified term. It cannot be carried out either by the legislative body, or by the king, or by the people. These are the features of the French model of separation of powers under a constitutional monarchy.

The activity of citizen-voters is limited to male gender and age 25 years, length of residence in the city or canton, proficiency in paying taxes, independent personal status (domestic servants were not allowed to participate in elections), and membership in the National Guard. Finally, the remaining 249 representatives were elected in accordance with direct taxation (the entire amount of direct royal taxes was also divided into 249 parts, and each department elected representatives in accordance with the amount of taxes they paid). From now on, deputies were to be elected by all taxpayers (to the great benefit of the bourgeoisie) Voters who overcame the property qualification barrier now also received the right to elect judges and local administration

In the section “On the revision of constitutional provisions” it was written: “The National Constituent Assembly declares that the nation has the inherent right to change its Constitution.” This was followed by a list of procedural and other requirements for the revision of the Constitution by a special assembly to revise the Constitution. In Art. 9 of this section also recorded a very peculiar provision on the guarantees and guarantors of the observance of this Constitution: “The National Constituent Assembly entrusts the observance of the Constitution to the integrity of the legislative body, the king and the judges, the vigilance of fathers of the family, husband and mothers, the devotion of young citizens and the courage of all Frenchmen.”

The Constitution of 1791 was approved by the king under threat of deposition. According to the provisions of the Constitution, out of a population of 24 million, only 4.3 million received the status of active citizens, and all the rest were classified as passive citizens. This situation was quite realistically summed up by Deputy Dupont de Nemours: “Whoever has nothing is not a member of society... Management and legislation are a matter of property, and therefore only owners are really interested in them.” Back in December 1789, after the introduction of a property qualification that eliminated radical participants in events from among the sans-culottes, lawyer Camille Desmoulins confidently suggested that such a qualification would create aristocratic power in the country. If Rousseau, Corneille or Mably had been alive, none of them would have become a deputy. All women and men under 25 years of age are excluded from voting.

To be elected as an elector (1 out of 100 active citizens), in addition to the above, it is necessary to have an income equal to the cost of 200 working days, or residential premises that generate income, as well as ownership by right of ownership with differences for cities (over 6 thousand inhabitants) or for rural areas (less than 6 thousand inhabitants).

The electors chosen for each department then elected representatives to the assembly of the nation in the number established for their department. All active (i.e., those with the right to vote) citizens could be elected to the National Assembly, regardless of their social status, profession or the amount of taxes paid.

The number of representatives in the National Legislative Assembly was set at 745 deputies for 83 departments. They were elected every two years and sat in one chamber. However, the number of representatives from departments was distributed depending on and taking into account three parameters: territory, population, direct taxation.

Thus, approximately one third of the legislators (247 people) were elected according to the size of the territory (3 representatives from each department, only 1 representative from the Paris department); the other third - with the number of population: the entire mass of active citizens of the kingdom was divided into 249 parts.

3. Main trends in state and legal development of the USA and modern times

In the post-war period, the structural composition of many liberal-democratic constitutions changed. From now on, constitutions not only regulate the organization and distribution of power, but at the same time more broadly consolidate the established system of values, principles of law and justice, i.e. contain elements of a political and philosophical worldview. For example, they include a description of the political and ideological foundations of the organization of society and the place and role of political parties in it.

In the post-war period, some important changes in the regime of power and in the political system as a whole became very significant for the organization and functioning of constitutional institutions. The political organization of modern liberal democratic society, its political system, which can also be called a political constitution, is, first of all, a form of legitimate (based on the authority of law) distribution of power in society and the state. In addition to the state, it also includes political parties, mass religious and other public organizations, other institutions for group or individual participation in political life, in the development of important political decisions and monitoring their implementation, etc.

In the USA until the early 50s. Racial segregation existed and was defended, despite what was proclaimed in the second half of the 19th century. racial equality. The official interpretation of this practice was that racial differences are inherent in nature, they are as fundamental as the differences between men and women, and this must be taken into account. All are technically equal before the law, but each race must practice equal treatment separately. It was not until 1954 that the Supreme Court ruled that racial differences were not so fundamental, but that segregation was unconstitutional. In 1957, the Civil Rights Act was passed, which created the Commission on Civil Rights, which accepted complaints and allegations of discrimination against citizens on racial, religious and other grounds.

In order to develop and ensure the enjoyment of civil rights, in 1964 the next Civil Rights Law was adopted, which guarantees the equal participation of blacks in election campaigns on the principle of “one person, one vote,” as well as equality of opportunity when entering work and in everyday life. “No State... or any employee thereof... will use race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin as a criterion for discriminating against or conferring preferential treatment on an individual or group.”

The Freedom of Information Act of 1967 granted the right to request and receive information about the activities of government agencies to monitor the private lives of citizens, intrusion into which without permission was now considered illegal; only some political associations (for example, Trotskyists) took advantage of this right, and they received such access, since the refusal to provide such information can be appealed in court. In 1971, according to the XXVI Amendment, the voting age was lowered to 18 years, but this reduction did not have the expected effect, and young people remained indifferent to election campaigns. In 1972, ratification of the amendment adopted by Congress began to recognize the equal rights of men and women, but the states did not meet the allotted 10-year deadline, and the amendment was withdrawn from ratification in 1982. True, the equality of men and women was enshrined in the fundamental laws of 17 of the 50 states. The most difficult amendment to ratify was the XXVII Amendment, adopted in 1992, which prohibited members of Congress from making increases in their parliamentary salaries and receiving them during their term of office. It took 203 years to get it approved, starting in 1790.

The 1974 law formulated a provision on the area of ​​private life protected from external intrusion (privacy), which included the area family life, health status, intimate relationships and connections. This law caused severe damage to that area of ​​activity of funds mass media, who specialized in the collection and selfish use of materials related to the sphere of private life. Judicial practice partially made concessions to this tradition when it recognized the private life of only citizens who do not hold public positions as absolutely inviolable.

The politics of the 70s prepared the “conservative revolution” of R. Reagan (1981-1989). It was aimed at cutting taxes and at the same time cutting social programs of the federal government. This was supposed to bring the country out of the period of economic difficulties of the 70s and reduce the colossal public debt. At the same time, the task was set to create new federal relations: to sharply reduce federal assistance to the states, to transfer to them responsibility for basic social programs, while at the same time leaving large financial resources for them. Reagan's program, which met with strong opposition in society and Congress, was only partially successful, but it put an end to the policy of constantly expanding the scope of government intervention in the sphere of economics and social relations. The end of the Cold War led American society to focus on its internal problems. It developed a certain consensus on major issues of domestic policy, which led to a convergence of the programs of the Democratic and Republican parties. At the same time, Americans are beginning to pay more attention to the managerial abilities of their presidents. This is precisely where experts see the significance of W. Clinton’s presidency (1993-2001

Task

Tamkar Kurdi-Ishtar sold the two adult sons of the debtor Shamash-Gamil, who were working off their father’s debt on the tamkar farm. After three years, Shamash-Gamil found out about this and demanded their return. Since the tamkar refused to comply with the demand, Shamash-Gamil went to court.

What should be the judge's decision based on the Laws of Hammurabi?

Solution:

According to Art. 117 Laws of Hammurabi “If debt overcomes a person and he sells his wife, his son and his daughter for silver or gives them into bondage, then for three years they must serve the house of their buyer or their enslaver, in the fourth year they must be given freedom.” .The meaning of the article: “a person” is in debt, which he has neither hope nor ability to pay. In this situation, he can pay off the debt by using a member of his family, who is under his patriarchal power, as property: either he sells it to a third party “for silver” and with this silver pays off the debt to the lender, or he gives it into service (“bondage”) to the lender himself as payment of the debt (perhaps later, having obtained funds, he would have the right to buy his family member back). According to this article, the court must make a decision on the fulfillment of Shamash-Gamil’s demand.

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Subsequently, chief advisor and senior official became vizier under the caliph. According to Muslim law, viziers could be of two types: with broad powers or with limited powers, i.e. only those carrying out the orders of the Caliph. In the early caliphate, it was common practice to appoint a vizier with limited power. Important officials at the court also included the head of the caliph's personal guard, the head of the police and a special official supervising other officials.

The central bodies of government were special government offices - divans. They took shape under the Umayyads, who also introduced compulsory office work in Arabic. The Military Affairs Department was in charge of equipping and arming the army. It kept lists of people who were part of the standing army, indicating the salary they received or the amount of awards for military service. The department of internal affairs controlled the financial bodies involved in accounting for tax and other revenues, for this purpose it collected the necessary statistical information, etc. The department of the postal service performed special functions. He was involved in the delivery of mail and government cargo, supervised the construction and repair of roads, caravanserais and wells. Moreover, this institution actually performed the functions of the secret police. As the functions of the Arab state expanded, the central state apparatus also became more complex, and the total number of central departments grew.

The system of local government bodies during the 7th-8th centuries. has undergone significant changes. Initially, the local bureaucracy in the conquered countries remained intact, and the old methods of management were preserved. As the power of the rulers of the caliphate consolidated, the local administration was streamlined along the Persian model. The territory of the caliphate was divided into provinces, ruled, as a rule, by military governors - emirs, who were responsible only to the caliph. Emirs were usually appointed by the caliph from among his entourage. However, there were also emirs appointed from representatives of the local nobility, from the former rulers of the conquered territories. The emirs were in charge of the armed forces, the local administrative, financial and police apparatus. The emirs had assistants - naibs.

Small administrative units in the caliphate (cities, villages) were governed by officials of various ranks and titles. Often these functions were assigned to the leaders of local Muslim religious communities- elders (sheikhs).

Judicial functions in the caliphate were separated from administrative functions. Local authorities had no right to interfere with judges' decisions.

The head of state, the caliph, was considered the supreme judge. In general, the administration of justice was the privilege of the clergy. The highest judicial power in practice was exercised by a collegium of the most authoritative theologians, who were also jurists. On behalf of the caliph, they appointed lower judges (qadis) and special commissioners from among the clergy, who controlled their local activities.

The powers of the qadi were extensive. They considered local court cases of all categories, monitored the execution of court decisions, supervised places of detention, certified wills, distributed inheritance, checked the legality of land use, managed the so-called waqf property (transferred by the owners religious organizations). When making decisions, qadis were guided primarily by the Koran and Sunnah and decided cases based on their independent interpretation. Court decisions and sentences of qadis, as a rule, were final and not subject to appeal. The exception was cases when the caliph himself or his authorized representatives changed the decision of the qadi. The non-Muslim population was usually subject to the jurisdiction of courts composed of representatives of their clergy.

The large role of the army in the caliphate was determined by the very doctrine of Islam. The main strategic task of the caliphs was considered to be the conquest of territory inhabited by non-Muslims through holy war. All adult and free Muslims were required to take part in it; in extreme cases, it was allowed to hire detachments of infidels (non-Muslims) to participate in the holy war.

At the first stage of conquest, the Arab army was a tribal militia. However, the need to strengthen and centralize the army caused a number of military reforms at the end of the 7th - mid-88th centuries. The Arab army began to consist of two main parts (standing troops and volunteers), and each was under the command of a special commander. Privileged Muslim warriors occupied a special place in the standing army. The main branch of the army was light cavalry. Arab army in the 7th - 8th centuries. mainly replenished by militias. Mercenaries were almost never practiced at this time.

The huge medieval empire, consisting of heterogeneous parts, despite the unifying factor of Islam and the authoritarian-theocratic forms of exercising power, could not exist for a long time as a single centralized state. Since the 9th century state system caliphate, significant changes occur.

Firstly, there was an actual limitation of the caliph's temporal power. His deputy, the grand vizier, relying on the support of the nobility, pushes the supreme ruler away from the real levers of power and control. By the beginning of the 9th century, viziers actually began to rule the country. Without reporting to the caliph, the vizier could independently appoint senior government officials. The caliphs began to share spiritual power with the chief qadi, who led the courts and education.

Secondly, in the state mechanism of the caliphate, the role of the army and its influence on political life increased even more. The militia was replaced by a professional mercenary army. The caliph's palace guard is created from slaves of Turkic, Caucasian and even Slavic origin (Mamluks), which in the 9th century becomes one of the main pillars of the central government. However, at the end of the 9th century. its influence intensifies so much that the guards’ military leaders deal with undesirable caliphs and elevate their proteges to the throne.

Thirdly, separatist tendencies in the provinces are intensifying. The power of the emirs, as well as local tribal leaders, is becoming increasingly independent from the center. Since the 9th century, the political power of the governors over the controlled territories became virtually hereditary. Entire dynasties of emirs appeared, who at best recognized (if they were not Shiites) the spiritual authority of the caliph. Emirs create their own army, retain tax revenues in their favor and thus become independent rulers. The strengthening of their power was also facilitated by the fact that the caliphs themselves granted them enormous rights to suppress the growing liberation uprisings.

With the expansion of the borders of the state, Islamic theological and legal structures came under the influence of more educated foreigners and people of other faiths. This affected the interpretation of the Sunnah and the closely related fiqh (legislation).

According to V.V. Barthold, an example of a prophet extracting from the Sunnah, began to justify such provisions that were actually borrowed from other religions or Roman jurisprudence. The rules about the number (five) and times of obligatory daily prayers were borrowed from pre-Muslim Persia; rules on the division of booty were borrowed from Roman law, according to which the horseman received three times more than the infantryman and the commander had the right to choose the best part for himself; in the same way, Muslim jurisprudence, following the example of Roman law, draws an analogy between the spoils of war, on the one hand, and the products of the sea, treasures found in the earth and minerals extracted from mines, on the other; in all these cases, 1/5 of the income went to the government. To connect these laws with Islam, stories were invented from the life of the prophet, who supposedly performed prayer at a set time, applied the specified rules when dividing spoils, etc.

The doctrine of sources is one of the most developed in the science of Islamic law and is distinguished by great originality. As already noted, Muslim researchers identify two groups of interrelated norms within Islamic law, the first of which consists of the legal prescriptions of the Koran and the Sunnah (collections of legends with legal significance - hadiths - about the actions, statements and even silence of the Prophet Muhammad), and the second - norms formulated by the Muslim legal doctrine on the basis of rational sources, primarily the unanimous opinion (ijma) of the most authoritative (jurists - mujtajds and fuqahas - and conclusions by analogy (qiyas).

The norms of the first group, especially those recorded in the Koran, are considered fundamental. To characterize the Koran as a source of Islamic law, it is important to keep in mind that among its norms regulating relationships between people, general provisions noticeably predominate, having the form of abstract religious and moral guidelines and giving scope for interpretation by jurists. As for the few specific rules of conduct, most of them arose in individual cases when the Prophet resolved specific conflicts, assessed individual facts, or in response to questions asked of him. The predominant part of the normative prescriptions of the Sunnah also has a causal origin.

After the death of Muhammad in 632 until the beginning of the 8th century. The development of Islamic law continued to proceed mainly along a casual path. It is believed that the four righteous caliphs - Abu Bekr, Omar, Osman and Ali (who ruled in 632 - 661, like other companions of the Prophet, when deciding on specific supports, turned to the Koran and the Sunnah) L. R. Syukiyainen. Muslim Law. Questions of theory and practice. 1986 p. 65. If the latter remained silent, they formulated new rules of behavior based on a broad interpretation of these sources, and even more often relied on various rational arguments. Moreover, at first, decisions on issues not regulated by the Koran and Sunnah were made by the companions according to a unanimous opinion, formed after consultations with their associates and major jurists. Together with the provisions of the Koran and the Sunnah, these rules became the normative basis for the resolution of cases by Muslim judges - qadis. At the same time, each of the Prophet’s companions was recognized as having the right to independently formulate new rules of behavior based on their own discretion. Such norms were later called the statements of the Companions. The prescriptions of the Koran and Sunnah, as well as the causal-normative decisions of the Prophet’s companions and their first followers, are theoretically considered as the basis of Islamic law in general and any of its branches. Some Soviet authors speak out even more definitely and argue that the basic norms of Muslim law are contained in the Sunnah. This assessment, in our opinion, is an exaggeration. More convincing is the point of view in Arabic teachings, which note that the Koran and Sunnah contain few specific rules of Islamic law - no more than a dozen rules of state and criminal law, the same number of rules regulating obligations, etc. - for the most part As for issues requiring normative regulation, these sources remain silent. Authoritative bourgeois jurists take a similar position. Thus, the prominent French comparativist R. David argues that the legal provisions contained in the Koran are not sufficient to constitute a code.

By the beginning of the 8th century, the Muslim legal doctrine was just beginning to take shape, and until that time it could not play any noticeable role as a source of valid law. The first steps on the path to its emergence were paradise - a relatively free discretion that was used in the interpretation of the Koran and Sunnah and the formulation of new rules of conduct in the event of the silence of these sources.

From the middle of the 8th century, when the main schools of Islamic law began to take shape in the caliphate, a new stage in the formation of Muslim legal science began - the period of codification and the imams - the founders of the interpretations (Wahabs), which lasted about two and a half centuries and became an era of maturity, the golden age in development of Islamic law. Its main result was the emergence of various directions in the interpretation of the Koran and Sunnah, each of which relatively autonomously developed its own system of legal norms. This situation, ultimately, was explained by the historical origins of Islamic law - the peculiarities of the material and cultural conditions of its formation and development. The main objective reason was the noticeable socio-economic differences in the areas of the huge Arab Caliphate where it was supposed to operate Islamic law. Among the ideological factors, it was of great importance that, as already noted, the fundamental sources established few rules of behavior that became legal. Special meaning doctrines for the development of Islamic law was explained not only by the gaps and inconsistencies of the Koran and Sunnah, but also by the fact that most of the norms contained in them were considered (to have divine origin), which means eternal and unchanging. Therefore, theoretically, they could not simply be discarded and replaced by legal acts of the state. Under these conditions, Muslim jurists, based on the assumption that the fundamental sources contain answers to absolutely all questions and the task is reduced only to finding them, have developed various techniques for extracting new norms for resolving issues not directly regulated by the Koran and Sunnah. Muslim law was able to fulfill its historical mission because it was not limited to a few injunctions of the Koran and contradictory hadiths, but relied on them in the most general terms as its ideological and theoretical basis, drawing specific content from the works of jurists. If initially there were no strict rules for formulating new rules of behavior, then they were subsequently developed. Moreover, each of the Muslim legal interpretations created its own set of methods of legal technology, which made it possible to introduce new norms in the event of silence from fundamental sources. A characteristic feature of this path of development of normative content was that various schools of Islamic law, using their own techniques, came to divergent decisions in similar situations.

The doctrinal development of the normative composition of Islamic law was theoretically based on the already mentioned principle of freedom of ijtihad. In practice, it meant the introduction by jurists of several types of norms. First of all, interpreting the general guidelines of the Koran and Sunnah, they gave them a legal character and formulated specific judicial decisions on their basis. In addition, with reference to necessity, the interests of the community, benefit, change in custom or the basis of the norm, they replaced certain specific instructions of the Koran and Sunnah with new rules of behavior. Ijtihad also meant the possibility of choosing, among the contradictory specific instructions of the Sunnah and the individual decisions of the Prophet’s companions, the most suitable for a given matter. Finally, in the case of the silence of these sources, jurists created new norms using a variety of logical techniques, which Muslim legal science calls rational sources of Islamic law. In reality, these were not sources of law, but ways of interpreting individual provisions of the Koran, Sunnah or decisions of the Prophet’s companions, as well as introducing new rules of behavior in cases not provided for there. The source of such new norms was the doctrine, which formulated them on the basis of these rational methods. We can therefore come to the conclusion that, along with the Koran, the Sunnah and judicial and normative decisions of the companions of the prophet (made individually or on the basis of consensus), it was the doctrine, having absorbed all the so-called rational sources, that became an independent source (external form) of Islamic law in legal sense. Moreover, within the framework of the doctrine, most of the norms of current Muslim law were convened.

The rapid development of ijtihad in the 8th-10th centuries. and the emergence of madhhabs actually cemented the position of the doctrine as the leading source of Islamic law. Already in the middle of the 8th century. many judges began to adhere to one or one school, most often the one preferred by the caliph or which was most popular among the local population. True, for at least another two centuries, not all cadis followed a strictly defined interpretation, preferring to judge at their own discretion. Even those of them who renounced the right to ijtihad could freely change their allegiance in deciding some cases, they applied conclusions of one kind, and in considering others they resorted to the norms proposed by supporters of another school of law.

At the turn of the X and XI centuries. the situation has changed significantly. Ijtihad gradually began to be seen not as a free discretion outside the Koran and Sunnah, but only as an opportunity to choose any of the schools of Islamic law. According to the conclusion of most Muslim researchers, then the age of ijtihad was replaced by the age of taqlid (lit. imitation, tradition), which meant that in the event of silence from the Koran and Sunnah, judges lost the right to make decisions based on their own legal consciousness and from now on had to strictly follow one of the recognized schools of Muslim law . Already at the end of the 10th century. rulers required judges to consult with scholars in cases in which they were unable to make decisions on the basis of the Koran and Sunnah. And although these sources, together with ijma, Naturally, they continued to be considered fundamental and not subject to revision; in fact, qadis could no longer directly refer to them, but were obliged to apply the norms enshrined in them only in the form in which they were interpreted in a certain sense. It is no coincidence that the conclusion generally accepted in Muslim legal theory is that legislative power in a Muslim state belongs to the mujtahids, among whom the main role is given to the founders of the largest legal schools and their most authoritative students and followers. True, in contrast to the Sunni concept, Shiite legal thought continued to defend the freedom of ijtihad. But in practice, here too, the rule-making functions were concentrated in the hands of a narrow group of followers of classical Shiite doctrines, whose opinions were considered binding for ordinary Shiite Muslims.

So, if in the VII-VIII centuries. The sources of Islamic law were indeed the Koran and Sunnah, as well as ijma and statements of associates, then, starting from the 9th-10th centuries. this role gradually shifted to doctrine. Essentially, the end of ijtihad meant the canonization of the conclusions of the main schools of Islamic law that had developed by the middle of the 11th century. The conclusion that from that moment on the doctrine became the main source of Islamic law is shared by authoritative Arab and Western researchers. For example, the prominent Egyptian scholar Shafik Shihata writes: It is true that after the formation of various interpretations in the Abbasid era (750-1258) the judge began, in principle, to turn to works created by fuqahas. R. Charles notes that historically Muslim law does not originate directly from the Koran; it developed on the basis of practice, which often departed from holy book, and the highest degree of development of the sacred law coincides with the emergence of schools.

Thus, a significant majority of the norms of Islamic law are the result of its doctrinal development. To characterize them, it is important to keep in mind that Muslim jurists for a long time did not dare to formulate generalized abstract rules of conduct and preferred to look for solutions in specific cases. At the same time, they played an important role in adapting general prescriptive guidelines and casual norms enshrined in the Koran and Sunnah, or individual decisions of the Prophet’s companions to the needs of the socio-political forces that dominated the Muslim state. Therefore, with the advent of the period of tradition, the development of the doctrine and, consequently, the system of current Muslim law not only did not stop, but continued very actively within the framework of several schools, behind which there were often very specific political interests.

During the first two or three centuries of the tradition period, the formation of Muslim law was generally completed, which became practically the law of one or another school. As R. Charles correctly notes, with the expansion of Arab conquests, a single Muslim law gave way to a whole series of Muslim rights. The term fiqh which was originally used to designate Muslim legal doctrine, has ceased to be applied to Muslim law itself in an objective sense. It is important to keep in mind that with the advent of the period of tradition, the decisions of the mujtahids, which were previously made in specific cases, acquired the character of a kind of judicial precedents, i.e., they became legal norms. The transformation of individual prescriptions of jurists into norms of Islamic law was greatly facilitated by the sanctioning of the doctrine by the state, which was expressed in the appointment of judges and the imposition on them of the obligation to consider and decide cases on the basis of the teachings of a certain school. So, in beginning of the 16th century Sultan Selim I issued a decree on the use of only caliphite conclusions by judges and muftis of the Ottoman Empire.

But the most notable achievement in this area was the formulation of the principles of legal regulation, a kind of general part of Islamic law, which was considered as the starting point for the application of any specific legal norm. Modern Muslim researchers note that such general principles are not contained in any specific verses of the Koran or traditions, but were developed by jurists based on the interpretation of all sources of Islamic law and analysis of the practice of its specific norms.

In other words, if at first Muslim jurists concretized the abstract religious and moral guidelines of the Koran and Sunnah, in individual normative decisions of a legal nature (along with the application of specific norms enshrined in these sources), then later, due to the need to further improve the mechanism for implementing Muslim law on the basis interpretation of its causal regulations, they formulated the general legal principles of this legal system. It is no coincidence that initially this was done for the sole purpose of better understanding the norms of Islamic law and, most importantly, choosing the most suitable solutions for specific cases from a rich arsenal of conflicting rules. It is quite understandable, therefore, that such principles were generally the same for all interpretations. Their appearance was the culmination of the development of the theory and practice of Islamic law. Since that time, noticeable changes have occurred in its structure: a special place in it was occupied by norms and principles, which began to be considered by the doctrine as an element of the system of Islamic law that stands above any of its branches. For example, unlike the usual norms formulated by the mujtahids, and even certain provisions of the Qur'an and Sunnah, these principles, which are also the result of ijtihad, cannot be revised. All this confirms the conclusion that the main source of Islamic law was doctrine. After all, if some of the specific norms were enshrined in the Koran and the Sunnah, then the principles that make up its most stable part were developed by legal scholars.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Muslim countries adopted the first codified acts in the field of personal status. Currently, in most of them (Egypt, Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Jordan, Somalia, etc.), Islamic law retains the role of regulator of this particular industry, in which, as a rule, state-issued regulations are in effect , establishing the relevant principles and norms of fiqh. In addition, based on the reception of Muslim legal norms, the legislation here regulates the legal regime of waqf property, some issues of legal capacity, and certain types of transactions (for example, donation). Individual norms of Muslim origin are also included in criminal, civil, and procedural legislation.

In another group of countries under consideration (this includes Saudi Arabia, the IAR, the Gulf states, Libya, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan), the scope of Islamic law is more significant and often covers not only personal status, but also criminal law and procedure, some types financial and economic relations and even individual institutions of state law.

In the legal systems of some of them (for example, Oman and certain principalities of the Persian Gulf), Islamic law in the form of doctrine continues to play a leading role, while in others there is a tendency to include its norms in newly adopted legislation. Moreover, if in the IAR, starting from the mid-70s, a number of laws came into force that established the norms of fiqh, which were previously applied in the form of doctrine, then the legal systems of Libya, Iran, Pakistan and Sudan in the last decade have been characterized by an increased influence of fiqh , manifested in the broad legislative consolidation of Muslim legal norms in those sectors where they were not previously in force.

The legislation of individual countries provides for the possibility of applying non-conclusions in case of silence of the law of a certain kind Islamic law, and its basic principles. A similar provision is enshrined, for example, in the first articles of the civil codes of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Algeria, as well as in the family law of Iraq. Moreover, since the civil codes themselves established a number of Muslim legal norms, when interpreting them one should refer to the relevant works of authoritative Muslim jurists.

In general, however, in the modern legal systems of the countries under consideration, the norms of Islamic law relatively rarely appear in the traditional form of doctrine. As a rule, they are enshrined in articles of legislation adopted by the competent authorities of the state. In this regard, the position expressed by the Czechoslovak scholar V. Knapp that Islamic law in its current form is mainly doctrinal needs to be clarified.

The increasing influence of Islam on the legal development of a number of Eastern countries in recent years objectively leads to an increasing role of Muslim legal doctrine in the preparation of newly adopted laws that establish general principles and specific norms of fiqh, most of which were developed by Muslim legal scholars back in the Middle Ages.

Conclusion

In the Arab Caliphate, as in all Muslim states, the Koran was the main source of law. Theoretically, Islam excluded the legislative powers of rulers, who could only interpret the injunctions of the Koran, while taking into account the opinion of Muslim theologians.

Despite the external immutability of legal norms, during the period of feudalism they were filled with new class content, which was expressed in the protection of the interests of feudal land ownership and the personality of the feudal lords, in consolidating the dependence of the peasants and their exploitation. Openly based on class inequality, the medieval law of the countries of the East also asserted inequality of class, caste, and religion, minutely regulating the behavior of people in all spheres of public life.

In general, however, in the modern legal systems of the countries under consideration, the norms of Islamic law relatively rarely appear in the traditional form of doctrine. As a rule, they are enshrined in articles of legislation adopted by the competent authorities of the state. In this regard, the position expressed by the Czechoslovak scholar V. Knapp that Islamic law in its current form is mainly doctrinal needs to be clarified.

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Arab culture united the achievements of the culture of the Syrians, Egyptians, Iranians, and the peoples of Central Asia. The Arab Caliphate included ancient civilizations Africa and Asia, as well as the ancient world. The Arabs assimilated the achievements of the conquered peoples and contributed to their dissemination. Economic growth contributed to the rise of culture.

The successes of the Arabs in the development of crafts and agriculture: the discovery of Damascus steel; making mirrors from steel; paper making; production of silk, wool, brocade; leather production; sugarcane and rice production; development of garden art.

Education in educational institutions of the caliphate it was conducted in Arabic.

It was highly valued and was necessary for obtaining government positions. In the Arab Caliphate there were many schools, educated people, and scientists. No country in Europe could compete with the Arabs in this.

Primary schools were private and public (free). Higher Muslim schools were created at mosques in large cities - madrasah. Writers and scientists lived and worked in the palaces of the caliphs and emirs.

In the cities were created large libraries, for example: The House of Wisdom in Baghdad contained about 400 thousand volumes.

The main discoveries and achievements of Arab scientists in the field of science:

Mathematics: Arabic numerals, the concept of “zero” (borrowed from scientists Ancient India and contributed to the penetration of this knowledge into Europe);

knew the works of Pythagoras, Euclid, Archimedes; created algebra - Al-Khwarizmi;

could calculate the circumference; knew the number "pi".

Astronomy: the presence of observatories in large cities; calculated eclipses and planetary movements; approximately calculated the circumference of the earth; described the location of visible stars and gave them names;

Al-Biruni(end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries) - The Earth revolves around the Sun.

Geography:Masudi- created maps of countries known to Arabs; essays for merchants to find profitable markets; description of the countries that are part of the Arab Caliphate; divided the entire earth into 5 climatic zones, described the influence of climate on cultural development.

Botany: created the first classification of plants.

Physics: knew the laws of optics.

Chemistry: knew how to produce alcohol and sulfuric acid.

Medicine: Ibn Sina (Avicenna)(end of the 10th - beginning of the 11th centuries) - created 100 works, the main of which is the “Medical Canon”. Head of science in the East.

a person becomes infected through water and air; described the signs of many diseases;

medicinal herbal infusions and their use for various diseases; Zechariah- brought all medical knowledge into a single system; Zahrawi- surgeon - translated from Greek Hippocrates, his works formed the basis of European surgery.

Philosophy: Ibn Rushdu (Averroes)- scientific discoveries may be incorrect from the point of view of religion, but religious dogmas can also be rejected by scientific discoveries. Science can recognize religious dogmas as false. The doctrine of "dual truth".

Story: glorified the conquests of the Arabs; briefly outlined the history of Roman, Byzantine and Arab rulers.

Conclusion: Arabic sciences - the bridge that connected medieval Europe With ancient culture via Spain. Arab sciences at that time were far ahead of European ones in terms of development. The works of Arab mathematicians and astronomers served as the basis for the development of medieval science in Europe.

In the literature of the Arab Caliphate, the following main genres can be distinguished: Epic, Love, Religious, Courtly, tales, lyrics, poetry. Of the folk tales, the most popular collection is "Thousand and One Nights", which included traditions and legends of many peoples. The rich poetry of the caliphate flourished especially in Iran and Central Asia. Ferdowsi- poem "Shah-name" ("Book of Kings")- about the struggle of the Iranian people against the conquerors, contained a call for unification and an end to internecine wars.

Big influence Islam influenced the way of life and way of life of the population of the Arab Caliphate. At the courts of emirs and caliphs, the ability to compose poetry, play music, and cook delicious dishes was highly valued. In the 9th century, the singer, musician, contemporary of Harun al-Rashid, enjoyed great fame in Baghdad, and then in the Emirate of Cordoba. Ziriyab, who founded the conservatory in Cordoba and had a huge influence on the way of life of Spanish Muslims:

• 1. introduced the rule of wearing different clothes in different seasons;
• 2. convinced that thin glassware is more elegant than gold and silver;
• 3. installed strict sequence serving dishes at feasts: soups, meat dishes, poultry, dessert;
• 4. love of bathing in baths. In the baths there are massage therapists, healers, barbers;
• 5. the sophistication and sophistication of palace culture brought together ancient, Byzantine and Persian traditions;
• 6. music at court (the words “lute”, “guitar”, “timpani” are of Arabic origin).

Features of the development of Eastern architecture:

Features of the mosque:

• 1. square buildings with a straight roof or dome;
• 2. decorated not with drawings of people and scenes, but with ornaments - arabesques;
• 3. The Koran forbade depicting people, Muhammad, in the mosque;
• 4. The columns are not along the movement of the worshipers, but across them, there are many of them, this is a series of arches;
• 5. There is no clear center, the gaze moves in different directions, a mood of contemplation is created;
• 6. There are no icons and frescoes, Holy place - mihrab- a niche in the wall facing Mecca. This place is richly decorated with carvings;
• 7. Near the mosque towers - minarets.

The mosque in Cordoba (8th century) has 900 columns, the mosque in Kairouan.

Palaces: Alhambra in Granada, Lion's Court in Cordoba, Alcazar in Seville.

Painting: ornamental drawings of miniatures in books, in mosques - arabesques (they depicted people - alive, colorful, dynamic, emotional).

Contribution of Arabs to world culture:

• 1. Europeans received many valuable things from the Arabs scientific knowledge(numbers, maps, globe, medical knowledge, etc.).
• 2. The influence of Arabic poetry on the poets of the south of France.
• 3. Individual elements medieval architecture Europe borrowed from the Arabs;
• 4. Arabs are intermediaries between the West and the East, Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

Conclusion

Islamic civilization thus has a number of distinctive features. First of all, it contributed to the synthesis of Western and Eastern cultures. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that, unlike previous world empires (Roman, the empire of Alexander the Great), based on military conquest, an empire appeared, supported one religion. The dominant factor in society is the religion of Islam, which determines not only spiritual and religious, but political, social, and civil life. Its impact, however, on the development of civilization is contradictory. On the one hand, Islam acts as a powerful integrating, consolidating force. On the other hand, Islam, starting from the second half of the 9th century, has become increasingly intolerant towards Christians, Jews, Muslim heretics, as well as representatives of secular science and philosophy.

Virgo