This edited collection focuses on the problem of social justice, or, more particularly, how the demand for social justice was articulated and implemented in ancient civilizations, including, from east to west, the Chinese, Indian, Iranian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Israelite, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman. These essays are supplemented by discussions of the functioning of social justice in early and medieval Islam and in the postmedieval Anglo-Saxon world.

The volume contains extended discussions of specific legal regulations, royal edicts, and socioeconomic practices in the various civilizations, and examinations of their social, political, and economic consequences. Written by leading scholars in their respective fields, this volume will be of great interest to researchers dealing with the ancient world and the evolution of political philosophy and legal and economic rights.