lave, whether owned by a member of the upper
or of the middle class, to marry a free woman, and if he did so, his
children were free and did not become the property of his master. Also,
if the free woman whom the slave married brought with her a marriage
portion from her father's house, this remained her own property on the
slave's death, and supposing the couple had acquired other property
during the time they lived together as man and wife, the owner of the
slave could only claim half of such property, the other half being
retained by the free woman for her own use and for that of her children.

Generally speaking, the lot of the slave was not a particularly hard
one, for he was a recognized member of his owner's household, and, as a
valuable piece of property, it was obviously to his owner's interest to
keep him healthy and in good condition. In fact, the value of the slave
is attested by the severity of the penalty imposed for abducting a male
or female slave from the owner's house and removing him or her from
the city; for a man guilty of this offence was put to death. The same
penalty was imposed for harbouring and taking possession of a runaway
slave, whereas a fixed reward was paid by the owner to any one by whom
a runaway slave was captured and brought back. Special legislation was
also devised with the object of rendering the theft of slaves difficult
and their detection easy. Thus, if a brander put a mark upon a slave
without the owner's consent, he was liable to have his hands cut off,
and if he could prove that he did so through being deceived by another
man, that man was put to death. For bad offences slaves were liable to
severe punishments, such as cutting off the ear, which was the penalty
for denying his master, and also for making an aggravated assault on a
member of the upper class of free men. But it is clear that on the whole
the slave was well looked after. He was also not condemned to remain
perpetually a slave, for while still in his master's service it was
possible for him, under certain conditions, to acquire property of his
own, and if he did so he was able with his master's consent to purchase
his freedom. If a slave were captured by the enemy and taken to a
foreign land and sold, and were then brought back by his new owner to
his own country, he could claim his liberty without having to pay any
purchase-money to either of his masters.

The code of Hammurabi also contains detailed regulation