From the Book - First edition.
Visions of order. Mesopotamia and the lands of the Bible ; Indian Brahmins : the order of the cosmos ; Chinese emperors : codes, punishments, and bureaucracy ; Advocates and jurists : intellectual pursuits in ancient Rome ; Jewish and Islamic scholars : God's path for the world ; European kings : courts and customs after the fall of Rome
The promise of civilization. At the margins : lawmaking on the fringes of Christianity and Islam ; Embracing the laws of religion : the Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim worlds ; Imperial law and divine justice in Medieval China ; Courts and customs in the European Middle Ages ; The problem of judgement : oaths, ordeals and evidence
Ordering the world. From kings to empires : the rise of Europe and America ; Colonialism : exporting the law ; In the shadow of the state : Islamic law in the modern world ; Turning their backs on the state : tribes, villages, networks, and gangs ; Beyond the state : international laws
