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14 Police Stud.: Int'l Rev. Police Dev. 1 (1991)
Some Comments on the Origin of the Police

handle is hein.journals/polic14 and id is 11 raw text is: Some Comments on the Origin of the Police Patrick B. Adamson, Nor Abstract The earliest history of a police force is to be found in records from Egypt and Mesopotamia dated to c.1500 BCE. Egyptian police originated slightly earlier and were more fully developed than in Mesopotamia. The civilian force developed independently in these two countries. The police were efficiently organised under control of civilian officials, but often had a bad reputation for harsh treatment of prison- ers, and they may have tortured suspects in order to obtain evidence. Nevertheless, evi- dence given by the police in the courts was con- sidered to be accurate and trustworthy. The earliest records of peaceful administration in Egypt are to be found in the statements of Uni, who maintained law and military justice in that country during the reign of Pepi I (dynasty V1, 2315-2262 BCE);' he also con- trolled the Medjay, nomadic tribesmen in Nubia, during the reign of Mernere (2261-2254 BCE).2 The Medjay were mobile, militant and troublesome to the peaceful farming set- tlements in Nubia, so the southern boundaries of Egypt required continual military supervi- sion. These tribesmen were disturbers of the peace and seriously interfered with trade;3 punitive expeditions against these nomads were, in fact, police actions to maintain border peace in Nubia. However, by the time of the late period of dynasty XVII (c. 1600 BCE), the Medjay were being enrolled in the Egyptian armies,4 and it is clear that by dynasty XVIII (1567-1320 BCE) the Medjay certainly were being used as policemen to patrol desert boundaries, to guard cemeteries and to maintain order within the state of Egypt itself.' Thus, the desert tribesmen had been transformed into a civilian police force. This police force was controlled by civilian Egyptian officers, the senior being called chief of Medjay, and having deputies under him. Each large town or district had its company of th Yorkshire, Great Britain police commanded by a captain of Medjay.6 The Medjay usually carried spears and shields, but sometimes may have been armed with bows. Apparently the police tortured suspects in order to obtain evidence.7 As early as the reign of Tuthmosis I (1525-1512 BCE), there was a settlement at Deir el-Medina which had a permanent post for a company of police.8 The police were responsible officials who gave evidence which could be used in the courts,9 but they were also under strict discipline, and, if necessary, could be punished for any in- fringement of the law.10 In Mesopotamia, by the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800 BCE), civil law and justice were being practiced by the king and his ad- ministrators.1 Although there was no official police force at this time, towns had a civilian night watchman (dgkU), and the semi-military official (rdz), was armed and maintained order in the city.2 Later, in Assyria, the rab dWi was an official who administered the law in a specific city, often having additional military duties as well.'3 The Itua, a militant tribe, was effectively controlled by this official, who employed them as semi-military policemen. Serious breaches of the peace were dealt with by this special branch of the army. They were usually armed with bows, and were under direct control of their own officer (9aknu). They had a reputation for cruelty and for harsh treatment of prisoners. By the middle of the 2nd millenium BCE, civilian officials were now enforcing the law; this was also noted at Mari, Alalakh and Nuzi.1 The ridct had become a policeman with some military associations, and he now carried an official staff but had no weapon. The man- zattuhlu was a court offical employed by judges as legal witness to the carrying out of sentence. He was a civilian and was equivalent to a policeman of the court.5 Thus, by the mid- dle of the 2nd millenium BCE, Mesopotamian civil administration had a simple police force, whose members were civilians attached to the

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