c. 200 BCE to 200 CE · Early law
Laws of Manu (Manusmriti)
India
A Sanskrit text on dharma, that is, on duty and right conduct, with rules on family, inheritance, crime, the king's duties and religious practice.
Why it matters
British colonial courts in India treated it as a main source of 'Hindu law' and had it translated into English in the 1790s. That shaped how Indian personal law was later developed.
Built on
No earlier text on this timeline is a documented model for it.
Went on to shape
No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.
Countries in the Legal Families Atlas
TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.
