Historical attitudes Murder

a group of thugs strangling traveller on highway in 19th century.

in past, types of homicide lawful , justified. georg oesterdiekhoff wrote:

evans-pritchard says nuer sudan: homicide not forbidden, , nuer not think wrong kill man in fair fight. on contrary, man slays in combat admired courage , skill. (evans-pritchard 1956: 195) statement true african tribes, pre-modern europeans, indigenous australians, , native americans, according ethnographic reports on world. ... homicides rise incredible numbers among headhunter cultures such papua. when boy born, father has kill man. needs name child , can receive man, himself has murdered. when man wants marry, must kill man. when man dies, family again has kill man.

in many such societies redress not via legal system, blood revenge, although there might form of payment made instead – such weregild in germanic society paid victim s family in lieu of right of revenge.

one of oldest known prohibitions against murder appears in sumerian code of ur-nammu written sometime between 2100 , 2050 bc. code states, if man commits murder, man must killed.

in judeo-christian traditions, prohibition against murder 1 of ten commandments given god moses in (exodus: 20v13) , (deuteronomy 5v17). vulgate , subsequent english translations of bible used term secretly killeth neighbour or smiteth neighbour secretly rather murder latin clam percusserit proximum. later editions such young s literal translation , world english bible have translated latin occides murder rather alternatives of kill, assassinate, fall upon, or slay.

in islam according qur an, 1 of greatest sins kill human being has committed no fault. cause decreed children of israel whosoever killeth human being other manslaughter or corruption in earth, shall if had killed mankind, , whoso saveth life of one, shall if had saved life of mankind. , cry not unto other god along allah, nor take life allah hath forbidden save in (course of) justice, nor commit adultery – , whoso doeth shall pay penalty.

the term assassin derives hashshashin, militant ismaili shi ite sect, active 8th 14th centuries. mystic secret society killed members of abbasid, fatimid, seljuq , crusader elite political , religious reasons. thuggee cult plagued india devoted kali, goddess of death , destruction. according estimates thuggees murdered 1 million people between 1740 , 1840. aztecs believed without regular offerings of blood sun god huitzilopochtli withdraw support them , destroy world knew it. according ross hassig, author of aztec warfare, between 10,000 , 80,400 persons sacrificed in 1487 re-consecration of great pyramid of tenochtitlan.

southern slave codes did make willful killing of slave illegal in cases. example, 1860 mississippi case of oliver v. state charged defendant murdering own slave. in 1811, wealthy white planter arthur hodge hanged murdering several of slaves on plantation in british west indies.

in corsica, vendetta social code required corsicans kill wronged family honor. between 1821 , 1852, no fewer 4,300 murders perpetrated in corsica.