Certain aspects of the problems of establishing marital and family relations according to the law of ancient eastern countries

It is pointed out that the issue of marriage and family relations of the Ancient World era and, in particular, Ancient Eastern societies, has always been in the field of view of domestic and foreign researchers. Such scientific interest in it is quite understandable in view of the need to clarify the essence of the emergence of the institution of the family, the factors that determined the evolution of this social phenomenon, the adjustment of the legal regulation of this process in the direction of optimizing marital and family relations in accordance with the level of development of society at each of the its stages. One cannot but agree, in this connection, with the opinion of the famous American philosopher of German origin, Felix Adler, that «the family is a society in miniature, on the integrity of which depends the safety of the entire large human society». The article is devoted to the analysis of certain aspects of the process of formation of marriage and family institutions under the law of the countries of the Ancient East. An attempt was made to reveal certain regularities of this process, in particular, the nature of the family as a social institution, marriage as a form of its realization in the oldest local civilizations of the Near East known to science. A partial comparative and legal analysis of the features of this segment of social relations in certain states of the Ancient East was carried out and the factors that, in the opinion of the author, determined these features were outlined. In a broad context, it was established that family, marriage, as a form of its implementation, are dynamic social institutions that are directly dependent on the level of development of society. Therefore, their form and content must correspond to the nature of social relations, establish the principles that are dominant in this society, while ensuring its harmonious development.