From ancient Mesopotamia to today, the epic story of how humans have used laws to forge civilizations?  Rulers throughout history have used laws to impose order.?But laws were not simply?instruments?of power and social control. They also offered ordinary people a way to express their diverse?visions for a better world.?  In?The Rule of Laws, Oxford scholar Fernanda Pirie?traces?the rise and fall of the sophisticated legal systems underpinning ancient empires and religious tra