Abstract：

During Mari Period,there was development of customary law of war that restricted war in Western Asia. Before launching a war,it is necessary to find a legitimate reason for the war,and to obtain the approval of the gods and the support of the friendly states,and more importantly,to issue an open declaration of war. In the treatment of defeated states after the war,although there were brutal warfare practices such as totally destructing cities and killing civilians,more humane war practices have gradually developed: destroying enemy cities in a limited way,treating enemy prisoners of war and civilians kindly,and burying the dead bodies of enemy soldiers. On the one hand,the convention of war in Mari period inherited some of the conventions of war in the third millennium B. C.,on the other hand,it made new development to the conventions of war in ancient Western Asia. It was closely related to the great powers' struggle for hegemony,military alliance war and large-scale war and the frequency of war. The great destructive power of war also prompted the emergence of more humane war practices,which represented the development direction of ancient West Asian war practices and are of progressive significance.

Keyword：Mari period; western Asia; customary law of war;

Published on Collected Papers of History Studies, Issue. 1 2020.