Raymond Westbrook

Raymond Westbrook (d. 2009) was the W.W. Spence Professor in Semitic Languages at the Johns Hopkins University. He was a leading authority on the relationship between ancient Near Eastern and Classical law and the origins of diplomacy. His numerous publications include A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law (Brill, 2003), a seminal work that covers all known legal systems of the region from the beginning of legal records until the Hellenistic period (28th–4th centuries B.C.).