Historical Developments of The Concept and Realm of Corruption in Ancient Times

Today, the study of "corruption" as a complex and tangible phenomenon is considered an important and fundamental issue in all countries. It can be said that the phenomenon of corruption is more or less present in all countries, but what is important is that the effect of corruption in today's world can't be limited to the same country that suffers from the phenomenon of corruption. That is why international institutions, with the support and insistence of countries that are less involved in this phenomenon, seek to take concrete and effective measures in all countries to fight corruption. Obviously, any effective and useful action in any country depends on comprehensive mastery of this phenomenon from various social, cultural, economic, political and legal aspects. Also, an important aspect of the study in this field can be the historical aspect of the case, which examines the historical developments of the concept and nature of the phenomenon of corruption. Such a study is one of the tools needed for a comprehensive study of the effects of corruption and how to combat it. In this article, we have tried to address only a corner of this historical aspect.
 

1.Introduction

Historical study is one of the necessary tools for comprehensive research on the effects of corruption and how to fight it. In the category of historical study, one of the debatable topics is the concept of corruption. In other words, in what sense corruption was used in the past? Conceptually, what is the difference between corruption in the present day and corruption in ancient times? From when exactly did the epistemological transformation in this regard take place? Also, what is the difference between behaviors that are considered corruption today and corrupt behaviors in ancient times? What is the difference between the discourse governing the category of corruption in ancient times and the discourse governing it in the current era?
 

2.Methodology

Basically, one of the research methods in human sciences and especially in the field of law is the historical method. In fact, the historical study of a legal or political phenomenon or issue is one of the best methods to accurately and completely identify that category in the field of science. Without a historical study, the full dimensions of that phenomenon cannot be explored. Corruption is one of these issues and phenomena. We should be able to find out its conceptual and practical developments by looking at the ancient times and the history of this phenomenon over time, so that we can better comment on its current state. Therefore, for the first time in Persian research on the issue of corruption and fighting it, we have turned to a historical study and research and we have tried to examine the issue from this approach. Therefore, the research method in this article is based on the analysis of historical texts, in the form of which we have discussed the concept of the category of corruption in the historical discourse.
 
3.Results and Discussion
The result of this research is that corruption has not had a single concept throughout history, and in the course of historical developments, we are witnessing important developments in the epistemology of corruption. In other words, it can be claimed that, historically, there are a few things to ponder about corruption. First, corruption has always existed throughout history. Second, the definition of corruption has been changed over time. In other words, what was considered corruption in ancient times may have been very different from the concept of corruption in later times or times close to the current time. Thirdly, in the distant past, corruption was not considered a reprehensible matter, but on the contrary, corruption was a value, and failure to provide grounds for corruption by the people or governmental and judicial authorities was considered a type of deviance and reprehensible behavior. Of course, even today there are views based on which corruption is not a bad thing and some corruptions is necessary for economic development, but in general, the basis of these views are significantly different from each other. Fourthly, in the past, corruption was less considered in connection with political power and more in the relationship between people with each other or their God or at the highest level in the relationship between people with the judicial system, but today it is almost the opposite, the main Corruption debates are formed in connection with political power and one of the most important concerns of people and benevolent people is to remove the stain of corruption from the skirts of power and the greatest damage of corruption is due to its connection with power and political centers towards people and countries.
 
4.Conclusions
It is not bad to point out that although the study of these developments will provide a good basis for designing a model to fight corruption, this can only be achieved when there is a will to fight corruption. It is not necessary to mention that there is no such will in some governments and this issue may have various reasons.
 

5.Selection of References
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Plutarc (1964), Lives of famous men, translation. Reza Meshaikhi, first volume, book translation and publishing company, Tehran.[In Persian]
Jafari, Mojtaba (2015), “Basics and Principles of Criminal Liability of Legal Entities in Iran's Islamic Penal Code”, Research Journal of Criminal Law, No. 14, pp. 7-32 [In Persian ].
Karmi, Mohammad Baqer (2001), an introduction to the penal system of ancient Iran (appendix), Third Line Publications, Tehran. [In Persian].
Asch, Ronald G. (1999), Corruption and punishment? The rise and fall of Mattäus Enzlin (1556–1613), lawyer and favourite. In J. H. Elliott & L. W. B. Brockliss (Eds), The world of the favourite (pp. 6–111). New Haven: Yale University Press
Bruce Buchan (2012), Changing Contours of Corruption in Western Political Thought, in: Corruption: Expanding the Focus, ANU Press.
Bruce Buchan and Lisa Hill (2014), An intellectual History of political corruption, Palgrave Macmillan.
Carlo Alberto Brioschi (2017), Corruption; A short history, Brookings Institution Press.
Harding, Robert. (1981), Corruption and the moral boundaries of patronage in the Renaissance. In G. F. Lytle & S. Orgel (Eds), Patronage in the Renaissance (pp. 47–64). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
John Thomas Noonan (1984), Bribes, University of California Press.