Rhodian Laws
Defined in 2 dictionaries — Cyclopedic (1922), Black's (1910)
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
A code of maritime laws adopted by the people of Rhodes, who had by their commerce and naval victories obtained the sovereignty of the sea, about nine hundred years before the Christian era. There is reason to suppose this code has not been transmitted to posterity, at least not in a perfect state. A collection of marine constitutions, under the denomination of "Rhodian Laws," may be seen in Vinnius; but they bear evident marks of a spurious origin. Marsh. Ins. bk. 1, c. 4, p. 15. See "Code."
Black's Law Dictionary
Henry Campbell Black, M.A. · 1910
This, the earliest code or collection of maritime laws, was formulated by the pcople of the island of Rhodes, who, by their commercial prosperity and the superiority of their navies, had acquired the sovereignty of the seas. Its date is very uncertain, but is supposed (by Kent and others) to be about 900 B. C. Nothing of It is now extant except the article on jettison, which has been preserved in the Roman collections. (Dig. 14, 2, "Dex Rhodia de Jactu.") Another code, under the same name, was published In more modem times, but is generally considered, by the best authorities, to be spurious. See Schomberg, Mar. Laws Rhodes, 37, 38 ; 3 Kent, Comm. 3, 4; Azunl, Mar. Law, 265-296.