Earlier attempts to curtail violence generally had less to do with when violence happened and more with where. Walls were considered the key to peace. Four thousand years ago, the Mesopotamian king Shulgi, builder of the first known border wall, wrote that his fortifications would finally allow the people to rest in peaceful dwelling places. By then, it was already an old idea. Ancient and even prehistoric peoples had sought to establish safe zones by building city walls since at least the tenth millennium BC.

Those early walls didn’t reduce violence simply by deterring invasion. The security afforded by walls changed the inhabitants of the ancient cities. They became accustomed to peace. Sleeping easily at night, without fear of ambush, they reduced their training for war. Many cities banned the carrying of weapons inside walls. Fewer and fewer men became soldiers.Check news on our site