The legal history or the history of law is the study of how law started, evolved and the reasons for the various changes in the law. Moreover, the law as a system of guidelines and rules that are carried out by institutions or people has been connected to the development of civilisations.
The topical outline of the legal history is arranged according to the laws of the ancient world in Western Asia, Southern Asia and East Asia; the laws in ancient Europe especially the Roman Empire; the laws in Europe during the Middle Ages; the laws in modern Europe; and the laws in the United States and Canada. For example, the history of Babylonian law during the reign of King Hammurabi is a good theme for the law essay on legal history.
If we lawyers tend to overlook the evolution of substantive law, then we can be downright unconscious about legal institutions and legal practice.