The earliest known record of a contract of suretyship is a Mesopotamian tablet written around 2750 BC . Evidence of individual surety bonds exists in the Code of Hammurabi and in Babylon, Persia, Assyria, Rome, Carthage, among the ancient Hebrews and ( later ) in England.
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A surety most typically requires a guarantor when the ability of the primary obligor or " contract of suretyship is subject to the Statute of Frauds ( or its equivalent local laws ) and is only enforceable if recorded in writing and signed by the surety and by the principal.