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An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.
An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.
View of the bas-relief image at the top of the stele.
View of the bas-relief image at the top of the stele. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela

The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi), the best preserved ancient law code, was created ca. A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted by a  1760 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. The 18th century BC was the Century which lasted from 1800 BC to 1701 BC See Short chronology for a timeline in absolute dates The Chronology of the Ancient Near East is a framework of dates for Babylon was a City-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi [1] Earlier collections of laws include the codex of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known tablet containing a Law code surviving today Ur ( Sumerian:urim; Akkadian: ?) is modern Tell el-Mukayyar, Iraq, and was a city in ancient Sumer. 2050 BC), the Codex of Eshnunna (ca. Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar, Iraq) was an ancient Sumerian city and city-state in lower Mesopotamia. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. Lipit-Ishtar (Lipit-Eshtar was the fifth ruler of the first dynasty of Isin, and ruled from around 1934 BCE to 1924 BCE Isin (modern Ishan al-Bahriyat was a city of lower Mesopotamia, which flourished during the 20th century BC. 1870 BC). [2]

At the top of the basalt stele is a bas-relief image of a Babylonian god (either Marduk or Shamash), with the king of Babylon presenting himself to the god, with his right hand raised to his mouth as a mark of respect. Basalt (bəˈsɔːlt ˈbeisɔːlt ˈbæsɔːlt is a common Extrusive Volcanic rock. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela A bas-relief (baʁəljɛf in French; French for "low relief" derived from the Italian basso rilievo) or low relief is a Sculpture Marduk ( Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMARUTU 𒀫 𒌓 "solar calf" perhaps from MERI For the Canaanite sun godess see Shemesh Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the Sun-god and god of justice in Babylonia [1] The text covers the bottom portion with the laws written in cuneiform script. It contains a list of crimes and their various punishments, as well as settlements for common disputes and guidelines for citizens' conduct. The Code does not provide for an opportunity for explanation or justification, though it does imply one's right to present evidence. The stele was displayed for all to see; thus, no man could plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. However, in that era few people except scribes could read. For a summary of the laws, see Babylonian law. Archaeological material for the study of Babylonian law is singularly extensive

Contents

History

Hammurabi (ruled ca. Hammurabi ( Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer" from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman" and Rāpi 1796 BC – 1750 BC) believed that he was chosen by the gods to deliver the law to his people. In the preface to the law code, he states, "Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land. "[3]

The laws are numbered from 1 to 282 (numbers 13 and 66-99 are missing) and are inscribed in Old Babylonian cuneiform script on the eight-foot tall stele. [4][5] It was discovered in December 1901 in Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan, Iran, where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) Elam is the name of an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Khūzestān (خوزستان is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. [6] It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city [1]

The code is often pointed to as the first example of the legal concept that some laws are so basic as to be beyond the ability of even a king to change. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Hammurabi had the laws inscribed in stone, so they were immutable.

The Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the Ancient Near East. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq [7][8] Most of these codes come from similar cultures and racial groups in a relatively small geographical area, and they have passages which resemble each other. The earlier Code of Ur-Nammu (21st century BC), the Hittite laws (ca. The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known tablet containing a Law code surviving today The Hittite laws have been preserved on a number of Hittite cuneiform tablets found at Hattusa ( CTH 291-292 listing 200 laws 1300 BC), and Mosaic Law (traditionally ca. term " Torah " ( Hebrew: תּוֹרָה "teaching" or "instruction" sometimes translated as "Law" most commonly refers to 1400 BC under Moses), all contain statutes that bear at least passing resemblance to those in the Code of Hammurabi and other codices from the same geographic area. Moses ( Latin: Moyses,; Greek: grc Mωυσής in both the Septuagint and the New Testament; Arabic: ar موسىٰ

View of the back side of the stele.
View of the back side of the stele.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Louvre ( Arts and Architecture). Assyrian law was very similar to Sumerian and Babylonian law, however notably more brutal than its predecessors Archaeological material for the study of Babylonian law is singularly extensive Cuneiform law refers to any of the Legal codes written in Cuneiform script, that were developed and used throughout the ancient Middle East among the Quid pro quo ( Latin for "something for something") indicates a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services Köln: Könemann. ISBN 3-8331-1943-8.  
  2. ^ Charles F. Horne, Ph. D. (1915). The Code of Hammurabi : Introduction (English). Yale University. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  3. ^ Edited by Richard Hooker; Translated by L. W. King (1910) (1996). Mesopotamia: The Code of Hammurabi (English). Washington State University. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  4. ^ commonlaw. com; C. H. W. Johns. Code of Hammurabi (English). commonlaw. com. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  5. ^ The Louvre Museum (2006). Near Eastern Antiquities: Mesopotamia (English). The Louvre Museum. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  6. ^ David Graves, Jane Graves (1995). Archaeological History of the Code of Hammurabi (English). Electronic Christian Media. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  7. ^ wwlia. org (2006). Was Hammurabi really the first law maker in history? (English). wwlia. org - Legal information. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  8. ^ L. W. King (2005). The Code of Hammurabi: Translated by L. W. King (English). Yale University. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.

Sources

External links

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