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Code of Hammurabi


Most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign (c. 1792 – 50 BC) of Hammurabi. It consists of 282 of his legal decisions, collected toward the end of his reign and inscribed on a diorite stela set up in the temple of Marduk. The text is in the Akkadian language. Despite a few references to family solidarity, trial by ordeal, and the lex talionis (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth), it represents an advance over tribal custom in that it recognizes no blood feud, private retribution, or marriage by capture. The principal portion of the code is preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

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Law Encyclopedia: Code of Hammurabi
This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

A comprehensive set of laws, considered by many scholars to be the oldest established, that were handed down four thousand years ago by King Hammurabi of Babylon.

Although the Code of Hammurabi was essentially humanitarian in its intent and orientation, it contained the "eye for an eye" theory of punishment, which is a barbarian application of the concept of making the punishment fit the crime. The Code of Hammurabi recognized such modern concepts as that of corporate personality.

 
Wikipedia: Code of Hammurabi
An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.
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An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.
View of the bas-relief image at the top of the stele.
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View of the bas-relief image at the top of the stele.

The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabi's Code) was created ca. 1760 BC (middle chronology) and is one of the earliest extant sets of laws, and one of the best preserved examples of this type of document from ancient Babylon. It was created by the sixth Babylonian King, Hammurabi.[1] Earlier collections of laws include the codex of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Codex of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC).[2]

At the top of the stele is an image of a Babylonian god (thought to be 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.[1]

The Hammurabi stele image is done in bas-relief on basalt, and the text completely covered the bottom portion of the stele with the laws, written in cuneiform script. The text 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 opportunity for explanation or excuses, though it does imply one's right to present evidence. The stele was openly displayed for all to see; thus, no man could plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. Scholars, however, presume that few people could read in that era, as literacy was primarily the domain of scribes. For a comprehensive summary of the laws, see Babylonian law.

History

Hammurabi (ca. 1810 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 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 stela.[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.[6] It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.[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. 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.[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, of the Ur-III dynasty (21st century BC), the Hittite code of laws (ca. 1300 BC), and Mosaic Law (traditionally ca. 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.

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

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Louvre ( Arts and Architecture). 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

  • Bryant, Tamera (2005). The Life & Times of Hammurabi. Bear: Mitchell Lane Publishers. ISBN 9781584153382. 
  • Mieroop, Marc (2004). King Hammurabi of Babylon: a Biography. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 9781405126601. 
  • Hammurabi, King; C. H. W. Johns (Translator) (2000). The Oldest Code of Laws in the World. City: Lawbook Exchange Ltd. ISBN 9781584770619. 
  • Falkenstein, A. (1956–57). Die neusumerischen Gerichtsurkunden I–III. München.
  • Elsen-Novák, G. / Novák, M.: Der 'König der Gerechtigkeit'. Zur Ikonologie und Teleologie des 'Codex' Hammurapi. In: Baghdader Mitteilungen 37 (2006), pp. 131-156.
  • Julius Oppert and Joachim Menant (1877). Documents juridiques de l'Assyrie et de la Chaldee. París.
  • Thomas, D. Winton, ed. (1958). Documents from Old Testament Times. London and New York.

External links

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  • High resolution images and French description from the Louvre

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