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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.

The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi ), the best preserved ancient law code, was created ca. 1760 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi.[1] Only one example of the Code survives today, inscribed on an eight-foot tall basalt stone slab or stele. Originally, a number of such stele would have been displayed in temples in various parts of the empire.[2][3]

The stele containing the Code of Hammurabi was discovered in December 1901 by the egyptologist Gustave Jéquier, a member of the expedition headed by Jacques de Morgan. The stele was discovered in what is now Khuzestan, Iran (ancient Susa, Elam), where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC.[4] It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.[1] At the top of the 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.[1] The text covers the bottom portion with the laws written in Old Babylonian cuneiform script. The text has been broken down by translators into 282 laws, but this division is arbitrary, since the original text contains no divisional markers.

Hammurabi (ruled ca. 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."[5]

The code is often pointed to as the first example of the legal concept that some laws are so fundamental as to be beyond the ability of even a king to change.

The Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the Ancient Near East.[6][7] 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).[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 Code of Ur-Nammu, the Hittite 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.citation needed

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

The Babylonians and their neighbors developed the earliest system of economics using a metric of various commodities, that was fixed in a legal code. The early law codes from Sumer could be considered the first (written) economic formula, and had many attributes still in use in the current price system today... such as codified amounts of money for business deals (interest rates), fines in money for 'wrong doing', inheritance rules, laws concerning how private property is to be taxed or divided, etc. The Code does not provide for an opportunity for explanation or justification, though it does imply one's right to present evidence. For a summary of the laws, see Babylonian law.

Contents

See also

Law portal
Ancient Near East portal

References

  1. ^ a b c Louvre ( Arts and Architecture). Köln: Könemann. ISBN 3-8331-1943-8. 
  2. ^ commonlaw.com; C. H. W. Johns. "Code of Hammurabi" (in English). commonlaw.com. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  3. ^ The Louvre Museum (2006). "Near Eastern Antiquities: Mesopotamia" (in English). The Louvre Museum. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  4. ^ David Graves, Jane Graves (1995). "Archaeological History of the Code of Hammurabi" (in English). Electronic Christian Media. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  5. ^ Edited by Richard Hooker; Translated by L.W. King (1910) (1996). "Mesopotamia: The Code of Hammurabi" (in English). Washington State University. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  6. ^ wwlia.org (2006). "Was Hammurabi really the first law maker in history?" (in English). wwlia.org - Legal information. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  7. ^ L. W. King (2005). "The Code of Hammurabi: Translated by L. W. King" (in English). Yale University. Retrieved on September 14, 2007.
  8. ^ Charles F. Horne, Ph.D. (1915). "The Code of Hammurabi : Introduction" (in 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.

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