Kara Sears
The Code of Ur-Nammu, written between 2100 and 2050 BCE, is the oldest known surviving law code. It was written in Sumerian, on clay tablets, and was discovered in Iraq in 1948. The code is arranged in a casuistic form, with a crime followed by its punishment. It was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur, and it established a framework for legal practices in the region. While the Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code, several other earlier collections were written in Sumerian and Akkadian, such as the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Code of Urukagina. These collections were also written by rulers and followed a similar structure, indicating a consistent underlying legal system. The most famous set of ancient laws was written by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, known as the Code of Hammurabi, which includes 282 laws addressing property rights, family matters, and criminal justice.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Code of Ur-Nammu |
| Date | c. 2100-2050 BCE or 2050-2047 BCE |
| Origin | Mesopotamia |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Author | King Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur |
| Number of laws | 57 |
| Format | Casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment) |
| Punishment type | Monetary fines, death sentences |
| Examples of laws | - If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay her one mina of silver. |
- If a man accused the wife of another man of adultery, and the river ordeal proved her innocent, then the accuser must pay one-third of a mina of silver. |
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What You'll Learn
The Code of Ur-Nammu: the oldest written law
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code, dating back to 2100–2050 BCE. It is from Mesopotamia and is written in the Sumerian language on clay tablets in cuneiform script. The tablets were discovered in Nippur, in what is now Iraq, and were translated by Samuel Noah Kramer in 1952. The Code of Ur-Nammu is three centuries older than the more famous Code of Hammurabi, which was inscribed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi around 1795-1750 BCE.
The Code of Ur-Nammu was issued by King Ur-Nammu of Ur, who ruled from 2047-2030 BCE. However, it is possible that the laws were actually published by his son, Shulgi, after Ur-Nammu's death. The code was further developed by Shulgi's successors and influenced later codes such as the Laws of Eshnunna and the laws decreed under the reign of Lipit-Ishtar. These codes, in turn, served as a model for the Code of Hammurabi, which influenced the laws of other civilizations, including the Mosaic Law of the Bible.
The Code of Ur-Nammu contains strong statements of royal power, with the king presenting himself as the father of his people and encouraging his subjects to think of themselves as one family. The prologue, typical of Mesopotamian law codes, invokes the deities for Ur-Nammu's kingship, Nanna and Utu, and decrees "equity in the land". The code also reveals a glimpse of the societal structure during Ur's Third Dynasty, with all members of society belonging to one of two basic strata: the "lu" or free person, and the slave.
The laws in the Code of Ur-Nammu are arranged in a casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment), a pattern followed in nearly all later codes. Punishments for crimes took the form of fines, except for capital offenses such as murder, robbery, adultery, and rape. For example, a man who divorces his first-time wife must pay her one mina of silver, while if he divorces a former widow, he must pay half a mina of silver. The code also includes provisions for criminal matters, such as sorcery and adultery accusations, with the accused considered innocent until proven guilty.
Overall, the Code of Ur-Nammu represents the earliest extant legal text, providing valuable insights into the legal, social, and cultural practices of ancient Mesopotamia.
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Cuneiform law: the world's oldest writing system
Cuneiform is the world's oldest writing system, first used around 3400-3500 BCE. It was developed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) and is distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks, which were made by pushing a wedge-tipped stylus into soft clay. This system made writing quicker and easier and allowed for a variety of impressions. Cuneiform was used to write several languages of the ancient Near East, including Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Luwian, and Eblaite.
Cuneiform was mostly used for business transactions, religious texts, government records, and laws, with the earliest known legal code attributed to King Ur-Nammu of Ur, dating back to approximately 2047-2030 BCE. The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code, written on clay tablets in the Sumerian language around 2100-2050 BCE. It is arranged in a casuistic form of "IF (crime) THEN (punishment)", a pattern followed in nearly all later codes. The code includes statements of royal power and equity, such as "I eliminated enmity, violence, and cries for justice" and "he banished malediction, violence, and strife". It also established fines for bodily damage and capital punishment for murder, robbery, adultery, and rape.
While the Code of Hammurabi, written around 1792-1750 BCE, is often thought of as the earliest law code, it was actually preceded by several earlier collections, including the Code of Ur-Nammu. Hammurabi's Code was written in Old Babylonian Akkadian and is the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It was inscribed on a basalt stele, a massive, finger-shaped black stone pillar, and includes 282 edicts covering family law, professional contracts, and administrative law.
The invention of written language allowed civilizations to store and share knowledge, and cuneiform law is a testament to the ancient world's legal practices and societal structures.
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The Code of Hammurabi: a famous set of ancient laws
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes. It was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 BC. Hammurabi expanded the city-state of Babylon along the Euphrates River to unite all of southern Mesopotamia.
The Code of Hammurabi is a collection of 282 rules, establishing standards for commercial interactions and setting fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. The code includes harsh punishments, such as demanding the removal of the guilty party's tongue, hands, breasts, eye, or ear. However, it also includes the principle of considering an accused person innocent until proven guilty. The edicts range from family law to professional contracts and administrative law, outlining different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society: the propertied class, freedmen, and slaves.
The Code of Hammurabi is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian and is the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. The primary copy of the text is inscribed on a basalt stele that is 2.25 meters tall. The stele was rediscovered in 1901 at the site of Susa in present-day Iran, where it had been taken as plunder six hundred years after its creation. The stele now resides in the Louvre Museum. The top of the stele features a relief of Hammurabi with Shamash, the Babylonian sun god and god of justice. Below the relief are about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text, with one-fifth containing a prologue and epilogue in poetic style, and the remaining four-fifths containing the laws.
The Code of Hammurabi is considered a true legal code, and Hammurabi is regarded as an important figure in the history of law. The code has been admired for its perceived fairness and respect for the rule of law, as well as for shedding light on the complexity of Old Babylonian society. Despite being one of the earliest written legal codes, the Code of Hammurabi was not the first. Several earlier collections, such as the Code of Ur-Nammu, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, predate it by hundreds of years.
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The Code of Lipit-Ishtar: addressed debt enslavement
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is a collection of laws dating back to the reign of Lipit-Ishtar of the First Dynasty of Isin (r. ca. 1934-1924 BCE). It is the second-oldest known extant legal code, predating the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is written in Sumerian and Akkadian and deals with matters such as the rights of persons, marriages, successions, penalties, property, and contracts.
One of the significant provisions of the Code of Lipit-Ishtar addressed debt enslavement, which had become a widespread practice. People sold themselves or their family members into slavery due to debt. The code also mandated community service for public works and established fair tax rates and estate laws. It is important to distinguish this type of "slavery" as better termed servitude, as it is more consistent with debt-servitude rather than chattel slavery.
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar was created to address disputes arising from estate issues, inheritance, and debt enslavement. While the upper class may have strictly adhered to the laws, villages, towns, and cities may have regarded them as guidelines rather than law. The Mesopotamian justice system primarily relied on customary law upheld by assemblies of elders, town officials, or courts. Judges could be chosen by the community or appointed by the king, and affected parties represented their cases and brought witnesses.
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is part of a tradition of law codes from Mesopotamia, including the older Code of Ur-Nammu and the later Code of Hammurabi. These law codes were written in stone and served as models for one another, influencing the form and content of subsequent codes. The Code of Hammurabi, for example, includes harsh punishments and is one of the earliest examples of the presumption of innocence. It also established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to uphold justice.
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The Laws of Eshnunna: pre-dated Hammurabi's laws by 200 years
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed between 1755 and 1750 BCE. It is the longest, best-preserved, and best-organized legal text from the ancient Near East. It is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian and is purportedly authored by Hammurabi, the sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon. The code is one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes, consisting of 282 rules that established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments.
The Code of Hammurabi was not the first written law, however. Several earlier collections survive, including the Code of Ur-Nammu, which is the oldest known surviving law code from Mesopotamia, written in Sumerian c. 2100-2050 BCE. The Code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin, written in Sumerian and Akkadian, also predates the Code of Hammurabi.
Among these earlier collections is the Laws of Eshnunna, which dates back to the 18th century BCE, predating the Code of Hammurabi by at least a century and possibly longer. The Laws of Eshnunna are believed to have been written by Bilalama or Dadusha and consist of 60 articles outlining a structured society with distinct classes, each with its own rights and responsibilities. The laws show significant differences from the Code of Hammurabi, with a more lenient approach to homicide and bodily injury, a more flexible system of compensation for property damage, and a more humane treatment of slaves.
The kingdom of Eshnunna controlled the upper Tigris River in Mesopotamia and was a powerful kingdom that coexisted with Babylon. Hammurabi, during his reign, conquered several city-states, including Eshnunna, and imposed Babylonian rule on the region. The discovery of the Laws of Eshnunna provides valuable insights into the evolution of law and society in early civilizations and the intricate workings of ancient Mesopotamia.
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Frequently asked questions
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code.
The Code of Ur-Nammu was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur.
The Code of Ur-Nammu is dated to c. 2100-2050 BCE or 2050-2047 BCE.
The first fragments of the Code of Ur-Nammu were discovered in Iraq in 1948.
The Code of Ur-Nammu consists of about 40 paragraphs, each listing a specific crime and its punishment. It also includes laws on divorce, sorcery, and false accusations.
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