Keith Mack
The Code of Ur-Nammu, from Mesopotamia, is the oldest known surviving code of laws. Written in Sumerian c. 2100-2050 BC, it is arranged in a casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment). The Code of Ur-Nammu is followed by the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, which was compiled c. 1760 BC. The Code of Hammurabi is the most well-preserved ancient Near East legal text and is written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian.
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What You'll Learn
The Code of Ur-Nammu, Mesopotamia, c. 2100-2050 BC
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code, dating back to c. 2100-2050 BC. It originated in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) and is written in the Sumerian language on tablets. The code was established by King Ur-Nammu, the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur in Sumer, also known as the Ur III Period and the Sumerian Renaissance.
The code follows the typical structure of Mesopotamian law codes, with a prologue invoking the deities of Ur-Nammu's kingship, Nanna and Utu, and decreeing "equity in the land". The prologue also includes strong statements of royal power, such as "I eliminated enmity, violence, and cries for justice." The laws themselves are arranged in a casuistic form, with the IF (crime) THEN (punishment) structure that would influence nearly all later codes.
The Code of Ur-Nammu provides a glimpse into the societal structure of Ur's Third Dynasty. Below the king, or "great man," all members of society belonged to one of two strata: the "lu," or free person, and the slave (male: "arad," female: "geme"). The code also outlines the different stages of a woman's life, from daughter ("dumu-mi") to wife ("dam"), and, if she outlived her husband, widow ("nu-ma-su").
In terms of specific laws, the Code of Ur-Nammu institutes fines of monetary compensation for bodily damage, rather than following the later Babylonian lex talionis ("eye for an eye") principle. However, murder, robbery, adultery, and rape were capital offenses. The code also includes laws regarding property and family, such as the following:
> If a prospective son-in-law enters the house of his prospective father-in-law, but his father-in-law later gives his daughter to another man, the father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had brought. (12) If [text destroyed], he shall weigh and deliver to him 2 shekels of silver. If a slave escapes from the city limits, and someone returns him, the owner shall pay two shekels to the one who returned him.
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The Code of Urukagina, earlier than 2400 BC
The Code of Urukagina, dating back to earlier than 2400 BC, is widely regarded as the first known example of a legal code in recorded human history. It is believed to have originated in the city-state of Lagash in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq).
Urukagina, the ruler or governor (ensi) of Lagash, is best known for his far-reaching reforms aimed at tackling corruption and promoting freedom and equality. He is said to have exempted widows and orphans from taxes, mandated that the city cover funeral expenses, and decreed that the wealthy must use silver when purchasing from the poor. Notably, he also restricted the power of the priesthood and large landowners, and implemented measures to address usury, oppressive controls, hunger, theft, murder, and unlawful seizure of property and individuals.
Urukagina's code is considered a pioneering example of government reform, as it sought to curtail the excesses of the elite and empower the less fortunate. He expanded the ""Household of Women," a group of about 50 individuals, to approximately 1,500 members, renaming it the "Household of Goddess Bau." This group was granted ownership of significant lands confiscated from the priesthood and was overseen by Urukagina's wife, Shasha (or Shagshag).
Although the original text of the Code of Urukagina has not been discovered, its existence and contents have been inferred from various references and records. Urukagina's reforms were meticulously documented on cones and tablets, which were then buried near the foundations of new temples. These inscriptions provide valuable insights into the early legal systems of ancient Mesopotamia and the efforts to establish fundamental legal rights for citizens.
The Code of Urukagina predates other notable legal codes, such as the Code of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100–2050 BC) and the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC), both of which also originated in Mesopotamia.
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The Code of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia, 1901 BC
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed during 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-preserved, and most clearly defined legal text from the ancient Near East. It was rediscovered in 1901 in Susa, present-day Iran, by the French Orientalist Jean-Vincent Scheil. The code was compiled near the end of Hammurabi's reign and consists of his legal decisions, which were collected and inscribed on a diorite stele set up in Babylon's temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia.
Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC. He secured Babylonian dominance over the Mesopotamian plain through military prowess, diplomacy, and treachery. Hammurabi inherited his father Sin-Muballit's throne, and Babylon held little local sway; the local hegemon was Rim-Sin of Larsa. Hammurabi waited until Rim-Sin grew old, then swiftly conquered his territory, leaving his organisation intact. He betrayed allies in Eshnunna, Elam, and Mari to gain their territories. He had an aggressive foreign policy, but his letters suggest he was concerned with the welfare of his subjects and was interested in law and justice.
The Code of Hammurabi consists of about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text, with a prologue and epilogue in poetic style, and the remaining text containing the laws. The prologue begins with an etiology of Hammurabi's royal authority, granted by the gods to rule over humanity and prevent the strong from oppressing the weak. The laws are casuistic, expressed as "'if-then' conditional sentences", and cover a broad scope, including criminal law, family law, property law, and commercial law. The penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of the offences.
The Code of Hammurabi influenced the laws of other cultures, including the Middle Assyrian Laws, the Neo-Babylonian Laws, and the Mosaic Law of the Bible. It also influenced the Covenant Code, with similarities in the casuistic format, principles such as lex talionis ("eye for an eye"), and content concerning a man-goring ox.
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The Law of the Twelve Tables, Rome, 451-450 BC
The Law of the Twelve Tables, also known as The Twelve Tables, was a set of laws inscribed on 12 bronze tablets created in ancient Rome in 451 and 450 BC. They are considered the earliest written legislation of ancient Roman law.
The Twelve Tables were written by a committee of ten legal experts, known as the decemviri or decemvirs, at the insistence of the plebeians. The plebeians felt that their legal rights were hampered by the fact that court judgments were rendered according to unwritten custom, preserved only by a small group of learned patricians. The decemviri were tasked with composing a law code that would better represent the interests of ordinary people (plebeians) and reduce the influence of the aristocrats (patricians) and priests (pontifices) on Roman law.
The Twelve Tables were a first step towards a codified legal system that protected the rights of all citizens and allowed wrongs to be addressed through precisely worded written laws known to everybody. The laws covered most areas of private law and focused on relations between individual citizens, constituting a list of civil actions and penalties rather than a comprehensive law code.
The actual bronze tablets were set up in the Forum of Rome for all citizens to see, and students studied them as part of their education. However, the tablets themselves have not survived, destroyed according to tradition when Rome was sacked by the Gauls in 390 BC. Only fragments remain, and knowledge about their contents is largely derived from references in later juridical writings. The Twelve Tables were superseded by later changes in Roman law but were never formally abolished.
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The Code of Justinian, Rome, 529-565 AD
The Code of Justinian, or the Corpus Juris Civilis, is considered the first major codification of Roman law. It was compiled between 529 and 565 AD, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The code was ordered by Justinian I, the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople, who ruled from 527 AD.
Justinian recognised the need to reform the empire's legal system, which was a complex web of conflicting and outdated laws. He established a commission of 10 jurists, led by the praetorian prefect John the Cappadocian, to review and consolidate the myriad laws and ordinances issued by previous Roman emperors. This commission also included Tribonian, who later headed other Corpus Juris Civilis projects.
The commission's work culminated in the Codex Constitutionum, a 10-book compilation published on April 7, 529. This marked the first section of the Code of Justinian. The code was envisioned not as a novel set of rules but as a comprehensive collection and rationalisation of existing laws and legal practices.
The Code of Justinian was originally written in Latin and later translated into Greek, becoming known as the Basilika. However, the Latin version was largely lost in the West due to the limited extent of Roman territories. Over time, the code underwent modifications, with inscriptions dropped and laws rewritten in Greek being removed.
The Code of Justinian served as a precursor to Europe's great secular civil codes, influencing not only legal history but also the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered a significant milestone in the development of civil law, providing a framework for future codifications.
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Frequently asked questions
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving code of laws, written in Sumerian on tablets dating to c. 2100-2050 BC.
The Code of Ur-Nammu is from Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq.
The best-known ancient code of laws is the Code of Hammurabi, which was compiled near the end of Hammurabi's reign in Babylon.
The Code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 during the excavation of the ancient city of Susa in present-day Iran.
The Napoleonic Code, which was adopted in France in 1804, has served as a model for the vast majority of other modern civil codes.
