Gavin Howe
The Code of Ur-Nammu, written between 2100 and 2050 BC, is the oldest known surviving law code. It was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur. The code was discovered in Iraq in 1948 and translated in 1952. The laws were written on clay tablets and standardised legal practices in the region of Sumer, instituting fines of monetary compensation for bodily damage. The Code of Ur-Nammu is older than the more famous Code of Hammurabi, which was inscribed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi around 1792-1750 BCE.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Code of Ur-Nammu |
| Date | c. 2100-2050 BCE |
| Location | Mesopotamia |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Format | Cuneiform, inscribed on clay tablets |
| Number of laws | 40 |
| Author | King Ur-Nammu of Ur or his son Shulgi of Ur |
| Contents | Strong statements of royal power, laws in casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment) |
| Discovery | 1948 |
| Translation | Samuel Noah Kramer, 1952 |
| Current location | Istanbul Archaeology Museums |
| Preceded by | Code of Urukagina (c. 24th century BCE) |
| Succeeded by | Code of Hammurabi |
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What You'll Learn
- The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code
- Cuneiform law is the world's oldest writing system
- The Code of Hammurabi was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi
- The Code of Hammurabi was the first Mesopotamian law collection to be discovered
- The Code of Ur-Nammu was discovered in Iraq in 1948
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code
The Code of Ur-Nammu was written on clay tablets using cuneiform script, with fragments found in Nippur (modern-day Iraq) and Ur. Despite the passage of time, the tablets have preserved the code's prologue and five of its laws. The laws are structured in a casuistic form, stating the crime and the corresponding punishment. For example, if a man knocked out another man's tooth, he would have to pay two shekels of silver as compensation. The code also includes statements of royal power, such as "I eliminated enmity, violence, and cries for justice."
The Code of Ur-Nammu provides valuable insights into the societal structure of Ur's Third Dynasty. It reveals a two-tiered societal system, with the "lu" or free people at the top and slaves at the bottom. Women's lives are also documented, showing their progression from daughter (dumu-mi) to wife (dam) and widow (nu-ma-su), who could remarry. Additionally, the code outlines the process of divorce and the financial compensation owed to the wife.
The discovery of the Code of Ur-Nammu in 1948 challenged the previously held belief that the Code of Hammurabi was the oldest law code. The Code of Ur-Nammu predates the Code of Hammurabi by about three centuries and serves as a testament to the Sumerian king's vision of law and order in his kingdom.
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Cuneiform law is the world's oldest writing system
Cuneiform is widely regarded as the world's oldest writing system. It was used by scribes for more than three millennia and offers a window into ancient Mesopotamian life. Cuneiform clay tablets were created by using a reed or wedge-tipped stylus to make wedge-shaped indentations in clay tablets. The direction of writing was from top to bottom and right to left.
Cuneiform was first discovered in the 17th century with the publication of the trilingual Achaemenid royal inscriptions at Persepolis, but it wasn't until the 19th century that archaeologists began to excavate the tablets and attempt to decipher the script. In 1802, German amateur decipherer Georg Friedrich Grotefend was able to decipher the Old Persian inscriptions at the Persian necropolis of Naqsh-e Rustam, and in the 1840s, scholars were able to decipher the Elamite script using a kind of cuneiform Rosetta Stone discovered at Bisitun Pass in Iran.
In 1854, Layard's protégé Rassam discovered a relic buried beneath a temple in Ashur, believed to be the oldest Assyrian capital. The octagonal column, known as a "prism," was inscribed with 800 lines of tiny cuneiform characters and is now on display at the British Museum. In 1856, a letter carrier delivered a wax-sealed envelope to the secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, containing a 3,000-year-old clay relic inscribed with cuneiform.
The Code of Ur-Nammu, written in cuneiform on clay tablets, is the oldest known surviving law code, dating from around 2100-2050 BCE. It was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur and presents a glimpse into societal structure during Ur's Third Dynasty. Ur-Nammu is regarded as the first lawgiver, creating the first set of laws that applied to all people equally, regardless of social status or privilege.
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The Code of Hammurabi was proclaimed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed between 1755 and 1750 BC. It is the longest, best-preserved, and most well-organised legal text from the ancient Near East. The code was proclaimed by Hammurabi, the sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon, who reigned from 1792 to 1750 BC. Hammurabi was chosen by the Babylonian wind god Enlil to rule Babylon and "prevent the strong from oppressing the weak".
The code is a collection of 282 rules, written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian. It established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. The laws are arranged in a casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment). For example, if a man stole an ox, he must pay back 30 times its value. 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 primary copy of the text is inscribed on a basalt stele, a massive, finger-shaped black stone pillar. The stele was rediscovered in 1901 at Susa, in present-day Iran, having been looted by invaders six hundred years after its creation. The top of the stele features a relief carving of Hammurabi receiving the law from the Babylonian god of justice, Shamash. Below the relief are about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text, with a prologue and epilogue written in poetic style occupying one-fifth of the text.
Hammurabi's Code may not seem very different from more recent laws and precedents, but there are some key differences. For example, accusers were required to bring the accused to court by themselves. The code also refers to jumping into the Euphrates River as a method of demonstrating guilt or innocence. If the accused returned to shore, they were deemed innocent, and if they drowned, they were guilty. This practice reflects the Babylonians' belief that their fates were controlled by their gods.
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The Code of Hammurabi was the first Mesopotamian law collection to be discovered
The Code of Hammurabi is a collection of 282 laws that was discovered in 1901 by the French mining engineer Jacques de Morgan, who led an archaeological expedition to Persia. It was first believed to be the earliest Mesopotamian law collection when it was rediscovered in 1902. However, it was later discovered that the Code of Hammurabi was not the first written Mesopotamian law collection, as several earlier collections survive. These earlier collections were written in Sumerian and Akkadian and were also purported to have been written by rulers.
The Code of Hammurabi was developed during the reign of Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, who ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC. The code consists of his legal decisions, which were collected towards the end of his reign and inscribed on a diorite stele set up in Babylon's temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia. The stele was carved from a single, four-ton slab of diorite, a challenging stone for carving, and is covered with columns of chiseled cuneiform script.
The Code of Hammurabi is considered one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes. It established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. The 282 edicts range from family law to professional contracts and administrative law, often outlining different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society: the propertied class, freedmen, and slaves. For example, a doctor's fee for curing a severe wound would vary depending on the social class of the patient, with a gentleman paying 10 silver shekels, a freedman paying five shekels, and a slave paying two shekels.
The Code of Hammurabi also shares similarities with later Mesopotamian law collections, such as the casuistic Middle Assyrian Laws and the Neo-Babylonian Laws. These later collections may have been directly influenced by the Code of Hammurabi due to its survival through the scribal curriculum. Additionally, there is evidence that the Hittite laws may have been part of the same tradition of legal writing outside Mesopotamia. The relationship between the Code of Hammurabi and the Mosaic Law, specifically the Covenant Code of Exodus 20:22–23:19, has also been a subject of discussion.
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The Code of Ur-Nammu was discovered in Iraq in 1948
The Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest known surviving law code, was discovered in Iraq in 1948. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on clay tablets in the Sumerian language c. 2100–2050 BC. It contains strong statements of royal power, such as "I eliminated enmity, violence, and cries for justice." The code was translated by the scholar Samuel Noah Kramer in 1952. However, only a portion of it was discernible, including the long prologue and five of the laws.
The Code of Ur-Nammu was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur. It is believed to be centuries older than the famous Code of Hammurabi, which was inscribed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi. The dating of the Code of Ur-Nammu is based on middle chronology, placing it at c. 2100-2050 BCE. Short chronology, on the other hand, dates it at c. 2050-2047 BCE, just before or at the start of Ur-Nammu's reign.
The code consists of 57 laws, which are arranged in a casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment). This structure was followed in almost all subsequent codes. The laws covered a range of topics, including family law, professional contracts, and administrative law. Punishments for crimes were primarily in the form of fines, with the exception of capital offenses. For example, if a man accused another man's wife of adultery and the river ordeal proved her innocent, the accuser had to pay one-third of a mina of silver.
The discovery of the Code of Ur-Nammu in Iraq provided valuable insights into the societal structure and legal system of ancient Mesopotamia. It also highlighted the role of kings as upholders of law and order, with the power to issue legal reforms, debt releases, and decrees. The code reveals a glimpse of the societal structure during Ur's Third Dynasty, where beneath the king, there were two basic strata: the lu or free person, and the slave. The code also sheds light on the rights and roles of women, with specific provisions for daughters, wives, and widows.
While the Code of Ur-Nammu is currently regarded as the oldest known surviving law code, there are indications that earlier law codes may have existed. Some scholars believe that there were lawgivers in Sumer before Ur-Nammu, and it is possible that future discoveries could unearth even older law codes.
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Frequently asked questions
The first written laws were created around 2100-2050 BCE.
The first written laws were created by Sumerian king Ur-Nammu, or his son Shulgi of Ur.
The first written laws were called the Code of Ur-Nammu.
