Cameron Miranda
The Code of Hammurabi, commissioned by Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, is often regarded as the first code of laws. However, it was neither the first to be written nor discovered. The Code of Ur-Nammu, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC, is the oldest surviving law code. It was discovered in 1952 and is the earliest extant legal text.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Hammurabi |
| Occupation | Sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon |
| Reign | 1792-1750 BC (middle chronology); 1795-1750 BC (according to another source) |
| Legacy | Regarded as an important figure in the history of law; the Code of Hammurabi is considered the first known effort to produce a coherent set of abstract legal precepts for an entire country |
| Other | The Code of Hammurabi was not the earliest Mesopotamian law collection, as it was predated by the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Code of Ur-Nammu |
| Oldest law code | The oldest known surviving law code is the Code of Ur-Nammu, written in Sumerian c. 2100-2050 BC |
| Author of the oldest law code | The Code of Ur-Nammu is attributed to either Ur-Nammu, king of Ur, or his son Shulgi of Ur |
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What You'll Learn
- The Code of Hammurabi: the first Mesopotamian law collection, written in Akkadian and Sumerian
- The Code of Ur-Nammu: the oldest surviving law code, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC
- The Code of Lipit-Ishtar: discovered in 1947, predating Hammurabi's code
- The Laws of Eshnunna: discovered in 1948, another older code
- The Code of Urukagina: the earliest known law code, referenced in ancient works
The Code of Hammurabi: the first Mesopotamian law collection, written in Akkadian and Sumerian
Hammurabi, the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, is regarded as an important figure in the history of law. His Code of Hammurabi, written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is also the most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws.
The Code of Hammurabi was compiled near the end of Hammurabi's reign (1792–1750 BCE) and was rediscovered in 1901 or 1902 at Susa in present-day Iran. The primary copy of the text is inscribed on a basalt stele that stands 2.25 metres (7 feet 4+1⁄2 inches) tall. The stele now resides in the Louvre Museum and has replicas in several institutions, including the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The stele features an image in 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 a 300-line prologue and epilogue in poetic style and the remaining four-fifths containing the laws. The prologue begins with an etiology of Hammurabi's royal authority, asserting that he was chosen by the gods to rule "to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak". The laws are written in a regular and repetitive style and are expressed in a casuistic format: they are conditional sentences with the case detailed in the "if" clause and the remedy given in the "then" clause.
The Code of Hammurabi is based on a body of Sumerian law that civilised communities had lived under for centuries. Although the existing text is in Akkadian, it was meant to integrate Semitic and Sumerian traditions and peoples. The code is advanced beyond tribal custom, recognising no blood feud, private retribution, or marriage by capture. It includes economic provisions (prices, tariffs, trade, and commerce), family law (marriage and divorce), criminal law (assault, theft), and civil law (slavery, debt). Penalties varied according to the offender's status and the offence's circumstances.
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The Code of Ur-Nammu: the oldest surviving law code, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC
The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest surviving law code, written in Sumerian c. 2100–2050 BC. It is from Mesopotamia and is written on tablets. The preface directly credits the laws to King Ur-Nammu of Ur (2112–2095 BC), although some historians believe they should be attributed to his son Shulgi. Ur-Nammu established the Third Dynasty of Ur in Sumer, also known as the Sumerian Renaissance. The prologue, typical of Mesopotamian law codes, invokes the deities for Ur-Nammu's kingship, Nanna and Utu, and decrees "equity in the land". Ur-Nammu is described as a mighty warrior who banished malediction, violence, and strife. He also set the monthly Temple expenses at 90 gur of barley, 30 sheep, and 30 sila of butter. He standardised the one-mina weight and the stone weight of a shekel of silver in relation to one mina.
The Code of Ur-Nammu contains 57 laws, 30 of which have been fully reconstructed. The laws are arranged in a casuistic form of IF (crime) THEN (punishment)—a pattern followed in nearly all later codes. It institutes fines of monetary compensation for bodily damage instead of the later lex talionis ('an eye for an eye') principle of Babylonian law. However, murder, robbery, adultery, and rape were capital offences. The code reveals a glimpse of societal structure during Ur's Third Dynasty. Beneath the lugal ("great man" or king), all members of society belonged to one of two basic strata: the lu or free person, or the slave (male, arad; female geme). The son of a lu was called a dumu-nita until he married, becoming a 'young man' (gurus). A woman (munus) progressed from being a daughter (dumu-mi), to a wife (dam), and if she outlived her husband, a widow (nu-ma-su) who could remarry.
The first recension of the code (Ni 3191), an Old Babylonian period copy in two fragments found at Nippur, in what is now Iraq, was translated by Samuel Noah Kramer in 1952. These fragments are held at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. Owing to its partial preservation, only the long prologue and five of the laws were discernible. Two further tablet fragments (IM 85688+85689) now held at the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, with no prologue or concluding formula, were found in Ur and translated in 1965, allowing some 30 of the 57 laws to be reconstructed. Another copy found in Sippar contains slight variants. Although it is known that earlier law codes existed, such as the Code of Urukagina, this represents the earliest extant legal text. It is three centuries older than the famous Code of Hammurabi.
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The Code of Lipit-Ishtar: discovered in 1947, predating Hammurabi's code
The Code of Lipit-Ishtar is a collection of laws dating back to the reign of Lipit-Ishtar, the fifth king of the First Dynasty of Isin, who ruled Lower Mesopotamia from 1934 to 1924 BCE. The code was discovered in 1947 and is the second-oldest known legal code, predating Hammurabi's code. It is written in the Sumerian language using cuneiform script.
Lipit-Ishtar is credited with restoring peace and establishing a functioning legal system in the lands of Sumer and Akkad. The code is structured similarly to the older Code of Ur-Nammu, with a prologue, a main body, and an epilogue. The prologue invokes the gods An and Enlil and legitimizes the legal content of the code, explaining that Lipit-Ishtar was chosen by the gods to establish justice and eradicate crime and violence.
The main body of the Code of Lipit-Ishtar consists of almost fifty legal provisions covering a range of topics, including boats, agriculture, fugitive slaves, false testimony, foster care, apprenticeship, marriage, sexual relationships, and rented oxen. The provisions are introduced by the Sumerian word "tukun-be," meaning "if." Notably, the code does not include crimes punishable by death. One example of a provision is that false accusers must bear the punishment for the crimes they have alleged.
The epilogue of the code contains three large lacunae, with the remaining parts explaining that Lipit-Ishtar executed a divine order and brought justice to his land. The code is considered to be about the same length as the later Code of Hammurabi, and it served as a model for that famous code, influencing the laws of other civilizations.
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The Laws of Eshnunna: discovered in 1948, another older code
The Code of Hammurabi was long considered the earliest Mesopotamian law collection after its rediscovery in 1902. However, several older collections have since been discovered, including the Laws of Eshnunna, which were found in 1945 and 1947. The Laws of Eshnunna were translated and published by Albrecht Goetze of Yale University in 1948.
The Laws of Eshnunna are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abu Harmal, Baghdad, Iraq. They are named after the city of Eshnunna, located on the bank of the Diyala River, a tributary of the Tigris, north of Ur. Eshnunna rose to political prominence following the fall of the third dynasty of Ur, which was founded by Ur-Nammu.
The Laws of Eshnunna are not a systematized codex, but rather a collection of various laws. They are written in Akkadian and consist of two tablets marked with "A" and "B." The tablets are believed to have originated during the reign of Dadusha, an Eshnunnian ruler. Tablet B is thought to be older, as it was written during the time of King Dadusha, who reigned a generation before Hammurabi.
The laws themselves reveal a society with two distinct classes: the muškenum and awilum. The laws address offences involving members of both classes, as well as slaves, who are not merely objects of the law but are recognised as victims of crimes. The majority of offences were penalised with pecuniary fines, while more serious crimes such as burglary, murder, and sexual offences were punished more severely.
The discovery of the Laws of Eshnunna, along with other ancient law codes, has provided valuable insights into the development of ancient and cuneiform law. These laws offer a glimpse into the societal structure and legal practices of their time, contributing to our understanding of the evolution of legislation and justice in ancient civilisations.
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The Code of Urukagina: the earliest known law code, referenced in ancient works
The Code of Urukagina is widely regarded as the first recorded example of government reform, seeking to achieve a higher level of freedom and equality. Urukagina, or Iri-ka-gina, was the King of the Mesopotamian city-states of Lagash and Girsu and the last ruler of the 1st Dynasty of Lagash. He assumed the title of king, claiming to have been divinely appointed, upon the downfall of his corrupt predecessor, Lugalanda.
Urukagina's code aimed to limit the power of the priesthood and large property owners. It took measures against usury, burdensome controls, hunger, theft, murder, and seizure of people's property and persons. In his code, he states, "The widow and the orphan were no longer at the mercy of the powerful man", and the word "freedom" ("ama-gi") appears for the first time in recorded history. Urukagina also abolished the former custom of polyandry, with the penalty of stoning for women who took multiple husbands.
Despite these attempts to curb the excesses of the elite class, it seems elite or royal women enjoyed even greater influence and prestige during his reign. Urukagina expanded the royal "Household of Women" from about 50 persons to about 1,500 persons, renamed it the "Household of goddess Bau", and placed it under the supervision of his wife, Shasha (or Shagshag).
Although the actual text of Urukagina's code has not been discovered, much of its content can be inferred from other references to it that have been found. For example, he exempted widows and orphans from taxes and compelled the city to pay funeral expenses, including ritual food and drink libations for the journey of the dead into the lower world. He also decreed that the rich must use silver when purchasing from the poor.
Urukagina's code is referenced in ancient works, including the Code of Ur-Nammu, which is the oldest known surviving law code, written in Sumerian on tablets c. 2100–2050 BC. The Code of Ur-Nammu was discovered after the Code of Hammurabi, which was initially thought to be the earliest Mesopotamian law collection when it was rediscovered in 1902.
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Frequently asked questions
The Code of Ur-Nammu, authored by Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi, is the oldest known surviving law code, dating back to 2100-2050 BCE. It is written in Sumerian on clay tablets and invokes the deities Nanna and Utu for Ur-Nammu's kingship.
The Code of Ur-Nammu includes provisions for both civil and criminal matters. For instance, if a man accused another man's wife of adultery and she was proven innocent, the accuser had to pay one-third of a mina of silver. It also specified that murder, robbery, adultery, and rape were capital offenses.
Several other ancient legal codes include the Code of Hammurabi, the Middle Assyrian Laws, the Law of Manu, the Edicts of Ashoka, and the Tang Code, which was the first comprehensive criminal code in ancient China.
The Code of Ur-Nammu is believed to have served as a model for the Code of Hammurabi, which was drafted three centuries later. While the Code of Ur-Nammu focuses on monetary compensation for bodily damage, the Code of Hammurabi emphasizes retributive justice, exemplified by the principle of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."
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