Code of Hammurabi 1

Code of Hammurabi

- Code on clay tablet - Code on diorite stele The Code of Hammurabi isa well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating to ca. 1700 BC (short chronology). It is one of the oldest decipheredwritings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partialcopies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaledpunishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis)[1] as graded depending on social status,of slave versus free man.[2]

Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract, establishing for example the wages to be paid to ox driveror a surgeon. Other provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the liability of a builder for a house thatcollapses, for example, or property that is damaged while left in the care of another. Approximately a third of thecode addresses issues concerning household and family relationships such as inheritance, divorce, paternity andsexual behavior. Only one provision appears to impose obligations on an official; this provision establishes that ajudge who reaches an incorrect decision is to be fined and removed from the bench permanently.[3] A handful ofprovisions address issues related to military service.One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, on a diorite stele in the shape of a huge index finger,[4]

2.25 m or 7.4 ft tall (see images at right). The Code is inscribed in the Akkadian language, using cuneiform scriptcarved into the stele, today on display in the Louvre, in Paris.

HistoryHammurabi ruled for 42 years, 1792 to 1750 B.C., in the preface to the law code, he states, "Anu and Bel called byname me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule in the land."[5]

In 1901 Egyptologist Gustave Jéquier, a member of an expedition headed by Jacques de Morgan, found the stelecontaining the Code of Hammurabi in what is now Khūzestān, Iran (ancient Susa, Elam), where it had been taken asplunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century B.C.It is currently on display at the Louvre, in Paris.[6]

Code of Hammurabi 2

LawThe Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the Ancient Near East.[7] Earlier collections of lawsinclude the Code of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Laws of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex ofLipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC), while later ones include the Hittite laws, the Assyrian laws, and Mosaic Law.[8]

These codes come from similar cultures in a relatively small geographical area, and they have passages whichresemble each other.[9]

Figures at top of stele "fingernail" aboveHammurabi's code of laws.

Side view of the stele "fingertip".

The code has been seen as an early example of a fundamental lawregulating a government — i.e., a primitive form of what is nowknown as a constitution.[10] [11] The code is also one of the earliestexamples of the idea of presumption of innocence, and it also suggeststhat both the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provideevidence.[12] The occasional nature of many provisions suggests thatthe Code may be better read as a codification of supplementary judicialdecisions of the king. Rather than being a modern legal code orconstitution, it may have as its purpose the self-glorification ofHammurabi by memorializing his wisdom and justice. Its copying insubsequent generations indicates that it was used as a model of legaland judicial reasoning.[13]

Examples

Here are nineteen example laws, in their entirety, of the Code ofHammurabi [14], translated into English:

• If anyone ensnares another, putting a ban upon him, but he cannotprove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.

• If anyone brings an accusation against a man, and the accused goesto the river and leaps into the river, if he sinks in the river hisaccuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river provesthat the accused is not guilty, and he escapes unhurt, then he whohad brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he wholeaped into the river shall take possession of the house that hadbelonged to his accuser.

• If anyone finds runaway male or female slaves in the open countryand brings them to their masters, the master of the slaves shall payhim two shekels of silver.

• If anyone brings an accusation of any crime before the elders, anddoes not prove what he has charged, he shall, if a capital offense ischarged, be put to death.

• If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct itproperly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner,then the builder shall be put to death. (Another variant of this is: If the owner's son dies, then the builder's sonshall be put to death.)

• If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be hewn off.• If a man gives his child to a nurse and the child dies in her hands, but the nurse, unbeknown to the father and

mother, nurses another child, then they shall convict her of having nursed another child without the knowledge ofthe father and mother and her breasts shall be cut off.

• If anyone steals the minor son of another, he will be put to death.

Code of Hammurabi 3

• If a man takes a woman as a wife, but has no intercourse with her, this woman is no wife to him.• If a man strikes a free-born woman so that she loses her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss.• If a man puts out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be put out.• If a man knocks the teeth out of another man, his own teeth will be knocked out.• If anyone strikes the body of a man higher in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public.• If a freeborn man strikes the body of another freeborn man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina.• If the slave of a freed man strikes the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off.• If anyone commits a robbery and is caught, he shall be put to death.• If anyone opens his ditches to water his crop, but is careless, and the water floods his neighbor's field, he shall pay

his neighbor corn for his loss.• If a judge tries a case, reaches a decision, and presents his judgment in writing; and later it is discovered that his

decision was in error, and it was his own fault, he shall pay twelve times the fine set by him in the case and beremoved from the judge's bench...

There are 282 such laws in the Code of Hammurabi, each usually no more than a sentence or two. The 282 laws arebracketed by a Prologue in which Hammurabi introduces himself, and an Epilogue in which he sets forth his hopesand prayers for his code of laws.

Other copiesVarious copies of portions of the Code of Hammurabi have been found on baked clay tablets, some possibly olderthan the celebrated diorite stele now in the Louvre. The Prologue of the Code of Hammurabi (the first 305 inscriptedsquares on the stele) is on such a tablet, also at the Louvre (Inv #AO 10237). Some gaps in the list of benefitsbestowed on cities recently annexed by Hammurabi may imply that it is older than the famous stele (it is currentlydated to the early 18th century BCE).[15] Likewise, the Museum of the Ancient Orient, part of the IstanbulArchaeology Museums, also has a "Code of Hammurabi" clay tablet, dated to 1750 BC, in (Room 5, Inv # Ni2358).[16] [17]

In July, 2010, archaeologists reported that a fragmentary Akkadian cuneiform tablet was discovered at Tel Hazor,Israel, containing a ca. 1700 BC text that was said to be partly parallel to portions of the Hammurabi code. TheHazor law code fragments are currently being prepared for publication by a team from the Hebrew University ofJerusalem.[18]

References[1] Review: The Code of Hammurabi, J. Dyneley Prince, The American Journal of Theology Vol. 8, No. 3 (Jul., 1904), pp. 601-609 Published

by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http:/ / www. jstor. org/ stable/ 3153895[2] Gabriele Bartz, Eberhard König, (Arts and Architecture), Könemann, Köln, (2005), ISBN 3833119438. The laws were based with scaled

punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye" depending on social status.[3] http:/ / www. commonlaw. com/ Hammurabi. html Code of Hammurabi[4] Iconographic Evidence for Some Mesopotamian Cult Statues, Dominique Collon, Die Welt der Götterbilder, Edited by Groneberg, Brigitte; ,

Spieckermann, Hermann; , and Weiershäuser, Frauke, Berlin, New York (Walter de Gruyter) 2007 Pages 57–84[5] Edited by Richard Hooker; Translated by L.W King (1996). "Mesopotamia: The Code of Hammurabi" (http:/ / www. wsu. edu/ ~dee/ MESO/

CODE. HTM). Washington State University. . Retrieved September 14, 2007.[6] Gabriele Bartz, Eberhard König. (2005). Louvre ( Arts and Architecture). Köln: Könemann. ISBN 3-8331-1943-8.[7] L. W. King (2005). "The Code of Hammurabi: Translated by L. W. King" (http:/ / www. yale. edu/ lawweb/ avalon/ medieval/ hamframe.

htm). Yale University. . Retrieved September 14, 2007.[8] Barton, G.A: Archaeology and the Bible. University of Michigan Library, 2009, (originally published in 1916 by American Sunday-School

Union) p.406.[9] Barton 2009, p.406. Barton, a professor of Semitic languages at the University of Pennsylvania from 1922 to 1931, stated that while there are

similarities between the Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi, a study of the entirety of both laws "convinces the student that the laws ofthe Old Testament are in no essential way dependent upon the Babylonian laws." He states that "such resemblances" arose from "a similarityof antecedents and of general intellectual outlook" between the two cultures, but that "the striking differences show that there was no directborrowing."

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[10] What is a Constitution? William David Thomas, Gareth Stevens (2008) p. 8[11] Flach, Jacques. Le Code de Hammourabi et la constitution originaire de la propriete dans l'ancienne Chaldee. (Revue historique. Paris, 1907.

8. v. 94, p. 272-289.[12] Victimology:Theories and Applications, Ann Wolbert Burgess, Albert R. Roberts, Cheryl Regehr,Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009, p. 103[13] For this alternative interpretation see Jean Bottéro, "The 'Code' of Hammurabi" in Mesopotamia: Writing, Reasoning and the Gods

(University of Chicago, 1992), pp. 156-184.[14] http:/ / www. wsu. edu/ ~dee/ MESO/ CODE. HTM[15] Fant, Clyde E. and Mitchell G. Reddish (2008), Lost Treasures of the Bible: Understanding the Bible Through Archaeological Artifacts in

World Museums (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Dj6zVQJz7zYC& pg=PA62& lpg=PA62& dq="Code+ of+ Hammurabi"+ AND+2358& source=bl& ots=h-WEMEm_S7& sig=otruVc43aRR7ge-2v-78tcMQih8& hl=en& ei=tU1iSrvWNdmOtgfjr9EC& sa=X&oi=book_result& ct=result& resnum=3), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., pg 62.

[16] Freely, John, Blue Guide Istanbul (5th ed., 2000), London: A&C Black, New York: WW Norton, pg 121. ("The most historic of theinscriptions here [i.e., Room 5, Museum of the Ancient Orient, Istanbul] is the famous Code of Hammurabi (#Ni 2358) dated 1750 BC, theworld's oldest recorded set of laws.")

[17] Museum of the Ancient Orient website (http:/ / english. istanbul. gov. tr/ Default. aspx?pid=13150) ("This museum contains a rich collectionof ancient ... archaeological finds, including ... seals from Nippur and a copy of the Code of Hammurabi.")

[18] Tablet Discovered by Hebrew U Matches Code of Hammurabi (http:/ / www. israelnationalnews. com/ News/ News. aspx/ 138788)

Bibliography• Driver, G.R. & J.C. Miles (2007). The Babylonian Laws. Eugene: Wipf and Stock. ISBN 1-55635-229-8.• Roth, Martha T. (1997). Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Atlanta: Scholars Press.

ISBN 0-7885-0378-2.• 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.• Beck, Roger B.; Linda Black, Larry S. Krieger, Phillip C. Naylor, Dahia Ibo Shabaka, (1999). World History:

Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X.

External links• The Code of Hammurabi Translated by L. W. King (http:/ / www. general-intelligence. com/ library/ hr. pdf),

nicely typeset.• HG-Hammu (http:/ / www. historyguide. org/ ancient/ hammurabi. html), historyguide.org• Charles F. Horne, Ph.D. (1915). "The Code of Hammurabi : Introduction" (http:/ / www. yale. edu/ lawweb/

avalon/ medieval/ hammint. htm). Yale University. Retrieved September 14, 2007.• speechisfire.com (http:/ / www. speechisfire. com/ ) - Includes soundfiles with extracts from the Code being read

in Babylonian by a modern scholar.• The Code of Hammurabi Translated by L. W. King (http:/ / www. holyebooks. org/ babylonia/

the_code_of_hammurabi/ index. html)• Law Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon | Musée du Louvre (http:/ / www. louvre. fr/ llv/ oeuvres/

detail_notice.jsp;jsessionid=HKtvj0psv5RnwxZmHFSyPpMhwMxtM0r26Pkk7JDT5QTN3QsJ58Qt!168458495?CONTENT<>cnt_id=10134198673226487&CURRENT_LLV_NOTICE<>cnt_id=10134198673226487& FOLDER<>folder_id=9852723696500800&baseIndex=0& bmLocale=en)

Code of Hammurabi 5

• English Translation | University of Evansville (http:/ / eawc. evansville. edu/ anthology/ hammurabi. htm)• Code Of Hammurabi - Ancestor of Modern Law (http:/ / www. famoushistoricalevents. net/ code-hammurabi/ )• English translation of the Code of Hammurabi (http:/ / www. wsu. edu/ ~dee/ MESO/ CODE. HTM)• Complete scientific English translation of the Code of Hammurabi (http:/ / oll. libertyfund. org/ index.

php?option=com_staticxt& staticfile=show. php?title=1276& Itemid=27)• Hammurabi's Code (http:/ / cliojournal. wikispaces. com/ Hammurabi's+ Code), Blaise Joseph, Clio History

Journal, 2009.

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsCode of Hammurabi  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=445406217  Contributors: 0rrAvenger, 2D, 334a, 5 albert square, A More Perfect Onion, ANE.Scholar, Aardvark92,Aaron north, Acroterion, Addihockey10, Addshore, Ajcheema, Alansohn, Allen4names, Allmightyduck, Alpha Quadrant, Anable, AnakngAraw, Andonic, Andrea105, Andrew c, Andycjp,Animum, Annasophiarocks, Antandrus, Aqwis, ArielGold, Arthena, Asdfghjkl1234567890jjjjj, Ashdog137, Aude, Audionaut, Auntof6, Austry, Avoided, B'er Rabbit, BD2412, Backstabber913,Batman2k9, Bdesham, Bds69, Benjadow, Benwbrum, Berean Hunter, Binaryboy, BirgitteSB, Bjankuloski06en, Blablunee, Blahblunee, Blurpeace, Bobblewik, Bobo192, Bobpi, Bobsmom123,Bogdangiusca, Bootstoots, Bped1985, Bubuka, Bucketsofg, Businessmouse, CIreland, Cabron1, Camw, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, CanisRufus, CapitalSasha, Capricorn42, Carmichael95,Catalographer, Categorystuff, Charles Matthews, Chris the speller, Christopher Parham, Ciaccona, ClockworkSoul, Closeapple, Closedmouth, Codex Sinaiticus, Comparativist1, Conversionscript, Cpl Syx, Cretog8, D, D climacus, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DVdm, DanielCD, Dar-Ape, Darth Panda, Dasani, Dattebayo321, DavidJ710, Dbachmann, Dblk, Declare, Decltype, Denimadept,Diannaa, Dina, Dino, DjR, Dlohcierekim, Dlohcierekim's sock, Dna-webmaster, Docu, Dougweller, Download, Dozols, Dreamyshade, Drmies, Drpickem, Dubsarmah, Dylan Flaherty,EECavazos, EJF, Ebomb86, Ecphora, Ecthelion83, Ediblemitten, Edivorce, Egil, EliasAlucard, Elijahmeeks, Elmedio, Elockid, Emarsee, Emijrp, Epbr123, Erebus Morgaine, Erri4a,Eskandarany, Excirial, Exert, Eyrian, FDuffy, Falcon8765, Faradayplank, FarfromHvar, Favonian, Flamingspinach, Fortdj33, Frankenpuppy, Frietjes, Frosty6, GM11, Gail, Gamlingtheold,Gcolive, Gerrit, Gfoley4, Ghadfield, Gilabrand, Gilliam, Gimboid13, Glane23, Google2104, GorillaWarfare, Gotcho, GreatWhiteNortherner, Gwernol, Hadal, HaeB, HamburgerRadio,HexaChord, Hit45, Holy asdef, HonztheBusDriver, Hoover17, Husond, Hut 8.5, I dream of horses, Iacobus, Iain99, IceUnshattered, Idkwathappened, Igiffin, Impala2009, Innotata, Interwal,Intranetusa, Iranway, Irpond, Ixfd64, Izzedine, J-Bones, J.Lee123, J.delanoy, JForget, Jackol, Jaky13oy, Jamesofur, JavierMC, Jblue32, Jchthys, Jctrux, Jeff G., Jerryseinfeld, Jiddisch, John254,Johncf, Johnmarkh, Joshstilwell, Julesd, Justin W Smith, KJS77, Karenjc, Kartano, Kbh3rd, Kdau, KenDenier, Keron Cyst, Kh123, Khoikhoi, Killing Vector, Killiondude, Kinky Bunny,Kintetsubuffalo, Kirill Lokshin, KnowledgeOfSelf, Kubigula, Kukini, LAAFan, La bla la, La chouffe, Latte Man, LeaveSleaves, Lebenjager, Leuko, Lightmouse, Lights, Limideen, LinaMishima,Little Mountain 5, LizardJr8, Lonestar662p3, Lord Pistachio, LovesMacs, Lucid, Lyusa77, MASQUERAID, MER-C, Marek69, Markcob, Martin451, Matt Deres, Matthew Yeager, Mattisse,Mattymatt, Maury Markowitz, Maxpo, McSly, Mcclade, Meaghan, Mentifisto, Mike6271, Mintguy, Miquonranger03, Mjw65, Mmcannis, Mmmbeer, Modeha, Moeab, Molinero, MonoAV,MrFish, Mschlindwein, N5iln, Narfbite, NawlinWiki, Neddyseagoon, Neutrality, NewEnglandYankee, Nick, NickCT, Nightscream, Nishkid64, Nitrogen15, Njaker, OAC, Odie5533, Olivier,Ordinary Person, Otolemur crassicaudatus, Ottershrew, Oxymoron83, Parajuris, Pathoschild, Patrol110, Patstuart, Paul Barlow, Paul Mullan, Pax85, Pepper, Pete in AZ, Phantomsteve, Pharaoh ofthe Wizards, PhilHibbs, Philip Trueman, Piano non troppo, Pit, Piza, Pizza Puzzle, Plasticup, Pmlineditor, Pol430, Postdlf, Prodego, Proofreader77, PseudoSudo, Publius, Puchiko, Quadell,Quaneys, Quantpole, Quobobo, RUL3R, Rama, Ranjithsutari, Rantaro, RaseaC, Reedy, Rich Farmbrough, Rktect, Rob Lindsey, Robertcurrey, Robin Patterson, Rojinasarsalari, Ronhjones,Rrburke, Rune.welsh, RussellSG, RxS, SDC, Scarian, SchfiftyThree, Seegoon, SelfStudyBuddy, Serr2161, Shell Kinney, Sheogorath, ShiftFn, Shizhao, Shotwell, Sigmundur, SilkTork,SineWave, Skipsievert, Smith120bh, So God created Manchester, Sparkit, SpecMode, SpuriousQ, Stargoat, SteinbDJ, Stephenchou0722, Streltzer, Sumerophile, Svartalf, Sweetmoose6, Tadas12,Tanthalas39, Taroaldo, Tealwisp, The Mad Echidna, The Phantom Blot, The Thing That Should Not Be, Theresas124, Thingg, Thompson.matthew, Thumperward, Thw1309, Tide rolls, TilEulenspiegel, Tohd8BohaithuGh1, Tom harrison, Tomasisliltomtom, Tompee, Truman Burbank, U235master, Ufim, Uncle Dick, Uncle Milty, Unschool, Vilerage, Von Tamm, Voxii, Vssun,Waggers, WarthogDemon, Wayne Slam, Weirdy, West.andrew.g, Wharrel, WikiTome, Wikid77, WikipedianMarlith, William Avery, WookieInHeat, Wrinkles, Wwallacee, X!, Xihr, XiongChiamiov, Xp54321, YK Times, Yadaman, Yak, Yamamoto Ichiro, Yortforshort, Yosy, Youngseeker, Zaharous, ZamorakO o, Zephyr2k, Zoeperkoe, Zomno, Саша Стефановић, 1323anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:Prologue Hammurabi Code Louvre AO10237.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Prologue_Hammurabi_Code_Louvre_AO10237.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: User:JastrowImage:Code of Hammurabi.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Code_of_Hammurabi.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0  Contributors:GeorgezhaoImage:Milkau Oberer Teil der Stele mit dem Text von Hammurapis Gesetzescode 369-2.png  Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Milkau_Oberer_Teil_der_Stele_mit_dem_Text_von_Hammurapis_Gesetzescode_369-2.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors:Milkau_Oberer_Teil_der_Stele_mit_dem_Text_von_Hammurapis_Gesetzescode_369-2.jpg: Luestling derivative work: Fred the Oyster (talk)Image:Code-de-Hammurabi-1.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Code-de-Hammurabi-1.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0  Contributors:User:Rama

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