![]() ![]() Some of the laws look familiar to us today, while others feel alien. ![]() There are laws setting out wages for laborers, and recompense for fires and other damages. Examples include laws governing crimes such as theft, murder and adultery, as well as familial interactions like marriage, divorce and inheritance. Hammurabi’s laws cover a great deal of legal territory, and scholars believe they were likely drawn from real cases that the king or his judges presided over. Other written examples of ancient law, such as the Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu and the Laws of Eshnunna, predate the Code of Hammurabi by several hundred years, and include many similarities. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Hammurabi was the originator of all, or even most, of the laws he laid down. This meant the laws themselves were distributed and read widely, and would go on to influence legal thinking for millennia to come. The laws themselves are among the earliest examples of writing of any length discovered, and were copied as writing exercises by scribes for over a thousand years. “Let the oppressed, who has a case at law, come and stand before this my image as king of righteousness let him read the inscription, and understand my precious words: the inscription will explain his case to him he will find out what is just, and his heart will be glad.” The prominent placement meant the laws were clearly visible, and the epilogue advises anyone with a legal dispute to bring it before the stela itself and and consider their case under its watchful gaze: The massive stone and its laws were placed in a public temple, either in Babylon or the ancient city of Sippar, both in modern-day Iraq, sometime near the end of the king’s reign in the 18th century B.C.E. To archaeologists today, the collection of laws is a treasure trove, revealing not only the existence of an ancient legal system, but examples of labor relations, family life, societal organization, and more. The stela itself was discovered in 1901 by French archaeologists, and it’s one of the oldest examples of writing of significant length ever found. The collection of 282 laws sits today in the Louvre in Paris, its dictates preserved for nearly four thousand years. The top features a bas relief depicting Hammurabi receiving the gods’ blessing, below which are the laws themselves, and a prologue and epilogue cataloging the king’s achievements and divine right to rule. Fittingly, the laws are accompanied by words and images making clear the divine provenance of his kingship. The stela’s goal was multifold: To lay out the laws of the land clearly for citizens, but also to establish Hammurabi as law-giver and judge even after his death. Slavery was legal, and women and children were assumed to be subservient to adult men. Hammurabi’s laws echo some of our legal philosophies today, though filtered through the lens of a society that often looked very different from ours. Punishments for each transgression accompany the laws, ranging from monetary fines to death. Written in cuneiform script, in Akkadian, are laws concerning criminal behavior, family interactions, economic transactions and more. The Code of Hammurabi is inscribed on a stone (or stela) of black basalt more than seven feet tall. ![]() For Hammurabi, king of Babylon, his legacy was the law. Some rulers wished to impart their might, others to align themselves with the gods. From mighty pyramids to monolithic statues, the goal was to make a lasting impression upon future generations. Great rulers throughout history have built monuments to themselves and their achievements, which were meant to outlast their short lives. ![]()
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