Improve Code of Hammurabi: fix duplicate title, remove review queue, enrich with Shamash relief, plunder history, scribal transmission, Louvre source

legal-codes/code-of-hammurabi.md

@@ -1,99 +1,42 @@
 <!-- factbase:31de03 -->
 # Code of Hammurabi
 
-# Code of Hammurabi
-
 ## Overview
 The Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE) is one of the most complete and well-known ancient legal codes, inscribed on a basalt stele and containing 282 laws governing Babylonian society. @t[~1754 BCE]
 
 ## Key Facts
-- Date: ~1754 BCE @t[~1754 BCE]
-- Issuer: Hammurabi, King of Babylon
-- Language: Akkadian (Babylonian dialect)
-- Medium: Basalt stele, 2.25 m tall
-- Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, 1901)
+- Date: ~1754 BCE (Wikipedia/Roth give range 1755–1751 BCE) @t[~1754 BCE]
+- Issuer: Hammurabi, sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty
+- Language: Akkadian (Old Babylonian dialect), written in cuneiform script
+- Medium: Black basalt stele, 2.25 m tall (some older sources describe the material as diorite) [^3]
+- Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, Iran, 1901–1902) [^3]
+- Weight: approximately 4 tons
 
 ## Structure
-- Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people
-- 282 laws organized by topic
+- Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people; relief at top depicts Hammurabi receiving authority from Shamash, the sun god [^1]
+- 282 laws organized by topic, written vertically in cuneiform
 - Epilogue: Blessings for those who uphold the laws, curses for those who deface the stele [^1]
 
 ## Legal Principles
-- *Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based modifications)
+- *Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based modifications) [^2]
 - Three social classes: *awilum* (free), *mushkenum* (dependent), *wardum* (slave)
 - Covers: Property, trade, family law, labor, personal injury, agriculture
 - Presumption of innocence in some cases; trial by ordeal in others [^2]
+- Prescribed specific penalties for each crime; limited retribution to proportional response
+
+## Discovery and Transmission
+- The stele was taken as plunder to Susa by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte around 1158 BCE, approximately 600 years after its creation
+- Rediscovered by French archaeologists at Susa in 1901–1902
+- The text was copied and studied by Mesopotamian scribes for over a millennium after its creation, attesting to its lasting authority [^4]
 
 ## Significance
-- Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete
+- Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu, ~2100–2050 BCE) but the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East [^4]
 - Provides detailed picture of Old Babylonian society
-- Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions
+- Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions; parallels noted with the Law of Moses in the Torah [^4]
+- Continues to be studied for its influence on modern legal jurisprudence
 
 ---
 [^1]: Roth, M.T. *Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor* (1997)
 [^2]: Driver, G.R. & Miles, J.C. *The Babylonian Laws* (Oxford, 1952–1955)
----
-
-## Review Queue
-
-<!-- factbase:review -->
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Date: ~1754 BCE" - when was this true?
-> 1754 BCE event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Issuer: Hammurabi, King of Babylon" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Language: Akkadian (Babylonian dialect)" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Medium: Basalt stele, 2.25 m tall" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 14: "Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, 1901)" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "282 laws organized by topic" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Epilogue: Blessings for those who uphold the laws, curses for those who defac..." - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "*Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based mo..." - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Three social classes: *awilum* (free), *mushkenum* (dependent), *wardum* (slave)" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Covers: Property, trade, family law, labor, personal injury, agriculture" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Presumption of innocence in some cases; trial by ordeal in others [^2]" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 28: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 29: "Provides detailed picture of Old Babylonian society" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 30: "Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions" - when was this true?
-> Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Driver (1952) [^2].
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Date: ~1754 BCE" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Issuer: Hammurabi, King of Babylon" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Language: Akkadian (Babylonian dialect)" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Medium: Basalt stele, 2.25 m tall" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 14: "Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, 1901)" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "282 laws organized by topic" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "*Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based mo..." - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Three social classes: *awilum* (free), *mushkenum* (dependent), *wardum* (slave)" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Covers: Property, trade, family law, labor, personal injury, agriculture" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 28: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 29: "Provides detailed picture of Old Babylonian society" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 30: "Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions" - what is the source?
-> Roth (1997) [^1], Driver & Miles (1952-1955) [^2]
-- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 19: "Epilogue: Blessings for those who uphold the laws, curses for those who defac..." - Roth source from 1997 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
-> Scholarship remains current. Roth's work on ancient law codes is still authoritative.
-- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Presumption of innocence in some cases; trial by ordeal in others [^2]" - Driver source from 1952 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
-> Scholarship remains current. Driver & Miles' work on Babylonian law is still foundational.
+[^3]: Louvre Museum. "The Code of Hammurabi." louvre.fr (accessed 2026)
+[^4]: Wikipedia contributors. "Code of Hammurabi." *Wikipedia* (accessed 2026-02-23)