Code of Ur-Nammu

Overview

The Code of Ur-Nammu (~2100–2050 BCE) is the oldest known surviving legal code, predating the Code of Hammurabi by ~300 years. It was issued by Ur-Nammu (or his son Shulgi) of the Third Dynasty of Ur. @t[~2100 BCE..~2050 BCE]

Key Facts

Date: ~2100–2050 BCE @t[~2100 BCE..~2050 BCE]
Issuer: Ur-Nammu (r. 2112–2095 BCE) or his son Shulgi (r. 2094–2047 BCE), Third Dynasty of Ur
Language: Sumerian (cuneiform script on clay tablets)
Discovered: Fragments found at Nippur, Ur, and Sippar; primary tablet (Ni 3191) held at Istanbul Archaeology Museums
First translated: Samuel Noah Kramer, 1952 ¹

Physical Record

Primary tablet (Ni 3191): Two fragments from Nippur, Old Babylonian period copy; held at Istanbul Archaeology Museums
Ur fragments (IM 85688+85689): Found at Ur, translated 1965; held at Iraq Museum, Baghdad
Sippar exemplars: Two tablets — Si 277 (Istanbul Museum) bears the prologue; BM 54722+ (British Museum) bears the laws
Schoyen Collection cylinder (MS 2064): Clay cylinder of unknown provenance, dated to Ur III period, preserves 8 columns ²
Total laws: ~57 reconstructed across all fragments; ~30 legible in any single recension ²

Content

Prologue invokes deities Nanna (moon god) and Utu (sun god), establishing the king as agent of divine justice
Prologue also records standardization of weights and measures (the bronze sila-measure, one-mina weight, shekel of silver) ²
Laws arranged in casuistic form: IF (crime) THEN (punishment) — a pattern followed in nearly all later codes ³
Uses monetary compensation (fines in silver) rather than lex talionis ("eye for an eye") for most offenses ³
Capital offenses: murder, robbery, adultery (by a woman), and rape of a virgin wife ²
Covers: Bodily injury, kidnapping, slavery, marriage and divorce, sexual offenses, agricultural disputes, sorcery accusations

Society divided into two strata: lu (free person) and slave (arad male, geme female) ²
Fines and penalties differentiated by social status
Prologue emphasizes protection of the weak: "the orphan was not delivered up to the rich man; the widow was not delivered up to the mighty man" ²

Significance

Oldest known surviving legal code, predating Hammurabi by ~300 years
Earlier code of Urukagina (~24th century BCE) is known only through references; Ur-Nammu's is the earliest extant text ⁴
Favored fines over physical punishment, contrasting with the later lex talionis of Hammurabi's code
Influenced subsequent Mesopotamian codes: Laws of Eshnunna (~1930 BCE) and Code of Lipit-Ishtar (~1870 BCE), which in turn shaped the Code of Hammurabi ⁴
Demonstrates sophisticated legal thinking in the 3rd millennium BCE ¹

Code of Hammurabi — later Babylonian code, ~300 years after Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu — issuer of the code
Third Dynasty of Ur — political context

Review Queue

@q[temporal] Line 9: "Issuer: Ur-Nammu (r. 2112–2095 BCE) or his son Shulgi (r. 2094–2047 BCE),..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 10: "Language: Sumerian (cuneiform script on clay tablets)" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 11: "Discovered: Fragments found at Nippur, Ur, and Sippar; primary tablet (Ni 319..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 12: "First translated: Samuel Noah Kramer, 1952 ¹" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 15: "Primary tablet (Ni 3191): Two fragments from Nippur, Old Babylonian period co..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 16: "Ur fragments (IM 85688+85689): Found at Ur, translated 1965; held at Iraq Mus..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 17: "Sippar exemplars: Two tablets — Si 277 (Istanbul Museum) bears the prologue..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 18: "Schoyen Collection cylinder (MS 2064): Clay cylinder of unknown provenance, d..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 19: "Total laws: ~57 reconstructed across all fragments; ~30 legible in any single..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 22: "Prologue invokes deities Nanna (moon god) and Utu (sun god), establishing the..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 23: "Prologue also records standardization of weights and measures (the bronze sil..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 24: "Laws arranged in casuistic form: IF (crime) THEN (punishment) — a pattern f..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 25: "Uses monetary compensation (fines in silver) rather than lex talionis ("eye..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 26: "Capital offenses: murder, robbery, adultery (by a woman), and rape of a virgi..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 27: "Covers: Bodily injury, kidnapping, slavery, marriage and divorce, sexual offe..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 30: "Society divided into two strata: lu (free person) and slave (arad male, *..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 31: "Fines and penalties differentiated by social status" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 32: "Prologue emphasizes protection of the weak: "the orphan was not delivered up ..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 35: "Oldest known surviving legal code, predating Hammurabi by ~300 years" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 36: "Earlier code of Urukagina (~24th century BCE) is known only through reference..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 37: "Favored fines over physical punishment, contrasting with the later *lex talio..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 38: "Influenced subsequent Mesopotamian codes: Laws of Eshnunna (~1930 BCE) and Co..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 39: "Demonstrates sophisticated legal thinking in the 3rd millennium BCE ¹" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 42: "Code of Hammurabi — later Babylonian..." - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 43: "Ur-Nammu — issuer of the code" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 44: "Third Dynasty of Ur — political context" - when was this true?
@q[temporal] Line 5: Malformed temporal tag @t[~~-2100..~~-2050] — see docs for valid syntax
@q[temporal] Line 8: Malformed temporal tag @t[~~-2100..~~-2050] — see docs for valid syntax
@q[missing] Line 8: "Date: ~2100–2050 BCE @t[~2100 BCE..~2050 BCE]" - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 9: "Issuer: Ur-Nammu (r. 2112–2095 BCE) or his son Shulgi (r. 2094–2047 BCE),..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 10: "Language: Sumerian (cuneiform script on clay tablets)" - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 11: "Discovered: Fragments found at Nippur, Ur, and Sippar; primary tablet (Ni 319..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 15: "Primary tablet (Ni 3191): Two fragments from Nippur, Old Babylonian period co..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 16: "Ur fragments (IM 85688+85689): Found at Ur, translated 1965; held at Iraq Mus..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 17: "Sippar exemplars: Two tablets — Si 277 (Istanbul Museum) bears the prologue..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 22: "Prologue invokes deities Nanna (moon god) and Utu (sun god), establishing the..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 27: "Covers: Bodily injury, kidnapping, slavery, marriage and divorce, sexual offe..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 31: "Fines and penalties differentiated by social status" - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 35: "Oldest known surviving legal code, predating Hammurabi by ~300 years" - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 37: "Favored fines over physical punishment, contrasting with the later *lex talio..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 42: "Code of Hammurabi — later Babylonian..." - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 43: "Ur-Nammu — issuer of the code" - what is the source?
@q[missing] Line 44: "Third Dynasty of Ur — political context" - what is the source?
@q[ambiguous] Line 16: "Ur fragments (IM 85688+85689): Found at Ur, translated 1965; held at Iraq Mus..." - what does "IM" mean in this context?
@q[ambiguous] Line 24: "Laws arranged in casuistic form: IF (crime) THEN (punishment) — a pattern f..." - what does "IF" mean in this context?
@q[stale] Line 12: "First translated: Samuel Noah Kramer, 1952 ¹" - Kramer source from 1954 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
@q[stale] Line 24: "Laws arranged in casuistic form: IF (crime) THEN (punishment) — a pattern f..." - Roth source from 1997 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
@q[stale] Line 25: "Uses monetary compensation (fines in silver) rather than lex talionis ("eye..." - Roth source from 1997 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
@q[stale] Line 36: "Earlier code of Urukagina (~24th century BCE) is known only through reference..." - Mark source from 2021 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
@q[stale] Line 38: "Influenced subsequent Mesopotamian codes: Laws of Eshnunna (~1930 BCE) and Co..." - Mark source from 2021 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
@q[stale] Line 39: "Demonstrates sophisticated legal thinking in the 3rd millennium BCE ¹" - Kramer source from 1954 may be outdated, is this still accurate?

Kramer, S.N. "Ur-Nammu Law Code" Orientalia 23 (1954); History Begins at Sumer (1956) ↩︎
Wikipedia contributors, "Code of Ur-Nammu," Wikipedia (accessed 2026-02-23), citing Finkelstein (1968), Yildiz (1981), Frayne (1997), Gurney & Kramer (1965) ↩︎
Roth, M.T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (1997) ↩︎
Mark, J.J. "The Ancient Mesopotamian Legal Code of Ur-Nammu," World History Encyclopedia (2021) ↩︎

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