42 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
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# Code of Hammurabi
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## Overview
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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]
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## Key Facts
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- Date: ~1754 BCE (Wikipedia/Roth give range 1755–1751 BCE) @t[~1754 BCE]
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- Issuer: Hammurabi, sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty
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- Language: Akkadian (Old Babylonian dialect), written in cuneiform script
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- Medium: Black basalt stele, 2.25 m tall (some older sources describe the material as diorite) [^3]
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- Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, Iran, 1901–1902) [^3]
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- Weight: approximately 4 tons
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## Structure
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- Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people; relief at top depicts Hammurabi receiving authority from Shamash, the sun god [^1]
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- 282 laws organized by topic, written vertically in cuneiform
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- Epilogue: Blessings for those who uphold the laws, curses for those who deface the stele [^1]
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## Legal Principles
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- *Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based modifications) [^2]
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- Three social classes: *awilum* (free), *mushkenum* (dependent), *wardum* (slave)
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- Covers: Property, trade, family law, labor, personal injury, agriculture
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- Presumption of innocence in some cases; trial by ordeal in others [^2]
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- Prescribed specific penalties for each crime; limited retribution to proportional response
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## Discovery and Transmission
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- The stele was taken as plunder to Susa by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte around 1158 BCE, approximately 600 years after its creation
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- Rediscovered by French archaeologists at Susa in 1901–1902
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- The text was copied and studied by Mesopotamian scribes for over a millennium after its creation, attesting to its lasting authority [^4]
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## Significance
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- 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]
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- Provides detailed picture of Old Babylonian society
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- Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions; parallels noted with the Law of Moses in the Torah [^4]
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- Continues to be studied for its influence on modern legal jurisprudence
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---
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[^1]: Roth, M.T. *Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor* (1997)
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[^2]: Driver, G.R. & Miles, J.C. *The Babylonian Laws* (Oxford, 1952–1955)
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[^3]: Louvre Museum. "The Code of Hammurabi." louvre.fr (accessed 2026)
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[^4]: Wikipedia contributors. "Code of Hammurabi." *Wikipedia* (accessed 2026-02-23) |