HAMMURABI, THE LEGENDARY KING OF MESOPOTAMIA Hammurabi is best known for the promulgation of a new code of Babylonian law: the Code of Hammurabi. This was written on a stele, a large stone monument, and placed in a public place so that all could see it, although it is thought that few were literate. The stele was later plundered by the Elamites and removed to their capital, Susa; it was rediscovered there in 1901 and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The code of Hammurabi contained 282 laws, written by scribes on 12 tablets. Unlike earlier laws, it was written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylon, and could therefore be read by any literate person in the city. The structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving a specified punishment. The punishments tended to be harsh by modern standards, with many offenses resulting in death, disfigurement, or the use of the "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Lex Talionis "Law of Retaliation") philosophy. Putting the laws into writing was important in itself because it suggested that the laws were immutable and above the power of any earthly king to change. The code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, and it also suggests that the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence. However, there is no provision for extenuating circumstances to alter the prescribed punishment. A carving at the top of the stele (pic above) portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from the god Shamash, and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by the gods of his people to bring the laws to them. Parallels to this divine inspiration for laws can be seen in the laws given to Moses for the ancient Hebrews. Similar codes of law were created in several nearby civilizations, including the earlier neo-Sumerian example of Ur-Nammu's code, and the later Hittite code of laws. Source : Wikipedia HOME RETURN TO PAGE |
Hammurabi (ca. 1795 – 1750 BC short chronology) was the sixth king
of Babylon. He became the first king of the Babylonian Empire,
extending Babylon's control over Mesopotamia by winning a series of
wars against neighboring kingdoms. Although his empire controlled
all of Mesopotamia at the time of his death, his successors were
unable to maintain his empire.
Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi's Code,
one of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws
were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was
found in 1901. Owing to his reputation in modern times as an ancient
law-giver, Hammurabi's portrait is in many government buildings
throughout the world.
Hammurabi was a First Dynasty king of the city-state of Babylon, and
inherited the throne from his father, Sin-muballit, in ca. 1792 BC.
Babylon was one of the many ancient city-states that dotted the
Mesopotamian plain and waged war on each other for control of fertile
agricultural land. Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia,
Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the literate
classes throughout the Middle East. The kings who came before
Hammurabi had begun to consolidate rule of central Mesopotamia
under Babylonian hegemony and, by the time of his reign, had
conquered the city-states of Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar. Thus
Hammurabi ascended to the throne as the king of a minor kingdom in
the midst of a complex geopolitical situation. The powerful kingdom of
Eshnunna controlled the upper Tigris River while Larsa controlled the
river delta. To the east lay the kingdom of Elam. To the north, the
Shamshi-Adad I was undertaking expansionistic wars,[4] although his
untimely death would fragment his newly conquered Semitic empire.