Code of Hammurabi: basic laws, description and history. Code of Laws of King Hammurabi

With the advent of the first states, it became necessary to regulate public life in the country, and soon the first codes of laws began to appear. They regulated the rights and obligations of citizens, their social position and status in society. One of the oldest codes of laws is the Code of Hammurabi. This valuable historical source amazes researchers with its uniqueness and scrupulous approach to the consideration of each legal situation. This article is devoted to the circumstances of the discovery of the Code, the history of its compilation and the main points of its content.

Discovery of the Code

The first find is dated 1853. It was a clay tablet found by the English explorer Austin Layard with the name of the king. In the future, scientists who were engaged in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia, tablets with the name of King Hammurabi began to come across more and more often. According to many sources found, the king of Babylon was active in economic activity in the country, he issued decrees on the construction of new temples, on the organization of irrigation work on fertile lands. He also carried out legal activities, in particular, fought against bribe takers and embezzlers of public funds and other unscrupulous officials. Based on these events, the researchers made the assumption that in Babylon there was a certain legislative base, on which Hammurabi relied. After the discovery of clay tablets in the library of Ashurbanipal in the middle of the 19th century, which contained fragments of laws, scientists assumed that Ashurbanipal was the author of these laws. The first scientist who, three years before the discovery of the stele, suggested that this merit belongs to Hammurabi was Frederick Delitzsch.

After the assumption of the existence of a single set of laws in the territory of Mesopotamia, an expedition began to gather for excavations. After the permission of the Persian Shah, the French expedition in 1987, led by Jacques Morgan, set off to the northeast of Babylon, to the supposed location of the ancient state of Elam. During the excavations, a variety of artifacts were found - from tablets with cuneiform inscriptions to numerous military trophies captured in the battles of the Elamites with the Babylonians. At the end of 1901, a rather large fragment of black stone with inscriptions was discovered by Gustave Jequier. Soon, during further excavations, two more fragments were discovered at this place. By combining these three fragments, they got a stele with inscriptions, which, probably, became the spoils of war of the Elamites after the attack on Babylon. Later, the stele was brought to France to the Louvre, where the famous assyriologist Jean Scheil took up its study.

Translations of the Laws of Hammurabi

Already in 1902, Jean Scheil published in his work "Notes on the Persian Mission" the text of the laws in Akkadian and its translation into French. Subsequently, the text of the Code began to be translated into many European languages. So, already at the end of 1902, the German scientists Winkler and Müller published the text of the stele in German. In 1903, the Laws of Hammurabi became available in English and Italian. In Russia, the translation was made in 1904 by Lopukhin, however, only from the European language. Translation into Russian from the original text was made by the historian Dyakonov only in 1914. In total, in the 20th century, more than thirty translations of the text of Hammurabi's laws into different languages ​​\u200b\u200bof the world were made.

Personality of King Hammurabi

The Babylonian king Hammurabi ruled from approximately 1793 to 1750 BC. e. He devoted the first years of his reign to domestic politics, in particular the reconstruction and construction of temples and fortresses. As well as the irrigation of canals: on his orders, new canals were built and old ones were cleaned. After solving internal problems, King Hammurabi began a policy of expanding Babylon. So, in 1787 he captured the most important cities of Isin and Uruk, in 1781 Rapikum was annexed. After a long preparation, in 1764 all the lands of Lower Mesopotamia were annexed to him, and in 1756 all Mesopotamia was under the rule of Babylon. But most of all, King Hammurabi became famous as a legislator, or rather, the author of a set of laws that regulated the social life of the population of Babylon. As a result, during the years of Hammurabi's reign, Babylon achieved unprecedented power, economic growth, the development of private property and trade took place in the country. And also there was a centralization of the state and the strengthening of royal power.

Features of the monument with the text of laws

The text with the laws of King Hammurabi is carved on a cone-shaped monument made of black diorite. The height of the monument is 225 cm, the width is from 165 cm at the top to 190 cm at the base, and the mass is 4 tons.

There are several versions regarding the exact date of creation of this stele: some researchers make an assumption about 2000 BC. e, others call the time of the creation of the monument 2225 BC. At the moment, modern scholars conclude that the code of laws was compiled no earlier than 35-40 years of the reign of Hammurabi. Thus, researchers believe that the monument was created between 1755 and 1752 BC. e. shortly before the death of the Babylonian king.

The original location of the monument with the Code of Hammurabi in Ancient Babylon causes fierce controversy, since the very content of the text of the monument is contradictory. Thus, at the beginning, the temple of Esagila, located in Babylon, is mentioned as the location of the monument, but already at the end of the Code, another place is mentioned, namely the temple of Ebabbar. Scientists explain this discrepancy by the fact that there were several copies of the stele with the text of the laws that were established in different cities of Babylon. The monument found by Morgan was a copy of the monument that stood in Esagila around 1155 BC. e. As a result of the raid on Babylon by the ruler of the kingdom of Elam, the monument ended up in Susa as a trophy. And in 1902, Morgan found this monument during excavations in the treasury of the ruler of Elam. Apparently, he wanted to erase the inscriptions from the monument, since several lines were destroyed, and draw new ones on it, but his death prevented the destruction of the monument, and it has survived to this day in good condition. Now this monument is located in Paris in the Louvre Museum, and everyone can see it. And now it is worth giving a general description of the Code of King Hammurabi.

General characteristics of the code

What general description can be given to the Code of Hammurabi? It is the oldest monument of law in the world. The text of the laws is inscribed in cuneiform in Akkadian and carved on a stone stele. The code of laws of Hammurabi is a legal source that listed various precedents, that is, it was casuistic in nature. In general, when drawing up laws, Hammurabi and his assistants relied on the centuries-old experience of the legislative base of the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians. The Code of Laws of King Hammurabi is the result of serious legal changes that were caused by the need to unify and supplement existing norms of behavior that date back to primitive times. Despite the fact that these laws were created in cruel times, they are still quite thoughtful and logical, although they are distinguished by excessive cruelty of punishments for various violations. In addition, a characteristic feature of the law is the fact that, unlike most similar ancient Eastern legal norms, it almost completely lacks a religious aspect. In general, the system of laws created by the Babylonian king was the most advanced not only in the Ancient East, but also in the world, and remained so until the time of the Roman Empire.

Features of the text of the Laws of Hammurabi

Modern researchers conventionally divide the code of laws (code) of Hammurabi into 282 paragraphs, which regulate issues related to legal proceedings, the protection of private and state property, marriage and family relations, as well as criminal law. The first breakdown of the laws of Hammurabi into 282 paragraphs was made by Sheil for the convenience of working with the text, since the laws and regulations in the Code are not numbered.

A feature of the text on the stele is the fact that it was fixed in various ways. Thus, the monument used an earlier tradition of cuneiform inscription, according to which words and expressions were separated by vertical columns and cells. Also on this monument, a different style of writing was used, according to which the signs were written on the front reverse from left to right, and on the reverse side - vice versa. In the original version, there were only 49 columns on the stele, of which the front side contained 21 columns, and the back, respectively, 28. To this day, 19 columns with 1112 lines have survived on the front side, the reverse side has almost completely survived: 28 columns and 2523 lines. Thus, 3638 lines, available to researchers, have been preserved in their original form.

The very arrangement of the text on the monument is quite difficult to read, since it was necessary to unnaturally turn your head in order to read what is written there. Probably, such monuments were erected not to familiarize the inhabitants with the new laws, but in order to notify them of their appearance, and the text itself was reproduced in a more accessible form on clay tablets.

Code of Hammurabi and its content

As mentioned above, the text of Hammurabi's laws is usually divided into 282 paragraphs, which, in turn, can be divided into three volume blocks:

• laws and regulations that relate to property relations;
• laws and regulations relating to family relations and inheritance;
• criminal offenses against the individual, the state and the king.

Property relations under the Code

The decrees of King Hammurabi, which dealt with property relations, were aimed at protecting private, public and state property. However, priority was given to a greater extent to the state, in addition, the Babylonian ruler had the exclusive right to dispose of all the land of the state, and the community members were obliged to pay tax to the state for the right to use the land. Also, according to the Law, land could be obtained for military service, as well as rent it (the terms of the lease in the Code are spelled out in some detail). For such violations as an unfair trade transaction, damage to someone else's property, helping a runaway slave, etc., severe penalties were provided, up to the death penalty. Although it should be noted that progressive elements were also reflected in the Code of Hammurabi, for example, the period of debt slavery should not exceed three years.

Regulation of family relations and inheritance issues in the laws of Hammurabi

About family relations, according to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, we can say that they had a purely patriarchal character. All family members were subordinate to the senior male representative. Also, a man was allowed to have several wives and adopt children from slaves. As for the woman, she, as in most ancient Eastern states, had practically no rights, in fact she was the property of her man. However, the Code of Hammurabi still left some freedoms for her. So, in the case of cruel treatment by the husband, the wife had the right to return to her parents, taking her dowry. Also, when concluding a marriage, it was possible to draw up a marriage contract between spouses, in which the rights of a woman were stipulated. With regard to inheritance issues, according to the Code of Laws of Hammurabi, brothers and sisters were entitled to equal shares of the inheritance, and children adopted from slaves could only claim movable property.

Criminal offenses against the individual, the state and the king

For criminal offenses, according to the Code of Hammurabi, heavy punishments followed, up to the death penalty, which could be applied in thirty different cases. The basic principle of punishment, on which the Babylonian legislators relied, was: "An eye for an eye!" That is, the punishment should have been equivalent to the crime committed. So, for example, a son who hit his father, according to the Code, had his hand cut off. But there were deviations from this principle. For example, a slave who hit his master was punished with lashes, but if the slave himself and not from his master suffered, then the offender had to pay a fine to the owner of the victim. Inflicting wounds in a fight between people of equal social status and origin entails reimbursement for treatment costs, however, the perpetrator had to prove the absence of malicious intent. As for women, the death penalty was applied to them, for example, because of the "fatigue" of the daughter-in-law. Also, a feature of the Laws of Hammurabi in relation to women is the fact that inflicting bodily harm on them was not considered a crime, except in cases where a woman had a miscarriage as a result of beatings. Then the offender was obliged to pay a fine. There were no judges as such in Babylon, their functions were performed, as a rule, by officials or the most influential residents of the city.

Significance of the discovery of the Code

The discovery of the Code of King Hammurabi was of great importance. Many researchers call it the most important monument, helping to study not only the Ancient East, but also the history of the whole world. Hammurabi's laws do not provide researchers with valuable information about the processes that took place in ancient Eastern society (economics, law, culture) - they also served as a serious impetus for the study of cuneiform hieroglyphs. Such scholars as J. Koller, A. Ungnad, F. Pizer devoted their lives to studying the Code of Hammurabi, who in 1923 published the work Hammurabis Gesetz, published in six volumes, based on the study of the monument. In 1955, British scientists published The Babylonian Laws, devoted to the Laws of Hammurabi, with comments by the authors.

Thus, it can be argued that the Code of Hammurabi, briefly described in the article, was compiled on behalf of the Babylonian king Hammurabi between 1755 and 1752. BC e., which makes it possible to attribute it to the oldest found legal monuments in the world. The text of the laws was carved on a stone stele more than two meters high, which was found by the archaeologist G. Zhekye in 1902. The creation of the Code was caused by the need to reform the outdated legal system of Mesopotamia, which had existed unchanged since primitive times. The text of the Laws is divided by modern researchers into 282 paragraphs, which contain the most valuable information about the organization of legal proceedings, the protection of various forms of property, marriage and family relations, and criminal law in the Ancient East. The discovery of the Hammurabi Code served as a serious impetus for an in-depth study of ancient Eastern civilizations.