Code of Hammurabi, California

Code of Hammurabi

A relief picture of Hammurabi, the god of justice and the Babylonian sun god, can be seen on the stele on the top. The relief contains more than the 4130 lines of cuneiform language beneath it; the one fifth has a poetic prologue and epilogue, while the remaining four-fifths contain what are known as the rules. According to the prologue, the gods allowed Hammurabi his power "to keep the mighty from oppressing the poor," according to the prologue.

The Code of Hammurabi is filled with various topics, such as criminal law, family law, real estate law, and business law. It was allegedly written by Hammurabi, the sixth monarch of Babylon's First Dynasty, in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian. The text is engraved on a 2.25 m basalt or diorite stele.

Three Classes

According to the Code, the entire population is divided into three groups: amelu, masking, and ardu. The term eventually evolved to imply "beggar," It has spread through Aramaic and Hebrew into many current languages with that meaning; yet, the Code does not consider him to be necessarily destitute, and he may have been landless. The ardu was a slave, his master's property, and they were a large group. He could purchase property and even enslave people. His lord provided him with clothing and food and paid his doctor's bills.

Rediscovery of Stele of Hammurabi

In 1901, a French mining engineer named Jacques de Morgan led an archaeological expedition to Persia to excavate the Elamite capital of Susa and discovered the broken stele of Hammurabi, which had been taken to Susa as a booty of war, most likely by the Elamite ruler Shutruk-Nahhunte in the mid-12th century B.C.

The stele was packed and brought to the Louvre in Paris. It was translated and highly advertised as the world's first written legal Code—one that predates but had striking parallels to the regulations contained in the Hebrew Old Testament.

Conclusion

Hammurabi was one of the most recognizable and the most influential rulers in the ancient world. The Code of Hammurabi is the perfect and complete collection of Babylonian laws. Towards the end of his reign, all the legal decisions made by him were collected and were inscribed on the diorite in the temple of Babylon.

FAQs

Does the Code of Hammurabi affect us in today's world?

Hammurabi's Code states specific punishments for specific crimes. It also tells us that witnesses and impartial judges are present for every offence. Our modern laws follow these rules.