Early River Valley Civilizations 31

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HISTORYMAKERS Hammurabi

Conquering King and Giver of Justice

“The great gods have called me, and I am indeed the good shepherd who bringspeace. . . . I have carried in my bosom the people of Sumer and Akkad. Thanks tomy good fortune they have prospered. I have not ceased to administer them inpeace. By my wisdom I have harbored them.”—Hammurabi’s Code

Section 1

King Hammurabi of Babylon stands aloneamong rulers of his day as both a dispenser of

justice and a conqueror. He united much ofMesopotamia under the rule of Babylon and alsocreated a famous code of laws.

Hammurabi became king in 1792 b.c. At thetime Babylon controlled only a small area—landswithin about 50 miles of the city. Babylon was justone among many city-states. Hammurabi was deter-mined to expand his power and build an empire inMesopotamia. Most of his military efforts aimed atwinning control of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers,which brought water to his people’s crops.

The king began by forming an alliance with theking of Larsa, to the south. Together they defeateda group called the Elamites. After conquering twocities to the south, Hammurabi moved north andeast. Two decades later, he turned on his formerally and conquered Larsa. This brought the cities ofancient Sumer into his rule. Then he turned northagain and defeated Marsi and Assyria.

The empire did not last long after his death in1750 b.c., but his work had a major impact on theregion. Before Hammurabi, the center ofMesopotamian culture had been Sumer. After hisrule, Babylon became the core of that culture.

Hammurabi’s other great achievement was hiscode of laws, which was discovered in the early1900s by a team of archaeologists at work on theancient site of Susa, in modern Iran. They uncoveredan eight-foot-high pillar of stone, or stele. The blackstone was polished bright and engraved with ancientcuneiform writing. The stele included an image aswell—a portrait of King Hammurabi receiving thecode from Marduk, a principal god of Babylon.

The writing on the stele is divided into threeparts. The first part describes Hammurabi’s con-quests. The last offers the king’s thoughts on justice.Most of the writing, though, is Hammurabi’s Code.It is divided into 282 articles, each of whichaddresses a particular action. Each article states aparticular event first, then gives a legal judgment to

fit the event. The first article shows the pattern: “Ifa man has brought an accusation of murder againstanother man, without providing proof: the accusershall be put to death.”

Jean Bottéro, who studies ancient Babylon,believes that the code is a record of Hammurabi’sactions as a judge. Its purpose, he says, is to guidefuture kings in their own decisions. In the last part ofthe code, Hammurabi talks to those kings who willfollow him. He tells them to “heed the words that Ihave written on this stele: that the monument mayexplain to [you] the way and the behavior to follow.”

The code reveals much about the people ofancient Babylon. The articles are grouped into sev-eral sections, each of which deals with a commonconcern. The first five all have to do with lying andthe next 20 with theft. Remaining topics includefarm labor (25 articles), trade (24), and money anddebts (15). The two largest sections cover wivesand family (67) and the work of various professions(61). Hammurabi’s Code does call for some harshpenalties—including the famous “eye for an eye.”However, that penalty only applied when a persondestroyed the eye of an aristocrat. If the victim wasa common person or a slave, the penalty was only afine. The code also reflects the fact that the societywas led by men. Fathers dominated families andhad complete control over their children until thechildren married. Much of the code, though, wasless harsh than earlier laws. At the end of the text,the king declared his desire to “prevent the power-ful from oppressing the weak [and] . . . give myland fair decisions.”

Questions1. Recognizing Facts and Details What were

Hammurabi’s two achievements?2. Making Inferences Was Hammurabi concerned

about public opinion? Explain your answer.3. Making Judgments Would you say that

Hammurabi was a just king? Why or why not?

CHAPTER

2

Before this portrait let every man who has a legal dispute come forward, read this text, and heed its precious words. The stone tablet will enlighten him in his trouble, and thus may he find justice and breathe easier in his heart, speaking these words: “Hammurabi is a king who cares for his people like a loving father.”

1If a man bring an accusation against a man, andcharge him with a capital crime, but cannot proveit, he, the accuser, shall be put to death.

113If a man hold a debt of grain or money against aman, and if he take grain without the consent ofthe owner from the heap or the granary, they shallcall that man to account for taking grain withoutthe consent of the owner from the heap or the granary,and he shall return as much grain as he took,and he shall forfeit all that he has lent, whatever it be.

148If a man take a wife and she become afflictedwith disease, and if he set his face to take another,he may. His wife, who is afflicted with disease, heshall not put away. She shall remain in the housewhich he has built and he shall maintain her as long as she lives.

149If that woman do not elect to remain in herhusband’s house, he shall make good to her thedowry which she brought from her father’s houseand she may go.

153If a woman bring about the death of her husbandfor the sake of another man, they shall impale her.

195If a son strike his father, they shall cut off hisfingers.

196If a man destroy the eye of another man, theyshall destroy his eye.

197If one break a man’s bone, they shall break hisbone.

200If a man knock out a tooth of a man of his own rank, they shall knock out his tooth.

229If a builder build a house for a man and do notmake its construction firm, and the house which hehas built collapse and cause the death of the ownerof the house, that builder shall be put to death.

250If a bull, when passing through the street, gorea man and bring about his death, this case has nopenalty.

I, Hammurabi, who was a perfect king to thedowntrodden people entrusted to me by the godEnlil, I who was, by Marduk’s order, their shepherd,have never tarried, never rested. I gave thepeople beautiful places, kept all pressing needs faraway, and made their lives easier. With the mightyweapons given me by the gods Zababa and Ishtar,with the wisdom granted me by Ea, with the powersI hold from Marduk, I wiped out enemies onevery side, put an end to wars, brought prosperityto our land, allowed men to live in peace and let noone fall upon them or harass them. I was called bythe great gods, wherefore I became the good shepherdwhose staff is straight. My righteous shadowhas stretched across my city, I have gathered Sumerand Akkada in my arms, that they might thriveunder my protection. I shield them in my peaceand protect them in my wisdom. That the strongmight not oppress the weak, that the widow andorphan might receive their due, here in Babylon . . .have I inscribed my precious words on a memorialstone and erected my statue as King of Justice.

from Robert Francis Harper, The Code of Hammurabi, Kingof Babylon (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,1904). Reprinted in Pierre Schwob, ed., Great Documentsof the World: Milestones of Human Thought (Maidenhead,England: McGraw Hill, 1977).

PRIMARY SOURCE from The Code of HammurabiMore than 3,500 years ago, Hammurabi, king of the Babylonian Empire, ordered scribes to chisel a code of 282 laws onto a tall column of black stone. The column also featured an introduction explaining the intent of the code and a summary of Hammurabiʼs kingly deeds. As you read these laws from the code, think about how Mesopotamians defined crimes and how criminals were punished.

The upper part of the stele of Hammurabi's code of laws.

NAME_____________________________CLASS PERIOD:________ DATE: ________________

NAME_____________________________CLASS PERIOD:________ DATE: ________________

PROCESSING: HAMMURABI’S CODEWhat laws are important to you?

Pick Five of Hammurabi’s Laws that stand out most to you. Circle or highlight them. • Write down your reactions to them:

• “I disagree with this law because______.” • “I agree with this level because ______.”

• Then write down your reactions to the five situations outlined below.

Hammurabi’s Law Agree/ Disagree Why? or Why not?

1

2

3

4

5

______________________________’s CODE OF LAWS______________________________’s CODE OF LAWS______________________________’s CODE OF LAWS

Situation Consequence

1 If somebody steals my car....

2 If somebody cheats with my spouse...

3 If a student hits a teacher....

4 If a teacher slaps a student....

5 If a student cheats on an exam...