There is much more to the 282 laws of Hammurabi than ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth’ explains Diana Bentley, who pays tribute to the remarkable legal code instituted by the king of Babylon nearly 4000 years ago. 1
The impulse to regulate human affairs is a longlived one. With this in mind, many ancient civilizations created collections of laws designed to order their societies. Chief among these are the law codes of Mesopotamia, of which the oldest is the Sumerian codes of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (circa 2100 BC) and Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (circa 1930 BC). But
But it is the later, renowned code of Hammurabi (1 and 5) which is the most complete and which established this Babylonian king as one of the most celebrated law-givers in antiquity.
Most often, Hammurabi’s code is known for establishing the ‘eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth’ credo of retribution. It is, however, much more nuanced than that. Notably sophisticated in many respects, his code represents a significant step in legal history.
His forebears, who had come to power in Babylon in about 1894 BC, were descended from the Amorites, a tribe from western Syria. The sixth king of this Babylonian dynasty, Hammurabi (circa 1810 BC–circa 1750 BC) came to power in 1792 BC and, initially, concentrated largely on civic projects. Later, he expanded his kingdom until, by the time of his death, it encompassed all of Mesopotamia (4).
A host of documents, inscribed on clay tablets, from Hammurabi’s time have been uncovered by archaeologists and they provide a valuable chronicle of everyday life. Contracts evidence a wide range of legal transactions, from divorce arrangements to dealings in property – both real estate, livestock and people – and lawsuits. Many letters from the king to his aides record details of the administration of the kingdom. The most acclaimed aspect of the legacy of Hammurabi’s kingdom, however, is his code of laws.
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