One person who would never agree with the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi would be the Babylonian king, who lived more than 3700 years ago and gave the dictum of “an eye for an eye” for one of the first time in history & put it into real practice in code of laws given by him. Yes, we are talking about Hammurabi, the 6th king of Amorite First Babylonian dynasty, who ruled from 1792 BC to 1750 BC.
Before we go on to discuss - what is the code of Hammurabi, a brief discussion about the ancient king would certainly be useful. When Hammurabi ascended to the throne, he was the king of a minor city-state of Babylon, which he inherited from his father Sin – Muballit. He started with only 50 square miles of land under his rule, but he was very ambitious and certainly was not content to remain with what he had received. He was surrounded by kingdoms which were more powerful and sometimes hostile, but soon all that would change.
Hammurabi undertook multiple measures to strengthen the safety and security of his domain and improved the infrastructure. For this massive canal were built, the height of city walls was increased and finally, to get the favor of gods, the temple for patron god of the city was built. In the modern age, he may be famous for the - Law code of Hammurabi, but in his own time he became known because of the title “builder of the land”.
However, all these defense maneuvers become very secondary, as long as he was surrounded by enemies from all sides. Hammurabi was ambitious as well as wise & he lived in an age of “be a hunter or be hunted” and realized the ground level realities rather too well. As a ruler of a small city-state, he knew that he could not take on his mightier opponents alone. He needed allies.
Hammurabi along with his allies was soon successful in getting rid of his enemies. As his power grew, so did his greed. He soon turned on the allies who had helped him. Such opportunistic endeavors may not have been very noble, but it did ensure that by 1755 BC, he had become the ruler of entire Mesopotamia. This new Babylonian empire was made up of different groups of people with different cultures and customs. To unite all people as one, a uniform code of conduct covering all the subjects of the king was needed and hence was born – the law code of Hammurabi.
This Babylonian code of law inscribed on a stone slab, whose origin goes back to the year 1754 BC (when King Hammurabi ruled Babylon), was one of the first ancient written text that was ever decoded by archaeologists. Initially, the code of Hammurabi was set up in Babylon’s temple of Marduk, the patron god of Babylon.
However, during a 12th century BC raid by the Elamite King – Shutruk Nahhunte on Babylon, the stone slab was brought to Susa (now in Iran) as a trophy of war. It was discovered in Susa (the capital of Achaemenian king Darius I and his descendants from 522 BC) by a Jean-Vincent Scheil in 1901.
The code of Hammurabi exists as a 2.25-meter-tall black finger-shaped stone slab (also known as stele in Latin) with 282 laws inscribed on it in the cuneiform script (in 44 columns & 28 paragraphs) and in the Akkadian language; and is on display in Louvre Museum in Paris, France. However, it would be important to mention here that laws number 13 and 66 to 99 are missing.
Code of Hammurabi also exists as a replica of the previously mentioned structure in many other different institutions all across the world and is a testimonial to the importance of this longest surviving ancient text from old Babylon.
Code of Hammurabi laws, as described previously was made because of a practical necessity of binding people under one uniform code of conduct & which would finally establish Hammurabi’s credibility as a just king. These laws had many flaws but still in many aspects was remarkable for its time.
The law code of Hammurabi covered all aspects of life and hence was a great advance for the judicial system of the time. To be precise it covered various aspects of personal, professional, civil, military, familial & religious code of conduct expected from both the citizens and slaves alike and the described protocols to be followed when these laws were broken. Besides, there was a prologue and epilogue too.
The code of Hammurabi described laws covering different aspects of human interactions of the time. However, the laws had many flaws. They varied according to the social class of the individual concerned and some also had clearly gender bias. To have a better understanding of the laws, it would help to have a brief look at some of them –
“Innocent till proven guilty” was a belief that was taken to an extreme level, in this ancient code of law. Here the burden of proving the facts was on the accuser. In case of failure to do so, it would result in them being put to death. In case a man is accused of casting spell on another, he would jump into the Euphrates river. If he dies, the accuser would take possession of his house; if he survives, the accuser would be put to death.
Even being unable to prove one’s testimony in court against the accused would also mean receiving a death penalty. Any judge, who later changes his verdict after declaring it, would be held as negligent in his duty. He would pay a fine 20 times more than what was incurred in the case judged by him and later would be removed from his post.
Stealing was considered a grave crime in the kingdom of Hammurabi, and there was no scope for leniency. Any person caught stealing from a temple or a house was condemned to death, as was the person who accepted stolen goods. If for some reason the thief was not caught then the city and its governor would compensate the victim for the loss of property. Even stealing somebody’s children was an offense punishable by death.
A person with a dike was responsible for maintaining his land. If he was unable to properly maintain his lands and accidents like damage to dike took place resulting in flooding of neighbor’s land and destruction of his crops, then the owner of the dike had to pay compensation to the victim of crop loss, by replacing the amount of grain loss. In case this loss is not made up, the accused would have to sell his goods and share his profits with the victim.
However, some laws were helpful for the farmers too. A farmer who had taken a loan, but his crops had failed due to lack of water availability, or due to storm; then he was excused from paying his creditors any grain or other compensation. The minimum wage was also decided for the workers. For example – field workers had to be paid at least 8 gur of corn per year & for ox drivers and sailors this amount was 6 gur of corn per year.
The code had also specified laws regarding trade and the behavior expected from merchants. It mentioned the specified amount of interest that could be levied on grain or money given to a person. If a merchant gave any goods to an agent for selling them, the agent should return the corresponding value of money to the merchant and take a receipt from him. A man in debt could sell his wife/son/daughter or give them as a worker for working under another person; however, after working for 3 years in the house of their new master, they would be set free.
If a married woman was proven to have an extramarital relationship with another man & is discovered, both of these individuals would be tied properly & thrown into the river. If the husband of the married woman decided to save his wife, the king of the land could save the woman’s paramour. If there was no concrete evidence for the affair then the woman could swear on god’s name that she was innocent, & return back home. If a woman had killed her husband for the sake of another man, she would be killed.
If a man has raped a newly married woman, who was still a virgin and stayed in her parent’s house, the rapist would be put to death while the woman, would be considered a victim (as logic dictates) and allowed to go free.
If a woman has not borne children to a man and he wishes to divorce her, he can do so after returning the dowry that the woman had brought from her father’s house along with the bride price. However, if the woman had borne children, then she would get custody of her children. The husband was also bound to pay maintenance for the sustenance of his wife and children.
If a man after deciding on marriage (and had already paid the marriage price) refuses to marry the woman concerned, he could do so; but the would-be father in law, in this case, wouldn’t have to return the money paid to him by the turncoat groom.
If a man has given property or assets to his wife, after his death these will remain with the wife only and pass on to the children only after the wife dies. If a man did not want his son to inherit his property after him, the judges would look upon the past activities of the son. If he has committed some serious crime the father had the right to cut off the son from his inheritance. Even illegitimate children from servants were entitled to the property of a man, provided the man accepts them to be his own.
Physical assault was taken very seriously in the kingdom of Hammurabi. In the Code of Hammurabi, justice was literally an eye for an eye. If a man destroyed the eye of another, his own eyes were destroyed and if he broke another man’s bone his bone was broken. However, this happened only when both the people involved were of the same social strata. If the people were from different social classes, the punishment changed according to the class of people involved.
For example - If a man had destroyed the eye of a person of gentleman class, his eye would be destroyed. However, if the victim was a commoner the guilty could escape by compensation of just one mina of silver. If the victim was a slave, then paying half the value of a slave would suffice. However, if a son assaulted his father, his hands were cut off.
Similarly, if a man killed a maidservant who was pregnant, he would be punished with a monetary fine only but if the victim was a free-born pregnant woman his own daughter would be killed as a punishment. If a slave assaulted a free man or denied his master (has said that “you are not my master”), his ear was cut off.
The money to be charged by a doctor for curing patients suffering from a severe wound also varied according to social class. He would receive 10 silver shekels for a gentleman, 5 silver shekels for a free man & only 2 silver shekels for a slave. Similarly, if his treatment resulted in the death of the patient of a higher class, the physician would have his hands cut off. However, if the dying person was a slave, then the physician only had to get the slave owner a new slave of equal value.
Honesty was expected from builders making a house and they were held responsible for any tragedy that rose due to faulty constructions. If after constructing a house, the house collapsed for a faulty design or construction & resulted in the death of the house owner & inmates, the builder was put to death. If any cracks appeared on the wall, then the builder was supposed to repair it at his own expense.
Although the law code of Hammurabi became very famous later on, it was neither the first or the last of its kind. Laws resembling the code of Hammurabi were made both before and after Hammurabi’s time.
Perhaps the oldest law code in the history of man is the code of Ur- Nammu, which reportedly was written (inscribed) between 2100 to 2050 BC by a Sumerian ruler of the same name. Besides another code of law, which is again of ancient Sumerian origin – the code of Lipit Ishtar of Isin, was also drawn possibly two centuries before Hammurabi’s time.
Even laws that were made much after Hammurabi’s period had some resemblance to the code of Hammurabi, especially the law of an eye for an eye. This law of retribution (also called lex talionis) finds reflection also in Hebrew laws/Mosaic laws of later periods.
Although many people initially thought that Mosaic laws were derived from the code of Hammurabi, scholars have now proved it beyond doubt the Hebrew laws & code of Hammurabi although both share a common origin, the Hebrew laws also have many differences in them. Notably, Hebrew laws are more humane & don’t make a distinction between social classes while rendering justice.
After so much discussion, it is but natural to ask - what was the significance of code of Hammurabi? The answer to that question can be a bit tricky when you consider that even the name “Code of Hammurabi” is inspired by the 19th century “Code of Napoleon” (French civil code established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804). However, the real importance of the code of Hammurabi facts can be understood when it is considered in the context of the time when it was written.
It is a question of debate that how much portion of the Code of Hammurabi's importance was on the deliverance of justice and how much the ancient King actually did for his own glorification? As at the top of law code of Hammurabi (fingertip of stele), there is a visible carving of the king Hammurabi receiving the code (which has been symbolised by a measuring rod & tape) from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice, who had chosen Hammurabi for the great responsibility (the prologue). This was an indirect way of saying that Hammurabi was chosen by the god themselves.
Even the epilogue that followed the laws, clearly mentions that the kings who come afterward should in no way try to try to alter these laws in any way or try to change the identity of its creator. Any attempt to do so, by whomsoever would evoke the strong wrath of gods, who solely entrusted this great responsibility on Hammurabi only.
So clearly, at the outset, it appears that Hammurabi had an inherent interest in self-glorification. Perhaps he wanted to appear different from the power-hungry tyrants, which was so common during his time. He wanted to foster an environment of righteousness in his kingdom, by delivering justice and protecting the weak from oppression. Babylon thrived and grew prosperous during his rule and the code of Hammurabi ensured that the society flourished and stability was maintained in the kingdom.
In spite of its flaws, it influenced the life of the subjects of the time. Kings and statesmen who came even 1000 years later after Hammurabi were influenced by it and tried to integrate it into their laws of the time. Its role as a legal guide is obvious from the fact that parts of the law have been found on clay tablets dating to 5th century BC. Even today it sheds valuable insights into the way society of the period worked and the different people living at the time were controlled by it.
When the Elamite King – Shutruk Nanhunte forcefully brought the code of Hammurabi in 12th century BC, from Sippar (the city of origin of the code) to his own domain in Susa as a trophy won in war, he tried to scratch out the inscriptions on the bottom, but failed to put any of his own laws there. Perhaps it was the curse of Hammurabi or perhaps destiny willed otherwise. However, the code of Hammurabi has prevailed for many millennia & continues to awe and inspire generations of people who came after him.