Why were The Code of Hammurabi written?

Answer 1

First, here's the source for Leighton's post
http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9039076/Hammurabi
(Please, people, when you quote, esp. when you cut-and-paste, DO list your source.)


One helpful point that article points to, which many are unaware of, was that Hammurabi did NOT start the tradition of "legal codes" in Mesopotamia. and so anyone who thinks he was establishing one for the first time is quite mistaken.

A quick overview of its predecessors -other early "cuneiform law codes" and related forms. We know of at least four earlier works under Sumerian kings in Mesopotamia. [Note that the precise dates are disputed, but the relative order is not.]

2350 BC - the "Reforms" of Urukagina of Lagash (correcting abuses)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urukagina
http://ragz-international.com/reforms_of_urukagina.htm

2050 BC - Ur-Nammu (Shulgi) of Ur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur-Nammu

1900 BC - Lipit-Ishtar of Isin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipit-Ishtar

1800 BC - Laws of Eshnunna [the city name]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eshnunna

There is some debate about how we should understand Urukagina's "reforms". They do not quite lay out a new "system", so some might give the honor to Ur-Nammu's "first known legal 'CODE'"

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But there's another important matter that Britannica did not quite cover but very important to your question. That is, that labels like "law code" may not accurately describe the function of these inscriptions. For instance, in the case of Hammurabi, the so-called "Code" was inscribed on a black stele, NOT as a formal document for judges, et.al. to consult.

And there's no clear evidence that it was part of a specific effort by Hammurabi to craft a COMMON law to cover his varied empire, though it DOES add some elements and concerns that seem to reflect Semitic traditions that we do not find in the ealier Sumerian codes.

A key to appreciating the "law code" on the stele is to note what ELSE is included in this inscription. FIrst, note that it is a ROYAL inscription, making certain key claims about Hammurabi's kingship.. In its prologue and epilogue Hammurabi publicly brags to his gods, portraying himself as a good king and "shepherd" of his people, an ideal king of justice, calls on them to bless him, while warning others (as royal inscriptions often do) not to challenge him. The other "codes" give evidence of a similar structure and purpose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammurabi
http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm

Further, all these sets of laws seem to function more as EXAMPLES, not as a detailed "system.". At time they may be more like the ancient proverb collections -- a set of decisions collected as general examples of how decisions should be made... and how the existing "system" sould work. . (This would also explain the fact that laws within one set may seem to contradict each other.)

Nonetheless, they DO reveal much about the legal 'principles' and how decisions were made in ancient Mesopotamia. (The picture is even fuller when we take into account records of contracts and court decisions.) Beyond that they are valuable in their portrayal of the IDEAL of the king as dispesner of justice, 'shepherd' of his people and defender of the weak (esp.. of the widow and orphan).

see also: "The Development Of Ancient Mesopotamian Law"
http://www.gmalivuk.com/otherstuff/fall02/danking.htm

Answer 2

The background of the code is a body of Sumerian law under which civilized communities had lived for many centuries. The existing text is in the Akkadian (Semitic) language; but, even though no Sumerian version is known to survive, the code was meant to be applied to a wider realm than any single country and to integrate Semitic and Sumerian traditions and peoples. Moreover, despite a few primitive survivals relating to family solidarity, district responsibility, trial by ordeal, and the lex talionis (i.e., an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth), the code was advanced far beyond tribal custom and recognized no blood feud, private retribution, or marriage by capture.

Answer 3

The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabi's Code), created ca. 1760 BC (short chronology), is one of the earliest extant sets of laws and one of the best preserved examples of this type of document from ancient Mesopotamia. It was created by Hammurabi. Still earlier collections of laws include the codex of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Codex of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC).

The Code contains an enumeration of crimes and their various punishments as well as settlements for common disputes and guidelines for citizen's conduct. The Code does not provide opportunity for explanation or excuses, though it does imply one's right to present evidence.

The Code was openly displayed for all to see; thus, no man could plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. Few people, however, could read in that era, as literacy was primarily the domain of scribes.

Hammurabi (1728 BC–1686 BC) believed he was chosen by the gods to deliver the law to his people. In the preface to the law code, he states, "Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land." In the upper part of the stela, Hammurabi is shown in front of the throne of the sun god Shamash.

The code is often pointed to as the first example of the legal concept that some laws are so basic as to be beyond the ability of even a king to change. Because Hammurabi had the laws inscribed in stone, they were immutable.

Answer 4

Most historians believe that Hammurabi wanted to unify the laws in his land, and to make them fairer. Generally, nobles could do whatever they liked to punish evil-doers, and such things as "an eye for an eye" put a limit on the punishments that were acceptable. In other words, if a man poked out one eye, the victim could not poke out two.

Answer 5

Hammurabi thought it was a fair way to have a law and punish people it goes an eye for an eye what sonme one did to you they goit the same thing done to them

Answer 6

Also perhaps because written law makes it so that everyone knows what the laws are and you can't just make stuff up.

Answer 7

1) To record the laws so nobody could argue over what the 'rules' - and the penalties - really were.

2) To make sure all the areas of the empire, with different histories and cultures, all used the same set of laws.

Answer 8

They were written to be the foundation of a code of justice back I don't know how many years ago..

Answer 9

learn the laws