The Code of HammurabiThe Code of Hammurabi
A monument of ancient law
Inscribed in a block of black basalt over 2.25 metres tall, this stela known as the Code of Hammurabi is one of the most iconic monuments of the ancient Near East. The text, engraved around 1750 BC, is not a ‘legal code’ in the modern sense of the term; rather, it is a sweeping collection of jurisprudence, or case law. It contains 282 legal judgements handed down by Hammurabi, king of Babylon, which are organised in overarching chapters related to areas like family, property, trade and labour. This collection of laws covers most sectors of society in the early 2nd millennium BC, and illustrates the ways in which Mesopotamian rulers dispensed justice.
Hammurabi: a powerful ruler and upholder of justice
The scene in relief at the top of the stela depicts Hammurabi standing before the sun god Shamash. Shamash is easily identified by the flames that burst forth from his shoulders, and by the footrest that symbolises the mountains over which he rises each morning. The sun god, who is also the patron of justice, presents the king with the insignia of power, which is dependent upon upholding and enforcing justice.
A major discovery from the turn of the 20th century
The stela was discovered in 1902 during French excavations in Susa, Iran. It had been brought there as a spoil of war by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte (reigned around 1185–1160 BC), many centuries after it was made. The stela has been on display at the Louvre since 1904, where it is one of the key pieces in the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities.
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’
The 282 laws still remaining all follow the same sentence structure, similar to that used in treatises on divination or medicine. The first part, introduced by ‘if’ (the protasis), describes a given scenario in great detail; the second part, often introduced by ‘then’ (the apodosis), outlines the solution or punishment, which is sometimes further clarified by an additional clause starting with ‘and if’. This type of protasis-apodosis clause sequence forms what is known as a conditional sentence.
Law 196 declares: ‘If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out’. This law is explored here through an augmented reality experience. It illustrates how ancient Near Eastern Semitic societies viewed the practice of righting wrongs, and is the basis for what is known today as lex talionis (or the law of retaliation: ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’). Yet this law is far from a call for vengeance – in fact, it stipulates that a punishment must be proportional to the damages suffered. The ambition and legal scope of the Code of Hammurabi make it a landmark monument in the history of law, and an invaluable window onto ancient Near Eastern society.