Hammurabi
The Golden Age of Babylonia
A. Background
1. Meaning of his name :
Hammu = Relative or Uncle
Rabi = Great
Translation-- The Uncle Is Great
Ask yourself: What could be the reason for giving him this name?
2. He was the 6th King of the tribe known as the Amorites from Syria
3. He was the son of Simmuballit, a king who had worked to unite control of Sumer and Akkad
4. Hammurabi loved herding sheep. His favorite festival was sheep shearing
5. He never gained control of all of Babylonia. He reigned for 43 years (about 2067 - 2025 BC)
B. Hammurabi's accomplishments- he worked for the welfare of his people-he was an excellent administrator
1. strengthened his kingdom by conquests
2. built canals to improve agriculture
3. build roads to improve communication
4. set up maximum prices and minimum wages
5. set up soldiers who were stationed all over the kingdom to keep peace
6. set up posts for carrying mail -- runners carried clay tablet letters
7. made the Akkadian language the official language
8. collected all existing Sumerian laws, organized and improved them, producing a set of 300 laws! This was
called the Code of Hammurabi, which is the best preserved legal document of ancient times.
C. The Code of Hammurabi
1. These laws were inscribed on a stone 8 feet high
2. 21 columns accompanied by a relief picture of Hammurabi receiving the laws from the sun god, Shamash,
who is delivering the laws to him
3. On the back is another 21 horizontal columns of law
4. This stone was discovered in Susa in 1901 AD. It had been carried off after a battle by an Elamite king
D. The content of the laws
1. Theme: The strong shall not injure the weak
2. The right of the individual was protected by the authority of the law
3. There was equality under the law for men and women
4. Penalties differed for different social classes
5. The laws covered the following topics:
False accusation
Witchcraft
Military service
Land and business law
Family rights
Tariffs (taxes)
Wages
Trade
Loans
Debts
Theft
Kidnapping
Slavery
Physical violence
Rights of inheritance
Malpractice of professionals
6. Accidents were not counted as criminal offenses
7. Penalties were assigned for each offense
E. Examples of some of these laws
1. If a citizen has been falsely accused of murder, the accuser shall be put to death
2. A citizen who steals property from the temple or crown shall be put to death, whoever receives the stolen
property shall also die
3. A son who strikes his father shall have his hand cut off
4. A citizen who puts out the eye of another citizen shall have his eye destroyed
5. If a citizen cannot pay his debts and has sold his wife, daughter, or son for money, they shall work for 3
years in the house of their purchaser and shall receive their freedom in the 4th year
6. If a citizen's wife suffers from attacks of intermittent fever, he may take another wife. However, he shall
support his first wife for life
7. A citizen shirking from public service, creating insurrection, or stealing shall be put to death
8. If a surgeon performs an operation that causes the death of a patient, his hand shall be cut off
9. If an architect builds a house which collapses or kills its owner, the architect shall be put to death.