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{{Short description|Sixth king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC)}}
{{dablink|For the computer game, see ].}}
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{{redirect|Hamurabi|the video game|Hamurabi (video game){{!}}''Hamurabi'' (video game)}}
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| image =Hammurabi Face.jpg
| image_size =200px
| caption =] head believed to represent Hammurabi
| birth_name =
| birth_date =c. ]
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| death_date =c. ]
| death_place =
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| title =King of Babylon
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title = ]<br/>]
| name = Hammurabi<br/>{{lang|akk-x-oldbabyl|{{cuneiform|8|𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉}}}}
| image = F0182 Louvre Code Hammourabi Bas-relief Sb8 rwk.jpg
| caption = Hammurabi (standing) receiving his royal insignia from ] (or possibly ]){{sfn|Roux|1992|loc=between 266–267}}
| succession = ] of the ]
| reign = {{circa|1792|1750 BC}} (])
| predecessor = ]
| successor = ]
| birth_date = {{circa|1810}} BC
| birth_place = ]
| death_date = {{circa|1750}} BC (aged&nbsp;59–60)
| death_place = Babylon
| issue = ]
}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}
'''Hammurabi''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|x|æ|m|ʊ|ˈ|r|ɑː|b|i}}; {{langx|akk-x-oldbabyl|{{cuneiform|8|𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉}}|translit=Ḫâmmurapi}};{{efn|from ] ''ʻAmmurāpi'' ("the kinsman is a healer"), itself from ''ʻAmmu'' ("paternal kinsman") and ''Rāpi'' ("healer"). The classicist ] insists that ''Hammurapi'' is a more correct spelling.{{sfn|Millard|2004}}}} {{circa|1810|1750 BC}}), also spelled '''Hammurapi''',{{sfn|Khwshnaw|2023}}<ref>{{cite wikisource|title=The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East|volume=1|first1=Charles F.|last1=Hone|date=1917|scan=Index:The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, Volume 01.djvu}}</ref> was the sixth ] king of the ], reigning from {{circa|1792}} to {{circa|1750}} BC. He was preceded by his father, ], who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered the city-states of ], ], and ]. He ousted ], the king of ], and forced his son ] to pay tribute, bringing almost all of ] under ]n rule.


Hammurabi is best known for having issued the ], which he claimed to have received from ], the Babylonian god of justice. Unlike earlier ]ian law codes, such as the ], which had focused on compensating the victim of the crime, the Law of Hammurabi was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator. It prescribed specific penalties for each crime and is among the first codes to establish the ]. They were intended to limit what a wronged person was permitted to do in ]. The Code of Hammurabi and the ] in the ] contain numerous similarities.
'''Hammurabi''' (] from ] ''ˤAmmurāpi'', "the kinsman is a healer," from ''ˤAmmu'', "paternal kinsman," and ''Rāpi'', "healer"; c. ] &ndash; ]), was the sixth king of ]. He became the first king of the ], extending Babylon's control over ] by winning a series of wars against neighboring kingdoms.


Hammurabi was seen by many as a god within his own lifetime. After his death, Hammurabi was revered as a great conqueror who spread civilization and forced all peoples to pay obeisance to ], the ] of the Babylonians. Later, his military accomplishments became de-emphasized and his role as the ideal lawgiver became the primary aspect of his legacy. For later Mesopotamians, Hammurabi's reign became the frame of reference for all events occurring in the distant past. Even after the empire he built collapsed, he was still revered as a model ruler, and many kings across the Near East claimed him as an ancestor. Hammurabi was rediscovered by archaeologists in the late nineteenth century and has since been seen as an important figure in the ].
Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called ], one of the first written ] in ]. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall. Owing to his reputation in modern times as an ancient law-giver, Hammurabi's portrait is in many government buildings throughout the world. Although his empire controlled all of ] by the time of his death, his successors were unable to maintain his empire.


==History== ==Life==
===Background and ascension===
Hammurabi was a ] king of the ] of Babylon, and inherited the throne from his father, ], in ca. 1792 BC.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 1</ref> Babylon was one of the many ancient city-states that dotted the Mesopotamian plain and waged war on each other for control of fertile agricultural land.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 1-2</ref>Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the literate classes throughout the Middle East.<ref name="VM3">Van de Mieroop: 3</ref> The kings who came before Hammurabi had begun to consolidate rule of central Mesopotamia under Babylonian hegemony and, by the time of his reign, had conquered the city-states of ], ], and ].<ref name=VM3/> Thus Hammurabi ascended to the throne as the king of a minor kingdom in the midst of a complex geopolitical situation, surrounded by the more powerful kingdoms of ], ], ], and ].<ref>Van de Mieroop: 3-4</ref>
]
Hammurabi ascended to the throne as the king of a minor kingdom in the midst of a complex ] situation. Hammurabi was an ] ] king of the ] of ], and inherited the power from his father, ], in {{circa|1792 BC}}.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=1}} Babylon was one of the many largely Amorite-ruled city-states that dotted the central and southern Mesopotamian plains and waged war on each other for control of fertile ] land.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop |2005|pp=1–2}} Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the ] classes throughout the ] under Hammurabi.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=3}} The kings who came before Hammurabi had founded a relatively minor city-state in 1894 BC, which controlled little territory outside of the city itself. Babylon was overshadowed by older, larger, and more powerful kingdoms, such as ], ], ], ], and ] for a century or so after its founding. However, his father ] had begun to consolidate rule of a small area of south central Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule and, by the time of his reign, had conquered the minor city-states of ], ], and ].{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=3}}


The powerful kingdom of ] controlled the upper Tigris River, while ] controlled the river delta. To the east of Mesopotamia lay the powerful kingdom of ], which regularly invaded and forced tribute upon the small states of southern Mesopotamia. In northern Mesopotamia, the ]n king ], who had already inherited centuries-old Assyrian colonies in ], had expanded his territory into the ] and central ],{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=3–4}} although his untimely death would somewhat fragment his empire.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=16}}
The first few decades of Hammurabi's reign were relatively peaceful, although the death of ] led to the fragmentation of his northern Semitic empire, and Babylon became comparatively stronger as a result.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 16</ref> Hammurabi used this time to undertake a series of public works, including heightening the city walls for defensive purposes, and expanding the temples.<ref>Arnold: 43</ref> In ca. 1766 BC, the powerful kingdom of ], which straddled important trade routes across the ], invaded the Mesopotamian plain.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 15-16</ref> With allies among the plain states, Elam attacked and destroyed the empire of ], destroying a number of cities and imposing its rule on portions of the plain for the first time.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 17</ref> In order to consolidate its position, Elam tried to start a war between Hammurabi's Babylonian kingdom and the kingdom of ].<ref name="VM18">Van de Mieroop: 18</ref> Hammurabi and the king of Larsa made an alliance when they discovered this duplicity and were able to crush the Elamites, although Larsa did not contribute greatly to the military effort.<ref name=VM18/> Angered by Larsa's failure to come to his aid, Hammurabi turned on that southern power, thus gaining control of the entirety of the lower Mesopotamian plain by ca. 1763 BC.<ref name="VM31">Van de Mieroop: 31</ref>


===Reign and conquests===
As Hammurabi was assisted during the war in the south by his allies from the north, the absence of soldiers in the north led to unrest.<ref name=VM31/> Continuing his expansion, Hammurabi turned his attention northward, quelling the unrest and soon after crushing Eshnunna.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 40-41</ref> Next the Babylonian armies conquered the remaining northern states, including Babylon's former ally ], although it is possible that the 'conquest' of Mari was a surrender without any actual conflict.<ref>Van de Mieroop: 54-55 and 64-65</ref><ref name="Ar45">Arnold: 45</ref> In just a few short years, Hammurabi had succeeded in uniting all of Mesopotamia under his rule.<ref name=Ar45/> Of the major city-states in the region, only ] and ] to the west in Syria maintained their independence.<ref name=Ar45/>


{{Infobox military conflict
Vast numbers of contract ]s, dated to the reigns of Hammurabi and his successors, have been discovered, as well as 55 of his own letters.<ref>Breasted: 129</ref> These letters give a glimpse into the daily trials of ruling an empire, from dealing with floods and mandating changes to a flawed calendar, to taking care of Babylon's massive herds of livestock.<ref>Breasted: 129-130</ref> Hammurabi died and passed the reigns of the empire on to his son ] in ca. 1750 BC.<ref>Arnold: 42</ref>
| conflict = Hammurabi's conquests
| date = {{circa}} 1770 BC – {{circa}} 1760 BC
| place = modern-day ] & modern-day ]
| result = Babylonian victory
| combatant1 = ]<br/>]<br/>]<br/>] (until {{circa}} 1760 BC)
| combatant2 = ]
----
]
----
] (from {{circa}} 1760 BC)<br/>Minor city-states
| commander1 = Hammurabi<br/>]
| commander2 = unknown
| casualties1 = unknown
| casualties2 = unknown
}}


] votive monument from Sippar, Iraq, dating to {{circa|1792|1750 BC}} showing King Hammurabi raising his right arm in worship, now held in the ]]]The first few years of Hammurabi's reign were quite peaceful.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adolf |first1=Antony |title=Peace: A World History |date=8 May 2013 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-7456-5459-1 |page=3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1kh_7BmkoMC&dq=hammurabi+peaceful+reign&pg=PT34 |quote=An early study claims that 'peace and prosperity prevailed during his reign', though more recent research confines this preponderantly peaceful period to the first two decades Hammurabi ruled.}}</ref> Hammurabi used his power to undertake a series of public works, including heightening the city walls for defensive purposes, and expanding the temples.{{sfn|Arnold|2005|p=43}} The powerful kingdom of Elam, which straddled important trade routes across the ], invaded the Mesopotamian plain.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=15–16}} With allies among the plain states, Elam attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Eshnunna, destroying a number of cities and imposing its rule on portions of the plain for the first time.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=17}}
]]]


In order to consolidate its position, Elam tried to start a war between Hammurabi's Babylonian kingdom and the kingdom of Larsa.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=18}} Hammurabi and the king of Larsa made an alliance when they discovered this duplicity and were able to crush the Elamites, although Larsa did not contribute greatly to the military effort.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=18}} Angered by Larsa's failure to come to his aid, Hammurabi turned on that southern power, thus gaining control of the entirety of the lower Mesopotamian plain by {{circa|1763 BC}}.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=31}}
==Code of laws==
{{main|Code of Hammurabi}}


As Hammurabi was assisted during the war in the south by his allies from the north such as ] and ], the absence of soldiers in the north led to unrest.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=31}} Continuing his expansion, Hammurabi turned his attention northward, quelling the unrest. Soon after, he destroyed Eshnunna.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=40–41}} Next the Babylonian armies conquered the remaining northern states, including Babylon's former ally Mari, although it is possible that the conquest of Mari was a surrender without any actual conflict.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=54–55, 64–65}}{{sfn|Arnold|2005|p=45}}
Hammurabi is best known for the ] of a new code of ] &ndash; the ]. This was written on a ], a large stone monument, and placed in a public place so that all could see it, although it is thought that few were ]. The stele was later plundered by the Elamites and removed to their capital, ]; it was rediscovered there in 1901 and is now in the ] in Paris. The code of Hammurabi contained 284 laws, written by scribes on 12 tablets. Unlike earlier laws, it was written in ], the daily language of Babylon, and could therefore be read by any literate person in the city.<ref>Breasted, Page 141</ref>


Hammurabi entered into a protracted war with ] of Assyria for control of Mesopotamia, with both kings making alliances with minor states in order to gain the upper hand. Eventually Hammurabi prevailed, ousting Ishme-Dagan I just before his own death. ], the new king of Assyria, was forced to pay tribute to Hammurabi.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Roger B. |last1=Beck |first2=Linda |last2=Black |first3=Larry S. |last3=Krieger |first4=Phillip C. |last4=Naylor |first5=Dahia Ibo |last5=Shabaka |title=World History: Patterns of Interaction |url=https://archive.org/details/mcdougallittellw00beck |url-access=registration |publisher=] |year=1999 |location=Evanston, IL |isbn=978-0-395-87274-1 |oclc=39762695}}</ref>
]


In just a few years, Hammurabi succeeded in uniting all of Mesopotamia under his rule.{{sfn|Arnold|2005|p=45}} The Assyrian kingdom survived but was forced to pay tribute during his reign, and of the major city-states in the region, only ] and ] to the west in the ] maintained their independence.{{sfn|Arnold|2005|p=45}} However, one ] (stone monument) of Hammurabi has been found as far north as ], where he claims the title "King of the Amorites".<ref>{{cite book |title=The Empire of the Amorites |last=Clay |first=Albert Tobias |author-link=Albert Tobias Clay |publisher=] |year=1919 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofamorites00clayuoft}}</ref>
The structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving a specified punishment. The punishments tended to be harsh by modern standards, with many offenses resulting in death, disfigurement, or the use of the "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth philosophy". While the penalties of his laws may seem cruel to modern readers, the fact that he not only put into writing the laws of his kingdom, but attempted to make them a systematic whole, is considered an important step forward in the evolution of ]. Putting the laws into writing was important in itself because it suggested that the laws were immutable and above the power of any earthly king to change. The code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of ], and it also suggests that the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence. However, there is no provision for extenuating circumstances to alter the prescribed punishment.


Vast numbers of contract ], dated to the reigns of Hammurabi and his successors, have been discovered, as well as 55 of his own letters.{{sfn|Breasted|2003|p=129}} These letters give a glimpse into the daily trials of ruling an empire, from dealing with floods and mandating changes to a flawed ], to taking care of Babylon's massive herds of livestock.{{sfn|Breasted|2003|pp=129–130}} Hammurabi died and passed the reins of the empire on to his son ] in {{circa|1750 BC}}, under whose rule the Babylonian empire quickly began to unravel.{{sfn|Arnold|2005|p=42}}
A carving at the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from the god ], and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by the gods of his people to bring the laws to them. Parallels to this divine inspiration for laws can be seen in the laws given to ] for the ancient Hebrews. Similar codes of law were created in several nearby civilizations, including the earlier neo-Sumerian example of ], and the later ].<ref>The information in this section is explained in much more detail in Davies, W.W. (2003). ''Codes of Hammurabi and Moses: With Copious Comments, Index and Bible References''. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766131246</ref>


== Code of laws ==
==Legacy and depictions==
{{Main|Code of Hammurabi}}
Under the rules of Hammurabi's successors, the Babylonian Empire was weakened by military pressure from the ], who sacked Babylon around 1600 BC.<ref name="D19">Deblois: 19</ref> However it was the ] who eventually conquered Babylon and ruled Mesopotamia for 400 years, adopting parts of the Babylonian culture, including Hammurabi's code of laws.
] stele. ], Paris|left]]
The Code of Hammurabi was a collection of 282 laws dealing with a wide range of issues.<ref>{{cite wikisource|author=H. Otto Sommer|wslink=The Laws of Hammurabi, King of Babylonia|year=1908|publisher=Records of the Past, Volume II, Part III.}}</ref> It is not the earliest surviving law code{{sfnp|Driver|Miles|1952|p=9}}{{efn|It is predated by the ], the ], and the ].{{sfn|Roth|1995|pp=13, 23, 57}}}} but was proved more influential in world politics and international relations{{sfn|Breasted|2003|p=141}}{{sfn|Bertman|2003|p=}} as instead of focusing on compensating the victim of crime, as in earlier Sumerian law codes, the Code of Hammurabi instead focused on physically punishing the perpetrator.{{sfn|Bertman|2003|p=}} It was also one of the first law codes to place restrictions on what a wronged person was allowed to do in ]{{sfn|Bertman|2003|p=}} and one of the earliest examples of the idea of ], suggesting that the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide ].<ref>''Victimology: Theories and Applications'', ], Albert R. Roberts, Cheryl Regehr, ], 2009, p. 103</ref> The structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving a specified punishment. Many offenses resulted in death, disfigurement, or the use of the '']'' philosophy ("]").{{sfn|Prince|1904|pp=606–607}}{{sfn|Bertman|2003|p=}}


The Code of Hammurabi was inscribed on a ] and placed in a public place so that all could see it, although it is thought that few were literate. The stele was later plundered by the Elamites and removed to their capital, ]; it was rediscovered there in 1901 in ] and is now in the ] in ]. The code of Hammurabi contains 282 laws, written by ]s on 12 tablets.{{sfn|Breasted|2003|p=141}} Unlike earlier laws, it was written in ], the daily language of Babylon, and could therefore be read by any literate person in the city. At this time, Akkadian replaced ], and Hammurabi began language reforms that would make Akkadian the most common language at this time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maher |first1=John C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rTPADgAAQBAJ |title=Multilingualism: A Very Short Introduction |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-872499-5 |page=108 |quote=... Akkadian (Babylonian) replaced Sumerian ... The Code of Hammurabi was written in the daily language of Babylon, Akkadian. Hammurabi (''c''.1810–1750 {{small|BC}}), the sixth king of the First Babylonian Empire, initiated language reforms to make Akkadian the pre-eminent lingua franca of antiquity; inscriptions have been found on stone, silver and clay artefacts.}}</ref> A carving at the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from ], the Babylonian god of justice,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kleiner|first1=Fred S.|title=Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective|date=2010|publisher=Wadsworth Cengage Learning|location=Boston, Massachusetts|isbn=978-0-495-57360-9|volume=1|page=29|edition=Thirteenth|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mBrvazPDFoYC&q=Hammurabi+code+Shamash&pg=PT61|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=17 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617233155/http://books.google.com/books?id=mBrvazPDFoYC|url-status=live}}</ref> and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by Shamash to bring the laws to the people.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=J. M. Powis|author1-link=John Merlin Powis Smith|title=The Origin and History of Hebrew Law|date=2005|publisher=The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.|location=Clark, New Jersey|isbn=978-1-58477-489-1|page=13|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NNgR7RjfSs0C&q=Hammurabi+code+Shamash&pg=PA12|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415124102/https://books.google.com/books?id=NNgR7RjfSs0C&q=Hammurabi+code+Shamash&pg=PA12|url-status=live}}</ref>
Because of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be found in several U.S. government buildings. Hammurabi is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in ] ]s in the ] of the ] in the ].<ref>"Relief Portraits of Lawgivers: Hammurabi." Architect of the Capitol. </ref> An image of Hammurabi receiving the ] from the Babylonian ] (probably ]) is depicted on the ] on the south wall of the ].<ref>"Courtroom Friezes: North and South Walls: Information Sheet." Supreme Court of the United States. </ref>
<!-- ]
-->


Because of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be found in law buildings throughout the world. Hammurabi is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in ] ]s in the ] of the ] in the ].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=19 May 2008|url=http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/lawgivers/hammurabi.cfm|title=Hammurabi|publisher=]|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122140950/https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/hammurabi-relief-portrait|url-status=live}}</ref> A ] by ] depicting the "great lawgivers of history", including Hammurabi, is on the south wall of the ].<ref>{{cite web|access-date=19 May 2008 |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/north&southwalls.pdf |title=Courtroom Friezes |publisher=] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601113942/https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/north%26southwalls.pdf |archive-date=1 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author-link=Joan Biskupic|last1=Biskupic|first1=Joan|title=Lawgivers: From Two Friezes, Great Figures of Legal History Gaze Upon the Supreme Court Bench|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1998/03/11/lawgivers-from-two-friezes-great-figures-of-legal-history-gaze-upon-the-supreme-court-bench/b9372b89-5b94-4fa2-81d9-300ee24913db/|access-date=28 November 2017|agency=The Washington Post|publisher=WP Company LLC|date=11 March 1998|archive-date=18 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818105814/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/1998/03/11/lawgivers-from-two-friezes-great-figures-of-legal-history-gaze-upon-the-supreme-court-bench/b9372b89-5b94-4fa2-81d9-300ee24913db/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also==
* ]


==Notes== ==Legacy==
===Posthumous commemoration===
<div class="references-small">
|url=https://archive.org/details/babylonianassyri00britiala}}</ref><ref>For full transcription: {{cite web|title=CDLI-Archival View|url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P365476|url-status=live|website=cdli.ucla.edu|access-date=4 November 2021|archive-date=4 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104175904/https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P365476}}</ref>]]
<references/>

</div>
Hammurabi was honored above all other kings of the second millennium BC{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=128}} and he received the unique honor of being declared to be a god within his own lifetime.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=127}} The personal name "Hammurabi-ili" meaning "Hammurabi is my god" became common during and after his reign. In writings from shortly after his death, Hammurabi is commemorated mainly for three achievements: bringing victory in war, bringing peace, and bringing justice.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=127}} Hammurabi's conquests came to be regarded as part of a sacred mission to spread civilization to all nations.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=126}} A stele from Ur glorifies him in his own voice as a mighty ruler who forces evil into submission and compels all peoples to worship ].{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pages=126–127}} The stele declares: "The people of Elam, Gutium, Subartu, and Tukrish, whose mountains are distant and whose languages are obscure, I placed into hand. I myself continued to put straight their confused minds." A later hymn also written in Hammurabi's own voice extols him as a powerful, supernatural force for Marduk:{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=126}}

<blockquote><poem>
I am the king, the brace that grasps wrongdoers, that makes people of one mind,
I am the great dragon among kings, who throws their counsel in disarray,
I am the net that is stretched over the enemy,
I am the fear-inspiring, who, when lifting his fierce eyes, gives the disobedient the death sentence,
I am the great net that covers evil intent,
I am the young lion, who breaks nets and scepters,
I am the battle net that catches him who offends me.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pages=126–127}}
</poem></blockquote>

After extolling Hammurabi's military accomplishments, the hymn finally declares: "I am Hammurabi, the king of justice."{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=127}} In later commemorations, Hammurabi's role as a great lawgiver came to be emphasized above all his other accomplishments and his military achievements became de-emphasized. Hammurabi's reign became the point of reference for all events in the distant past. A hymn to the goddess ], whose language suggests it was written during the reign of ], Hammurabi's fourth successor, declares: "The king who first heard this song as a song of your heroism is Hammurabi. This song for you was composed in his reign. May he be given life forever!"{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=128}} For centuries after his death, Hammurabi's laws continued to be copied by scribes as part of their writing exercises and they were even partially translated into Sumerian.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=129}}

===Political legacy===
]. The stele was only partially erased and was never re-inscribed.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pages=129–130}}|left]]

During the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon usurped the position of "most holy city" in southern Mesopotamia from its predecessor, ].<ref name="Schneider">{{citation|last=Schneider|first=Tammi J.|title=An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion|publisher=]|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|date=2011|isbn=978-0-8028-2959-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2HfU9gv0fXYC&q=Iconography+of+Enlil&pg=PA58|pages=58–59|access-date=1 November 2020|archive-date=12 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112192643/https://books.google.com/books?id=2HfU9gv0fXYC&q=Iconography+of+Enlil&pg=PA58|url-status=live}}</ref> Under the rule of Hammurabi's successor ], the short-lived Babylonian Empire began to collapse. In northern Mesopotamia, both the Amorites and Babylonians were driven from ] by ] a native ]-speaking ruler, {{circa|1740 BC}}. Around the same time, native Akkadian speakers threw off Amorite Babylonian rule in the far south of Mesopotamia, creating the ], in more or less the region of ancient Sumer. Hammurabi's ineffectual successors met with further defeats and loss of territory at the hands of Assyrian kings such as ] and ], as well as to the Sealand Dynasty to the south, ] to the east, and to the ] from the northeast. Thus was Babylon quickly reduced to the small and minor state it had once been upon its founding.{{sfn|Roux|1992|pp=243–246}}

The ''coup de grace'' for the Hammurabi's Amorite Dynasty occurred in 1595 BC, when Babylon was sacked and conquered by the powerful ], thereby ending all Amorite political presence in Mesopotamia.{{sfn|DeBlois|1997|p=19}} However, the Indo-European-speaking Hittites did not remain, turning over Babylon to their ] allies, a people speaking a ], from the ] region. This ] ruled Babylon for over 400 years and adopted many aspects of the ]n ], including Hammurabi's code of laws.{{sfn|DeBlois|1997|p=19}} Even after the fall of the Amorite Dynasty, however, Hammurabi was still remembered and revered.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=129}} When the Elamite king ] raided Babylon in 1158 BC and carried off many stone monuments, he had most of the inscriptions on these monuments erased and new inscriptions carved into them.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=129}} On the stele containing Hammurabi's laws, however, only four or five columns were wiped out and no new inscription was ever added.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|pages=129–130}} Over a thousand years after Hammurabi's death, the kings of ], a land along the Euphrates river, just northwest of Babylon, claimed him as their ancestor.{{sfn|Van De Mieroop|2005|page=130}}

A ] royal inscription, which was intended for display on a stele, commemorates a royal grant of tax exemptions to nine Babylonian cities and presents the royal protagonist as a second Hammurabi.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frazer |first1=Mary |last2=Adalı |first2=Selim Ferruh |date=2021-11-25 |title="The just judgements that Ḫammu-rāpi, a former king, rendered": A New Royal Inscription in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/za-2021-2004/html |journal=Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie |language=en |volume=111 |issue=2 |pages=231–262 |doi=10.1515/za-2021-2004 |s2cid=244530410 |issn=0084-5299 |access-date=20 March 2023 |archive-date=20 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320152531/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/za-2021-2004/html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Relationship to Biblical figures and Mosaic law ===

In the late nineteenth century, the Code of Hammurabi became a major center of debate in the heated ''Babel und Bibel'' ("Babylon and Bible") controversy in Germany over the relationship between the Bible and ancient Babylonian texts.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=25}} In January 1902, the German Assyriologist ] gave a lecture at the ] in front of the ] and his wife, in which he argued that the Mosaic Laws of the Old Testament were directly copied off the Code of Hammurabi.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=23–25}} Delitzsch's lecture was so controversial that, by September 1903, he had managed to collect 1,350 short articles from newspapers and journals, over 300 longer ones, and twenty-eight pamphlets, all written in response to this lecture, as well as the preceding one about the ]. These articles were overwhelmingly critical of Delitzsch, though a few were sympathetic. The Kaiser distanced himself from Delitzsch and his radical views and, in fall of 1904, Delitzsch was forced to give his third lecture in ] and ] rather than in Berlin.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=25}} The putative relationship between the Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi later became a major part of Delitzsch's argument in his 1920–21 book ''Die große Täuschung'' (''The Great Deception'') that the Hebrew Bible was irredeemably contaminated by Babylonian influence and that only by eliminating the human Old Testament entirely could Christians finally believe in the true, ] message of the ].{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=23–25}} In the early twentieth century, many scholars believed that Hammurabi was ], the King of ] in the Book of Genesis 14:1.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1440-amraphel|website=]|title=Amraphel|access-date=24 November 2012|author1-last=Rogers|author1-first=Robert W.|author2-last=Kohler|author2-first=Kaufmann|author2-link=Kaufmann Kohler|author3-last=Jastrow|author3-first=Marcus|author3-link=Marcus Jastrow|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122081627/https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1440-amraphel|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014&version=NIV|title=Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 14 - New International Version|access-date=24 November 2012|archive-date=20 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120171947/https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014&version=NIV|url-status=live}}</ref> This view has now been largely rejected,<ref>{{cite book|last=North|first=Robert|editor1-last=Metzger|editor1-first=Bruce M.|editor2-last=Coogan|editor2-first=Michael D.|date=1993|title=The Oxford Companion to the Bible|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=|chapter=Abraham|isbn=978-0-19-504645-8|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458/page/5}}</ref><ref name="Granerød2010">{{cite book|last=Granerød|first=Gard|title=Abraham and Melchizedek: Scribal Activity of Second Temple Times in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5mlvNPexSEC&pg=PA114|date=26 March 2010|location=Berlin, Germany|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-022346-0|page=120}}</ref> and Amraphel's existence is not attested in any writings from outside the Bible.<ref name="Granerød2010"/>

Parallels between this narrative and the giving of the ] to ] by ] atop ] in the ] ] and similarities between the two legal codes suggest a common ancestor in the Semitic background of the two.<ref name="Douglas">{{cite book|last1=Douglas|first1=J. D.|last2=Tenney|first2=Merrill C.|author2-link=Merrill C. Tenney|date=2011|title=Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary|location=Grand Rapids, Michigan|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-22983-4|page=1323}}</ref>{{sfn|Barton|1916|p=406}}<ref name="Unger">]: ''Archaeology and the Old Testament''. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1954, pp. 156–157</ref><ref name="Free">Free, J.P.: ''Archaeology and Biblical History''. Wheaton: Scripture Press, 1950, 1969, p. 121</ref> Nonetheless, fragments of previous law codes have been found and it is unlikely that the ] were directly inspired by the Code of Hammurabi.<ref name="Douglas"/>{{sfn|Barton|1916|p=406}}<ref name="Unger"/><ref name="Free"/>{{efn|Barton, a former professor of Semitic languages at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that while there are similarities between the two texts, a study of the entirety of both laws "convinces the student that the laws of the Old Testament are in no essential way dependent upon the Babylonian laws." He states that "such resemblances" arose from "a similarity of antecedents and of general intellectual outlook" between the two cultures, but that "the striking differences show that there was no direct borrowing."{{sfn|Barton|1916|p=406}}}} Some scholars have disputed this; David P. Wright argues that the Jewish Covenant Code is "directly, primarily, and throughout" based upon the Laws of Hammurabi.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=David P.|author-link=David P. Wright|title=Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi|url=https://archive.org/details/inventinggodslaw00wrig|url-access=limited|location=Oxford, England|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2009|pages= and passim|isbn=978-0-19-530475-6}}</ref> In 2010, a team of archaeologists from ] discovered a cuneiform tablet dating to the eighteenth or seventeenth century BC at ] in ] containing laws clearly derived from the Code of Hammurabi.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Hazor 18: Fragments of a Cuneiform Law Collection from Hazor |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/25193017 |last1=Horowitz |first1=Wayne |issue=2 |volume=62 |pages=158–176 |last2=Oshima |first2=Takayoshi |year=2012 |issn=0021-2059 |jstor=43855622 |last3=Vukosavović |first3=Filip}}</ref>


==References== ==References==
===Notes===
* Arnold, Bill T. (2005). ''Who Were the Babylonians?'' Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004130713
{{notelist}}
* Breasted, James Henry (2003). ''Ancient Time or a History of the Early World, Part 1''. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 0766149463
* DeBlois, Lukas (1997). ''An Introduction to the Ancient World''. Routledge Publishing. ISBN 0415127734
* Van De Mieroop, Marc (2005). ''King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography''. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1405126604
* . Britannica, 1911.


==External links== ===Citations===
{{commons}} {{Reflist|24em}}
* {{cite wikisource|Hammurabi|type=author}}
*


===Sources===
{{start box}}
{{refbegin}}
{{succession box|
* {{cite book |last=Arnold |first=Bill T. |year=2005 |title=Who Were the Babylonians? |publisher=] |isbn=978-90-04-13071-5 |oclc=225281611}}
title = ]|
* {{cite book |last=Barton |first=George A. |author-link=George Aaron Barton |date=1916 |title=Archæology and the Bible |publisher=] |location=Philadelphia |oclc=38608139 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/43070/43070-h/43070-h.htm |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-date=29 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229070133/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/43070/43070-h/43070-h.htm |url-status=live }}
years = |
* {{cite book |last=Bertman |first=Stephen |year=2003 |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia |publisher=] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-518364-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414103757/https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC |url-status=live }}
before = ]|
* {{cite book |last=Breasted |first=James Henry |year=2003 |title=Ancient Time or a History of the Early World, Part 1 |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |isbn=978-0-7661-4946-5 |oclc=69651827}}
after = ]}}
* {{cite book |last=DeBlois |first=Lukas |year=1997 |title=An Introduction to the Ancient World |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-415-12773-8 |oclc=231710353}}
{{end box}}
* {{cite book |last1=Driver |first1=Godfrey R. |author-link1=Godfrey Rolles Driver |last2=Miles |first2=John C. |year=1952 |title=The Babylonian Laws: Edited with Translation and Commentary |volume=1: Legal Commentary |publisher=] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-1-55635-229-4 |oclc=493362814 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lPFJAwAAQBAJ }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Khwshnaw |first=Ardalan |date=2023-02-10 |title=A New Old Babylonian Date List with Hammurapi Year Names |url=https://www.jcoart.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/2075-3047/article/download/549/425 |journal=Journal of Studies in History and Archeology |issue=84 |pages=665–686 |access-date=10 March 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310150801/https://www.jcoart.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/2075-3047/article/download/549/425 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Millard |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Millard |editor-last1=Metzger |editor-first1=Bruce M. |editor-link1=Bruce M. Metzger |editor-last2=Coogan |editor-first2=Michael D. |editor-link2=Michael Coogan |year=2004 |orig-year=1993 |title=Hammurapi |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to the Bible |publisher=] |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-504645-8 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780195046458.001.0001/acref-9780195046458-e-0309 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last=Prince |first=J. Dyneley |year=1904 |title=The Code of Hammurabi |journal=] |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=601–609 |doi=10.1086/478479 |doi-access=free |jstor=3153895}}
* {{cite book |last=Roth |first=Martha T. |year=1995 |title=Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor |publisher=] |location=Atlanta |isbn=978-0-7885-0104-3 |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;iel=2;view=toc;idno=heb07775.0001.001 |access-date=13 December 2022 |archive-date=5 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005033946/https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;iel=2;view=toc;idno=heb07775.0001.001 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Roux |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Roux |year=1992 |orig-year=1864 |title=Ancient Iraq |publisher=] |location=London |isbn=978-0-14-012523-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Van De Mieroop |first=Marc |year=2005 |title=King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-4051-2660-1 |oclc=255676990 |url=https://archive.org/details/kinghammurabiofb00marc }}
* {{citation |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |date=2012 |title=Gilgamesh among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snz_Wle6zvgC&q=Gilgamesh+epic+controversy&pg=PA28 |location=Ithaca, New York and London, England |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-5035-8 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009130250/https://books.google.com/books?id=snz_Wle6zvgC&q=Gilgamesh+epic+controversy&pg=PA28 |url-status=live }}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
<!-- Metadata: see ] -->
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722053457/http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon |date=22 July 2017 }} at the Louvre museum
* {{Gutenberg author |id=7173}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
*


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Latest revision as of 11:19, 27 December 2024

Sixth king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC) For other uses, see Hammurabi (disambiguation). "Hamurabi" redirects here. For the video game, see Hamurabi (video game).

Hammurabi
𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉
King of Babylon
King of the Four Corners of the World
Hammurabi (standing) receiving his royal insignia from Shamash (or possibly Marduk)
King of the Old Babylonian Empire
Reignc. 1792 – c. 1750 BC (MC)
PredecessorSin-Muballit
SuccessorSamsu-iluna
Bornc. 1810 BC
Babylon
Diedc. 1750 BC (aged 59–60)
Babylon
IssueSamsu-iluna
This article contains cuneiform script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of cuneiform script.

Hammurabi (/ˌxæmʊˈrɑːbi/; Old Babylonian Akkadian: 𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉, romanized: Ḫâmmurapi; c. 1810 – c. 1750 BC), also spelled Hammurapi, was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from c. 1792 to c. 1750 BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered the city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari. He ousted Ishme-Dagan I, the king of Assyria, and forced his son Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute, bringing almost all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule.

Hammurabi is best known for having issued the Code of Hammurabi, which he claimed to have received from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice. Unlike earlier Sumerian law codes, such as the Code of Ur-Nammu, which had focused on compensating the victim of the crime, the Law of Hammurabi was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator. It prescribed specific penalties for each crime and is among the first codes to establish the presumption of innocence. They were intended to limit what a wronged person was permitted to do in retribution. The Code of Hammurabi and the Law of Moses in the Torah contain numerous similarities.

Hammurabi was seen by many as a god within his own lifetime. After his death, Hammurabi was revered as a great conqueror who spread civilization and forced all peoples to pay obeisance to Marduk, the national god of the Babylonians. Later, his military accomplishments became de-emphasized and his role as the ideal lawgiver became the primary aspect of his legacy. For later Mesopotamians, Hammurabi's reign became the frame of reference for all events occurring in the distant past. Even after the empire he built collapsed, he was still revered as a model ruler, and many kings across the Near East claimed him as an ancestor. Hammurabi was rediscovered by archaeologists in the late nineteenth century and has since been seen as an important figure in the history of law.

Life

Background and ascension

Map showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in c. 1792 BC and upon his death in c. 1750 BC

Hammurabi ascended to the throne as the king of a minor kingdom in the midst of a complex geopolitical situation. Hammurabi was an Amorite First Dynasty king of the city-state of Babylon, and inherited the power from his father, Sin-Muballit, in c. 1792 BC. Babylon was one of the many largely Amorite-ruled city-states that dotted the central and southern Mesopotamian plains and waged war on each other for control of fertile agricultural land. Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the literate classes throughout the Middle East under Hammurabi. The kings who came before Hammurabi had founded a relatively minor city-state in 1894 BC, which controlled little territory outside of the city itself. Babylon was overshadowed by older, larger, and more powerful kingdoms, such as Elam, Assyria, Isin, Eshnunna, and Larsa for a century or so after its founding. However, his father Sin-Muballit had begun to consolidate rule of a small area of south central Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule and, by the time of his reign, had conquered the minor city-states of Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar.

The powerful kingdom of Eshnunna controlled the upper Tigris River, while Larsa controlled the river delta. To the east of Mesopotamia lay the powerful kingdom of Elam, which regularly invaded and forced tribute upon the small states of southern Mesopotamia. In northern Mesopotamia, the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad I, who had already inherited centuries-old Assyrian colonies in Asia Minor, had expanded his territory into the Levant and central Mesopotamia, although his untimely death would somewhat fragment his empire.

Reign and conquests

Hammurabi's conquests
Datec. 1770 BC – c. 1760 BC
Locationmodern-day Iraq & modern-day Syria
Result Babylonian victory
Belligerents
Babylonia
Yamhad
Larsa
Mari (until c. 1760 BC)

Elam


Larsa


Mari (from c. 1760 BC)
Minor city-states
Commanders and leaders
Hammurabi
Yarim-Lim I
unknown
Casualties and losses
unknown unknown
A limestone votive monument from Sippar, Iraq, dating to c. 1792 – c. 1750 BC showing King Hammurabi raising his right arm in worship, now held in the British Museum

The first few years of Hammurabi's reign were quite peaceful. Hammurabi used his power to undertake a series of public works, including heightening the city walls for defensive purposes, and expanding the temples. The powerful kingdom of Elam, which straddled important trade routes across the Zagros Mountains, invaded the Mesopotamian plain. With allies among the plain states, Elam attacked and destroyed the kingdom of Eshnunna, destroying a number of cities and imposing its rule on portions of the plain for the first time.

In order to consolidate its position, Elam tried to start a war between Hammurabi's Babylonian kingdom and the kingdom of Larsa. Hammurabi and the king of Larsa made an alliance when they discovered this duplicity and were able to crush the Elamites, although Larsa did not contribute greatly to the military effort. Angered by Larsa's failure to come to his aid, Hammurabi turned on that southern power, thus gaining control of the entirety of the lower Mesopotamian plain by c. 1763 BC.

As Hammurabi was assisted during the war in the south by his allies from the north such as Yamhad and Mari, the absence of soldiers in the north led to unrest. Continuing his expansion, Hammurabi turned his attention northward, quelling the unrest. Soon after, he destroyed Eshnunna. Next the Babylonian armies conquered the remaining northern states, including Babylon's former ally Mari, although it is possible that the conquest of Mari was a surrender without any actual conflict.

Hammurabi entered into a protracted war with Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria for control of Mesopotamia, with both kings making alliances with minor states in order to gain the upper hand. Eventually Hammurabi prevailed, ousting Ishme-Dagan I just before his own death. Mut-Ashkur, the new king of Assyria, was forced to pay tribute to Hammurabi.

In just a few years, Hammurabi succeeded in uniting all of Mesopotamia under his rule. The Assyrian kingdom survived but was forced to pay tribute during his reign, and of the major city-states in the region, only Aleppo and Qatna to the west in the Levant maintained their independence. However, one stele (stone monument) of Hammurabi has been found as far north as Diyarbekir, where he claims the title "King of the Amorites".

Vast numbers of contract tablets, dated to the reigns of Hammurabi and his successors, have been discovered, as well as 55 of his own letters. These letters give a glimpse into the daily trials of ruling an empire, from dealing with floods and mandating changes to a flawed calendar, to taking care of Babylon's massive herds of livestock. Hammurabi died and passed the reins of the empire on to his son Samsu-iluna in c. 1750 BC, under whose rule the Babylonian empire quickly began to unravel.

Code of laws

Main article: Code of Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi stele. Louvre Museum, Paris

The Code of Hammurabi was a collection of 282 laws dealing with a wide range of issues. It is not the earliest surviving law code but was proved more influential in world politics and international relations as instead of focusing on compensating the victim of crime, as in earlier Sumerian law codes, the Code of Hammurabi instead focused on physically punishing the perpetrator. It was also one of the first law codes to place restrictions on what a wronged person was allowed to do in retribution and one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, suggesting that the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence. The structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving a specified punishment. Many offenses resulted in death, disfigurement, or the use of the Lex Talionis philosophy ("Eye for eye, tooth for tooth").

The Code of Hammurabi was inscribed on a stele and placed in a public place so that all could see it, although it is thought that few were literate. The stele was later plundered by the Elamites and removed to their capital, Susa; it was rediscovered there in 1901 in Iran and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The code of Hammurabi contains 282 laws, written by scribes on 12 tablets. Unlike earlier laws, it was written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylon, and could therefore be read by any literate person in the city. At this time, Akkadian replaced Sumerian, and Hammurabi began language reforms that would make Akkadian the most common language at this time. A carving at the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice, and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by Shamash to bring the laws to the people.

Because of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be found in law buildings throughout the world. Hammurabi is one of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marble bas-reliefs in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. A frieze by Adolph Weinman depicting the "great lawgivers of history", including Hammurabi, is on the south wall of the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Legacy

Posthumous commemoration

Tablet of Hammurabi (𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉, 4th line from the top), King of Babylon. British Museum.

Hammurabi was honored above all other kings of the second millennium BC and he received the unique honor of being declared to be a god within his own lifetime. The personal name "Hammurabi-ili" meaning "Hammurabi is my god" became common during and after his reign. In writings from shortly after his death, Hammurabi is commemorated mainly for three achievements: bringing victory in war, bringing peace, and bringing justice. Hammurabi's conquests came to be regarded as part of a sacred mission to spread civilization to all nations. A stele from Ur glorifies him in his own voice as a mighty ruler who forces evil into submission and compels all peoples to worship Marduk. The stele declares: "The people of Elam, Gutium, Subartu, and Tukrish, whose mountains are distant and whose languages are obscure, I placed into hand. I myself continued to put straight their confused minds." A later hymn also written in Hammurabi's own voice extols him as a powerful, supernatural force for Marduk:

I am the king, the brace that grasps wrongdoers, that makes people of one mind,
I am the great dragon among kings, who throws their counsel in disarray,
I am the net that is stretched over the enemy,
I am the fear-inspiring, who, when lifting his fierce eyes, gives the disobedient the death sentence,
I am the great net that covers evil intent,
I am the young lion, who breaks nets and scepters,
I am the battle net that catches him who offends me.

After extolling Hammurabi's military accomplishments, the hymn finally declares: "I am Hammurabi, the king of justice." In later commemorations, Hammurabi's role as a great lawgiver came to be emphasized above all his other accomplishments and his military achievements became de-emphasized. Hammurabi's reign became the point of reference for all events in the distant past. A hymn to the goddess Ishtar, whose language suggests it was written during the reign of Ammisaduqa, Hammurabi's fourth successor, declares: "The king who first heard this song as a song of your heroism is Hammurabi. This song for you was composed in his reign. May he be given life forever!" For centuries after his death, Hammurabi's laws continued to be copied by scribes as part of their writing exercises and they were even partially translated into Sumerian.

Political legacy

Copy of Hammurabi's stele usurped by Shutruk-Nahhunte I. The stele was only partially erased and was never re-inscribed.

During the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon usurped the position of "most holy city" in southern Mesopotamia from its predecessor, Nippur. Under the rule of Hammurabi's successor Samsu-iluna, the short-lived Babylonian Empire began to collapse. In northern Mesopotamia, both the Amorites and Babylonians were driven from Assyria by Puzur-Sin a native Akkadian-speaking ruler, c. 1740 BC. Around the same time, native Akkadian speakers threw off Amorite Babylonian rule in the far south of Mesopotamia, creating the Sealand Dynasty, in more or less the region of ancient Sumer. Hammurabi's ineffectual successors met with further defeats and loss of territory at the hands of Assyrian kings such as Adasi and Bel-ibni, as well as to the Sealand Dynasty to the south, Elam to the east, and to the Kassites from the northeast. Thus was Babylon quickly reduced to the small and minor state it had once been upon its founding.

The coup de grace for the Hammurabi's Amorite Dynasty occurred in 1595 BC, when Babylon was sacked and conquered by the powerful Hittite Empire, thereby ending all Amorite political presence in Mesopotamia. However, the Indo-European-speaking Hittites did not remain, turning over Babylon to their Kassite allies, a people speaking a language isolate, from the Zagros mountains region. This Kassite Dynasty ruled Babylon for over 400 years and adopted many aspects of the Babylonian culture, including Hammurabi's code of laws. Even after the fall of the Amorite Dynasty, however, Hammurabi was still remembered and revered. When the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte I raided Babylon in 1158 BC and carried off many stone monuments, he had most of the inscriptions on these monuments erased and new inscriptions carved into them. On the stele containing Hammurabi's laws, however, only four or five columns were wiped out and no new inscription was ever added. Over a thousand years after Hammurabi's death, the kings of Suhu, a land along the Euphrates river, just northwest of Babylon, claimed him as their ancestor.

A Neo-Babylonian royal inscription, which was intended for display on a stele, commemorates a royal grant of tax exemptions to nine Babylonian cities and presents the royal protagonist as a second Hammurabi.

Relationship to Biblical figures and Mosaic law

In the late nineteenth century, the Code of Hammurabi became a major center of debate in the heated Babel und Bibel ("Babylon and Bible") controversy in Germany over the relationship between the Bible and ancient Babylonian texts. In January 1902, the German Assyriologist Friedrich Delitzsch gave a lecture at the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin in front of the Kaiser and his wife, in which he argued that the Mosaic Laws of the Old Testament were directly copied off the Code of Hammurabi. Delitzsch's lecture was so controversial that, by September 1903, he had managed to collect 1,350 short articles from newspapers and journals, over 300 longer ones, and twenty-eight pamphlets, all written in response to this lecture, as well as the preceding one about the Flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. These articles were overwhelmingly critical of Delitzsch, though a few were sympathetic. The Kaiser distanced himself from Delitzsch and his radical views and, in fall of 1904, Delitzsch was forced to give his third lecture in Cologne and Frankfurt am Main rather than in Berlin. The putative relationship between the Mosaic Law and the Code of Hammurabi later became a major part of Delitzsch's argument in his 1920–21 book Die große Täuschung (The Great Deception) that the Hebrew Bible was irredeemably contaminated by Babylonian influence and that only by eliminating the human Old Testament entirely could Christians finally believe in the true, Aryan message of the New Testament. In the early twentieth century, many scholars believed that Hammurabi was Amraphel, the King of Shinar in the Book of Genesis 14:1. This view has now been largely rejected, and Amraphel's existence is not attested in any writings from outside the Bible.

Parallels between this narrative and the giving of the Covenant Code to Moses by Yahweh atop Mount Sinai in the Biblical Book of Exodus and similarities between the two legal codes suggest a common ancestor in the Semitic background of the two. Nonetheless, fragments of previous law codes have been found and it is unlikely that the Mosaic laws were directly inspired by the Code of Hammurabi. Some scholars have disputed this; David P. Wright argues that the Jewish Covenant Code is "directly, primarily, and throughout" based upon the Laws of Hammurabi. In 2010, a team of archaeologists from Hebrew University discovered a cuneiform tablet dating to the eighteenth or seventeenth century BC at Hazor in Israel containing laws clearly derived from the Code of Hammurabi.

References

Notes

  1. from Amorite ʻAmmurāpi ("the kinsman is a healer"), itself from ʻAmmu ("paternal kinsman") and Rāpi ("healer"). The classicist Alan Millard insists that Hammurapi is a more correct spelling.
  2. It is predated by the Code of Ur-Nammu, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the Code of Lipit-Ishtar.
  3. Barton, a former professor of Semitic languages at the University of Pennsylvania, stated that while there are similarities between the two texts, a study of the entirety of both laws "convinces the student that the laws of the Old Testament are in no essential way dependent upon the Babylonian laws." He states that "such resemblances" arose from "a similarity of antecedents and of general intellectual outlook" between the two cultures, but that "the striking differences show that there was no direct borrowing."

Citations

  1. Roux 1992, between 266–267.
  2. Millard 2004.
  3. Khwshnaw 2023.
  4. Hone, Charles F. (1917). The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East . Vol. 1 – via Wikisource. 
  5. Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 1.
  6. Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 1–2.
  7. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 3.
  8. Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 3–4.
  9. Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 16.
  10. Adolf, Antony (8 May 2013). Peace: A World History. John Wiley & Sons. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-7456-5459-1. An early study claims that 'peace and prosperity prevailed during his reign', though more recent research confines this preponderantly peaceful period to the first two decades Hammurabi ruled.
  11. Arnold 2005, p. 43.
  12. Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 15–16.
  13. Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 17.
  14. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 18.
  15. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 31.
  16. Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 40–41.
  17. Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 54–55, 64–65.
  18. ^ Arnold 2005, p. 45.
  19. Beck, Roger B.; Black, Linda; Krieger, Larry S.; Naylor, Phillip C.; Shabaka, Dahia Ibo (1999). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 978-0-395-87274-1. OCLC 39762695.
  20. Clay, Albert Tobias (1919). The Empire of the Amorites. Yale University Press. p. 97.
  21. Breasted 2003, p. 129.
  22. Breasted 2003, pp. 129–130.
  23. Arnold 2005, p. 42.
  24. H. Otto Sommer (1908). The Laws of Hammurabi, King of Babylonia . Records of the Past, Volume II, Part III. – via Wikisource.
  25. Driver & Miles (1952), p. 9.
  26. Roth 1995, pp. 13, 23, 57.
  27. ^ Breasted 2003, p. 141.
  28. ^ Bertman 2003, p. 71.
  29. Victimology: Theories and Applications, Ann Wolbert Burgess, Albert R. Roberts, Cheryl Regehr, Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009, p. 103
  30. Prince 1904, pp. 606–607.
  31. Maher, John C. (2017). Multilingualism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-19-872499-5. ... Akkadian (Babylonian) replaced Sumerian ... The Code of Hammurabi was written in the daily language of Babylon, Akkadian. Hammurabi (c.1810–1750 BC), the sixth king of the First Babylonian Empire, initiated language reforms to make Akkadian the pre-eminent lingua franca of antiquity; inscriptions have been found on stone, silver and clay artefacts.
  32. Kleiner, Fred S. (2010). Gardner's Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Vol. 1 (Thirteenth ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-495-57360-9. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  33. Smith, J. M. Powis (2005). The Origin and History of Hebrew Law. Clark, New Jersey: The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-58477-489-1. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  34. "Hammurabi". Architect of the Capitol. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  35. "Courtroom Friezes" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  36. Biskupic, Joan (11 March 1998). "Lawgivers: From Two Friezes, Great Figures of Legal History Gaze Upon the Supreme Court Bench". WP Company LLC. The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  37. Cuneiform Tablets in the British Museum (PDF). British Museum. 1905. pp. Plates 44 and 45. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  38. Budge, E. A. Wallis (Ernest Alfred Wallis); King, L. W. (Leonard William) (1908). A guide to the Babylonian and Assyrian antiquities. London : Printed by the order of the Trustees. p. 147.
  39. For full transcription: "CDLI-Archival View". cdli.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  40. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 128.
  41. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 127.
  42. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 126.
  43. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 126–127.
  44. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 129.
  45. ^ Van De Mieroop 2005, pp. 129–130.
  46. Schneider, Tammi J. (2011), An Introduction to Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, pp. 58–59, ISBN 978-0-8028-2959-7, archived from the original on 12 November 2021, retrieved 1 November 2020
  47. Roux 1992, pp. 243–246.
  48. ^ DeBlois 1997, p. 19.
  49. Van De Mieroop 2005, p. 130.
  50. Frazer, Mary; Adalı, Selim Ferruh (25 November 2021). ""The just judgements that Ḫammu-rāpi, a former king, rendered": A New Royal Inscription in the Istanbul Archaeological Museums". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie. 111 (2): 231–262. doi:10.1515/za-2021-2004. ISSN 0084-5299. S2CID 244530410. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  51. ^ Ziolkowski 2012, p. 25.
  52. ^ Ziolkowski 2012, pp. 23–25.
  53. Rogers, Robert W.; Kohler, Kaufmann; Jastrow, Marcus. "Amraphel". The Jewish Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  54. "Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 14 - New International Version". Archived from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  55. North, Robert (1993). "Abraham". In Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael D. (eds.). The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-19-504645-8.
  56. ^ Granerød, Gard (26 March 2010). Abraham and Melchizedek: Scribal Activity of Second Temple Times in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 120. ISBN 978-3-11-022346-0.
  57. ^ Douglas, J. D.; Tenney, Merrill C. (2011). Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan. p. 1323. ISBN 978-0-310-22983-4.
  58. ^ Barton 1916, p. 406.
  59. ^ Unger, M.F.: Archaeology and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Co., 1954, pp. 156–157
  60. ^ Free, J.P.: Archaeology and Biblical History. Wheaton: Scripture Press, 1950, 1969, p. 121
  61. Wright, David P. (2009). Inventing God's Law: How the Covenant Code of the Bible Used and Revised the Laws of Hammurabi. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. 3 and passim. ISBN 978-0-19-530475-6.
  62. Horowitz, Wayne; Oshima, Takayoshi; Vukosavović, Filip (2012). "Hazor 18: Fragments of a Cuneiform Law Collection from Hazor". Israel Exploration Journal. 62 (2): 158–176. ISSN 0021-2059. JSTOR 43855622.

Sources

External links

Regnal titles
Preceded bySin-muballit Kings of Babylon
c. 1792 – c. 1750 BC (MC)
Succeeded bySamsu-iluna
Kings of Babylon
Period
Dynasty
  • Kings  (foreign ruler
  • vassal king
  • female)
Old Babylonian Empire
(1894–1595 BC)
I
II
Kassite period
(1729–1157 BC)
III
Middle Babylonian period
(1157–732 BC)
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
Neo-Assyrian period
(732–626 BC)
Neo-Babylonian Empire
(626–539 BC)
X
Babylon under foreign rule (539 BC – AD 224)
Persian period
(539–331 BC)
XI
Hellenistic period
(331–141 BC)
XII
XIII
Parthian period
(141 BC – AD 224)
XIV
Category
Rulers of the ancient Near East
Territories/
dates
Egypt Canaan Ebla Mari Kish/
Assur
Akshak/
Akkad
Uruk Adab Umma
Lagash Ur Elam
4000–3200 BCE Naqada I
Naqada II
Gebel el-Arak Knife
Egypt-Mesopotamia relations Pre-Dynastic period (4000–2900 BCE) Susa I

Uruk period
(4000–3100 BCE)


(Anu Ziggurat, 4000 BCE)

(Anonymous "King-priests")
Susa II
Susa II Priest-King with bow and arrows
(Uruk influence or control)
3200–3100 BCE Proto-Dynastic period
(Naqada III)
Early or legendary kings:
Upper Egypt
Finger Snail Fish Pen-Abu Animal Stork Canide Bull Scorpion I Shendjw Iry-Hor Ka Scorpion II Narmer / Menes
Lower Egypt
Hedju Hor Ny-Hor Hsekiu Khayu Tiu Thesh Neheb Wazner Nat-Hor Mekh Double Falcon Wash
3100–2900 BCE Early Dynastic Period
First Dynasty of Egypt
Narmer Palette
Narmer Palette

Narmer Menes Neithhotep (regent) Hor-Aha Djer Djet Merneith (regent) Den Anedjib Semerkhet Qa'a Sneferka Horus Bird
Canaanites Jemdet Nasr period
(3100–2900 BCE)
Proto-Elamite
period
(Susa III)
(3100–2700 BCE)
2900 BCE Second Dynasty of Egypt

Hotepsekhemwy Nebra/Raneb Nynetjer Ba Nubnefer Horus Sa Weneg-Nebty Wadjenes Senedj Seth-Peribsen Sekhemib-Perenmaat Neferkara I Neferkasokar Hudjefa I Khasekhemwy
Khasekhemwy
Early Dynastic Period I (2900–2700 BCE)
First Eblaite
Kingdom

First kingdom of Mari
Kish I dynasty
Jushur, Kullassina-bel
Nangishlishma,
En-tarah-ana
Babum, Puannum, Kalibum
2800 BCE


Kalumum Zuqaqip Atab
Mashda Arwium Etana
Balih En-me-nuna
Melem-Kish Barsal-nuna
Uruk I dynasty
Mesh-ki-ang-gasher
Enmerkar ("conqueror of Aratta")
2700 BCE Early Dynastic Period II (2700–2600 BCE)
Zamug, Tizqar, Ilku
Iltasadum
Lugalbanda
Dumuzid, the Fisherman
Enmebaragesi ("made the land of Elam submit")
Aga of Kish Aga of Kish Gilgamesh Old Elamite period
(2700–1500 BCE)

Indus-Mesopotamia relations
2600 BCE Third Dynasty of Egypt

Djoser
Saqqarah Djeser pyramid
(First Egyptian pyramids)
Sekhemkhet Sanakht Nebka Khaba Qahedjet Huni
Early Dynastic Period III (2600–2340 BCE)
Sagisu
Abur-lim
Agur-lim
Ibbi-Damu
Baba-Damu
Kish II dynasty
(5 kings)
Uhub
Mesilim
Ur-Nungal
Udulkalama
Labashum
Lagash
En-hegal
Lugal-
shaengur
Ur
A-Imdugud
Ur-Pabilsag
Meskalamdug
(Queen Puabi)
Akalamdug
Enun-dara-anna
Mes-he
Melamanna
Lugal-kitun
Adab
Nin-kisalsi
Me-durba
Lugal-dalu
2575 BCE Old Kingdom of Egypt
Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
Snefru Khufu

Djedefre Khafre Bikheris Menkaure Shepseskaf Thamphthis
Ur I dynasty
Mesannepada
"King of Ur and Kish", victorious over Uruk
2500 BCE Phoenicia (2500-539 BCE) Second kingdom of Mari

Ikun-Shamash
Iku-Shamagan
Iku-Shamagan


Ansud
Sa'umu
Ishtup-Ishar
Ikun-Mari
Iblul-Il
Nizi
Kish III dynasty
Ku-Baba
Akshak dynasty
Unzi
Undalulu
Uruk II dynasty
Ensha-
kushanna
Mug-si Umma I dynasty

Pabilgagaltuku
Lagash I dynasty

Ur-Nanshe


Akurgal
A'annepada
Meskiagnun
Elulu
Balulu
Awan dynasty
Peli
Tata
Ukkutahesh
Hishur
2450 BCE Fifth Dynasty of Egypt

Userkaf Sahure Neferirkare Kakai Neferefre Shepseskare Nyuserre Ini Menkauhor Kaiu Djedkare Isesi Unas
Enar-Damu
Ishar-Malik
Ush
Enakalle
Elamite invasions
(3 kings)
Shushun-
tarana

Napilhush
2425 BCE Kun-Damu Eannatum
(King of Lagash, Sumer, Akkad, conqueror of Elam)
2400 BCE Adub-Damu
Igrish-Halam
Irkab-Damu
Kish IV dynasty
Puzur-Suen
Ur-Zababa
Urur Lugal-kinishe-dudu
Lugal-kisalsi
E-iginimpa'e
Meskigal
Ur-Lumma
Il
Gishakidu
(Queen Bara-irnun)
Enannatum
Entemena
Enannatum II
Enentarzi
Ur II dynasty
Nanni
Mesh-ki-ang-Nanna II
Kiku-siwe-tempti
2380 BCE Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Teti Userkare Pepi I Merenre Nemtyemsaf I Pepi II Merenre Nemtyemsaf II Netjerkare Siptah
Kneeling statuette of Pepy I
Adab dynasty
Lugalannemundu
"King of the four quarters of the world"
2370 BCE Isar-Damu Enna-Dagan
Ikun-Ishar
Ishqi-Mari
Invasion by Mari
Anbu, Anba, Bazi, Zizi of Mari, Limer, Sharrum-iter
Ukush Lugalanda
Urukagina
Luh-ishan
2350 BCE Puzur-Nirah
Ishu-Il
Shu-Sin
Uruk III dynasty
Lugalzagesi
(Governor of Umma, King of all Sumer)
2340 BCE Akkadian Period (2340–2150 BCE)
Akkadian Empire

Sargon of Akkad Rimush Manishtushu
Akkadian Governors:
Eshpum
Ilshu-rabi
Epirmupi
Ili-ishmani
2250 BCE Naram-Sin Lugal-ushumgal
(vassal of the Akkadians)
2200 BCE First Intermediate Period
Seventh Dynasty of Egypt
Eighth Dynasty of Egypt
Menkare Neferkare II Neferkare Neby Djedkare Shemai Neferkare Khendu Merenhor Neferkamin Nikare Neferkare Tereru Neferkahor Neferkare Pepiseneb Neferkamin Anu Qakare Ibi Neferkaure Neferkauhor Neferirkare
Second Eblaite
Kingdom
Third kingdom of Mari
(Shakkanakku
dynasty)

Ididish
Shu-Dagan
Ishma-Dagan
(Vassals of the Akkadians)

Shar-Kali-Sharri
Igigi, Imi, Nanum, Ilulu (3 years)
Dudu
Shu-turul
Uruk IV dynasty
Ur-nigin
Ur-gigir
Lagash II dynasty
Puzer-Mama
Ur-Ningirsu I
Pirig-me
Lu-Baba
Lu-gula
Ka-ku
Hishep-Ratep
Helu
Khita
Puzur-Inshushinak
2150 BCE Ninth Dynasty of Egypt
Meryibre Khety Neferkare VII Nebkaure Khety Setut
Ur III period (2150–2000 BCE)
Nûr-Mêr
Ishtup-Ilum

Ishgum-Addu
Apil-kin
Gutian dynasty
(21 kings)

La-erabum
Si'um
Kuda (Uruk)
Puzur-ili
Ur-Utu
Umma II dynasty
Lugalannatum
(vassal of the Gutians)
Ur-Baba
Gudea

Ur-Ningirsu
Ur-gar
Nam-mahani

Tirigan
2125 BCE Tenth Dynasty of Egypt
Meryhathor Neferkare VIII Wahkare Khety Merykare


Uruk V dynasty
Utu-hengal
2100 BCE (Vassals of UR III) Iddi-ilum
Ili-Ishar
Tura-Dagan
Puzur-Ishtar
(Vassals of Ur III)
Ur III dynasty
"Kings of Ur, Sumer and Akkad"
Ur-Nammu Shulgi Amar-Sin Shu-Sin
2025-1763 BCE Amorite invasions Ibbi-Sin Elamite invasions
Kindattu (Shimashki Dynasty)
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt
Mentuhotep I Intef I Intef II Intef III Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep III Mentuhotep IV
Third Eblaite
Kingdom

(Amorites)
Ibbit-Lim

Immeya Indilimma
(Amorite Shakkanakkus)
Hitial-Erra
Hanun-Dagan
(...)


Lim Dynasty
of Mari
(Amorites)
Yaggid-Lim Yahdun-Lim Yasmah-Adad Zimri-Lim (Queen Shibtu)
Old Assyria
Puzur-Ashur I
Shalim-ahum
Ilu-shuma
Erishum I
Ikunum
Sargon I
Puzur-Ashur II
Naram-Sin
Erishum II
Isin-Larsa period
(Amorites)
Dynasty of Isin: Ishbi-Erra Shu-Ilishu Iddin-Dagan Ishme-Dagan Lipit-Eshtar Ur-Ninurta Bur-Suen Lipit-Enlil Erra-imitti Enlil-bani Zambiya Iter-pisha Ur-du-kuga Suen-magir Damiq-ilishu
Dynasty of Larsa: Naplanum Emisum Samium Zabaia Gungunum Abisare Sumuel Nur-Adad Sin-Iddinam Sin-Eribam Sin-Iqisham Silli-Adad Warad-Sin Rim-Sin I (...) Rim-Sin II
Uruk VI dynasty: Alila-hadum Sumu-binasa Naram-Sin of Uruk Sîn-kāšid Sîn-iribam Sîn-gāmil Ilum-gamil An-am Irdanene Rîm-Anum Nabi-ilišu
Sukkalmah dynasty

Siwe-Palar-Khuppak
Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
Amenemhat I Senusret I Amenemhat II Senusret II Senusret III Amenemhat III Amenemhat IV Sobekneferu
1800–1595 BCE Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Fourteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Abraham
(Biblical)
Kings of Byblos
Kings of Tyre
Kings of Sidon
Yamhad
(Yamhad dynasty)
(Amorites)
Old Assyria

(Shamshi-Adad dynasty
1808–1736 BCE)
(Amorites)
Shamshi-Adad I Ishme-Dagan I Mut-Ashkur Rimush Asinum Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi

(Non-dynastic usurpers
1735–1701 BCE)
Puzur-Sin Ashur-dugul Ashur-apla-idi Nasir-Sin Sin-namir Ipqi-Ishtar Adad-salulu Adasi

(Adaside dynasty
1700–722 BCE)
Bel-bani Libaya Sharma-Adad I Iptar-Sin Bazaya Lullaya Shu-Ninua Sharma-Adad II Erishum III Shamshi-Adad II Ishme-Dagan II Shamshi-Adad III Ashur-nirari I Puzur-Ashur III Enlil-nasir I Nur-ili Ashur-shaduni Ashur-rabi I Ashur-nadin-ahhe I Enlil-Nasir II Ashur-nirari II Ashur-bel-nisheshu Ashur-rim-nisheshu Ashur-nadin-ahhe II

First Babylonian dynasty
("Old Babylonian Period")
(Amorites)

Sumu-abum Sumu-la-El Sin-muballitSabium Apil-Sin Sin-muballit Hammurabi Samsu-iluna Abi-eshuh Ammi-ditana Ammi-saduqa Samsu-Ditana

Early Kassite rulers


Second Babylonian dynasty
("Sealand Dynasty")

Ilum-ma-ili Itti-ili-nibi Damqi-ilishu
Ishkibal Shushushi Gulkishar
DIŠ+U-EN Peshgaldaramesh Ayadaragalama
Akurduana Melamkurkurra Ea-gamil

Second Intermediate Period
Sixteenth
Dynasty
Abydos
Dynasty
Seventeenth
Dynasty

Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt
("Hyksos")
Pharaoh Ahmose I slaying a Hyksos
Pharaoh Ahmose I slaying a Hyksos

Semqen 'Aper-'Anati Sakir-Har Khyan Apepi Khamudi
Mitanni
(1600–1260 BCE)
Kirta Shuttarna I Parshatatar
1531–1155 BCE
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
New Kingdom of Egypt
Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Ahmose I Amenhotep I
Third Babylonian dynasty (Kassites)
Agum-Kakrime Burnaburiash I Kashtiliash III Ulamburiash Agum III Karaindash Kadashman-harbe I Kurigalzu I Kadashman-Enlil I Burnaburiash II Kara-hardash Nazi-Bugash Kurigalzu II Nazi-Maruttash Kadashman-Turgu Kadashman-Enlil II Kudur-Enlil Shagarakti-Shuriash Kashtiliashu IV Enlil-nadin-shumi Kadashman-Harbe II Adad-shuma-iddina Adad-shuma-usur Meli-Shipak II Marduk-apla-iddina I Zababa-shuma-iddin Enlil-nadin-ahi
Middle Elamite period

(1500–1100 BCE)
Kidinuid dynasty
Igehalkid dynasty
Untash-Napirisha

Thutmose I Thutmose II Hatshepsut Thutmose III
Amenhotep II Thutmose IV Amenhotep III Akhenaten Smenkhkare Neferneferuaten Tutankhamun Ay Horemheb Hittite Empire

Ugarit
Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt
Ramesses I Seti I Ramesses II Merneptah Amenmesses Seti II Siptah Twosret
Elamite Empire
Shutrukid dynasty
Shutruk-Nakhunte
1155–1025 BCE Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt

Setnakhte Ramesses III Ramesses IV Ramesses V Ramesses VI Ramesses VII Ramesses VIII Ramesses IX Ramesses X Ramesses XI

Third Intermediate Period

Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt
Smendes Amenemnisu Psusennes I Amenemope Osorkon the Elder Siamun Psusennes II

Phoenicia
Kings of Byblos
Kings of Tyre
Kings of Sidon

Kingdom of Israel
Saul
Ish-bosheth
David
Solomon
Syro-Hittite states Middle Assyria
Eriba-Adad I Ashur-uballit I Enlil-nirari Arik-den-ili Adad-nirari I Shalmaneser I Tukulti-Ninurta I Ashur-nadin-apli Ashur-nirari III Enlil-kudurri-usur Ninurta-apal-Ekur Ashur-dan I Ninurta-tukulti-Ashur Mutakkil-Nusku Ashur-resh-ishi I Tiglath-Pileser I Asharid-apal-Ekur Ashur-bel-kala Eriba-Adad II Shamshi-Adad IV Ashurnasirpal I Shalmaneser II Ashur-nirari IV Ashur-rabi II Ashur-resh-ishi II Tiglath-Pileser II Ashur-dan II
Fourth Babylonian dynasty ("Second Dynasty of Isin")
Marduk-kabit-ahheshu Itti-Marduk-balatu Ninurta-nadin-shumi Nebuchadnezzar I Enlil-nadin-apli Marduk-nadin-ahhe Marduk-shapik-zeri Adad-apla-iddina Marduk-ahhe-eriba Marduk-zer-X Nabu-shum-libur
Neo-Elamite period (1100–540 BCE)
1025–934 BCE Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Babylonian dynasties ("Period of Chaos")
Simbar-shipak Ea-mukin-zeri Kashshu-nadin-ahi Eulmash-shakin-shumi Ninurta-kudurri-usur I Shirikti-shuqamuna Mar-biti-apla-usur Nabû-mukin-apli
911–745 BCE Twenty-second Dynasty of Egypt
Shoshenq I Osorkon I Shoshenq II Takelot I Osorkon II Shoshenq III Shoshenq IV Pami Shoshenq V Pedubast II Osorkon IV

Twenty-third Dynasty of Egypt
Harsiese A Takelot II Pedubast I Shoshenq VI Osorkon III Takelot III Rudamun Menkheperre Ini

Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt
Tefnakht Bakenranef

Kingdom of Samaria

Kingdom of Judah
Neo-Assyrian Empire
Adad-nirari II Tukulti-Ninurta II Ashurnasirpal II Shalmaneser III Shamshi-Adad V Shammuramat (regent) Adad-nirari III Shalmaneser IV Ashur-Dan III Ashur-nirari V
Eight Babylonian Dynasty
Ninurta-kudurri-usur II Mar-biti-ahhe-iddina Shamash-mudammiq Nabu-shuma-ukin I Nabu-apla-iddina Marduk-zakir-shumi I Marduk-balassu-iqbi Baba-aha-iddina (five kings) Ninurta-apla-X Marduk-bel-zeri Marduk-apla-usur Eriba-Marduk Nabu-shuma-ishkun Nabonassar Nabu-nadin-zeri Nabu-shuma-ukin II Nabu-mukin-zeri
Humban-Tahrid dynasty

Urtak
Teumman
Ummanigash
Tammaritu I
Indabibi
Humban-haltash III
745–609 BCE Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Taharqa
Taharqa
("Black Pharaohs")
Piye Shebitku Shabaka Taharqa Tanutamun
Neo-Assyrian Empire

(Sargonid dynasty)
Tiglath-Pileser Shalmaneser Marduk-apla-iddina II Sargon Sennacherib Marduk-zakir-shumi II Marduk-apla-iddina II Bel-ibni Ashur-nadin-shumi Nergal-ushezib Mushezib-Marduk Esarhaddon Ashurbanipal Ashur-etil-ilani Sinsharishkun Sin-shumu-lishir Ashur-uballit II

Assyrian conquest of Egypt Assyrian conquest of Elam
626–539 BCE Late Period
Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Necho I Psamtik I Necho II Psamtik II Wahibre Ahmose II Psamtik III
Neo-Babylonian Empire
Nabopolassar Nebuchadnezzar II Amel-Marduk Neriglissar Labashi-Marduk Nabonidus
Median Empire
Deioces Phraortes Madyes Cyaxares Astyages
539–331 BCE Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt
(First Achaemenid conquest of Egypt)
Kings of Byblos
Kings of Tyre
Kings of Sidon
Achaemenid Empire
Cyrus Cambyses Darius I Xerxes Artaxerxes I Darius II Artaxerxes II Artaxerxes III Artaxerxes IV Darius III
Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt
Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt
Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt
Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt
331–141 BCE Argead dynasty and Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy II Philadelphus Arsinoe II Ptolemy III Euergetes Berenice II Euergetis Ptolemy IV Philopator Arsinoe III Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soter Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Cleopatra IV Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra V Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion Arsinoe IV
Hellenistic Period
Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm from Babylon
Seleukos I Nikator Tetradrachm from Babylon
Argead dynasty: Alexander III Philip III Alexander IV
Antigonid dynasty: Antigonus I
Seleucid Empire: Seleucus I Antiochus I Antiochus II Seleucus II Seleucus III Antiochus III Seleucus IV Antiochus IV Antiochus V Demetrius I Alexander III Demetrius II Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes
141–30 BCE Kingdom of Judea
Simon Thassi John Hyrcanus Aristobulus I Alexander Jannaeus Salome Alexandra Hyrcanus II Aristobulus II Antigonus II Mattathias
Alexander II Zabinas Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus Parthian Empire
Mithridates I Phraates Hyspaosines Artabanus Mithridates II Gotarzes Mithridates III Orodes I Sinatruces Phraates III Mithridates IV Orodes II Phraates IV Tiridates II Musa Phraates V Orodes III Vonones I Artabanus II Tiridates III Artabanus II Vardanes I Gotarzes II Meherdates Vonones II Vologases I Vardanes II Pacorus II Vologases II Artabanus III Osroes I
30 BCE–116 CE Roman Empire
(Roman conquest of Egypt)
Province of Egypt
Judea Syria
116–117 CE Province of Mesopotamia under Trajan Parthamaspates of Parthia
117–224 CE Syria Palaestina Province of Mesopotamia Sinatruces II Mithridates V Vologases IV Osroes II Vologases V Vologases VI Artabanus IV
224–270 CE Sasanian Empire
Province of Asoristan
Coin of Ardashir I, Hamadan mint.
Coin of Ardashir I, Hamadan mint.
Ardashir I Shapur I Hormizd I Bahram I Bahram II Bahram III Narseh Hormizd II Adur Narseh Shapur II Ardashir II Shapur III Bahram IV Yazdegerd I Shapur IV Khosrow Bahram V Yazdegerd II Hormizd III Peroz I Balash Kavad I Jamasp Kavad I Khosrow I Hormizd IV Khosrow II Bahram VI Chobin Vistahm
270–273 CE Palmyrene Empire
Vaballathus Zenobia Antiochus
273–395 CE Roman Empire
Province of Egypt Syria Palaestina Syria Province of Mesopotamia
395–618 CE Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Egypt Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda Byzantine Syria Byzantine Mesopotamia
618–628 CE (Sasanian conquest of Egypt)
Province of Egypt
Shahrbaraz Sahralanyozan Shahrbaraz
Sasanian Empire
Province of Asoristan
Khosrow II Kavad II
628–641 CE Byzantine Empire Ardashir III Shahrbaraz Khosrow III Boran Shapur-i Shahrvaraz Azarmidokht Farrukh Hormizd Hormizd VI Khosrow IV Boran Yazdegerd III Peroz III Narsieh
Byzantine Egypt Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda Byzantine Syria Byzantine Mesopotamia
639–651 CE Muslim conquest of Egypt Muslim conquest of the Levant Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia and Persia
Chronology of the Neolithic period Rulers of Ancient Central Asia
  1. Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional.
  2. Hallo, W.; Simpson, W. (1971). The Ancient Near East. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. pp. 48–49.
  3. "Rulers of Mesopotamia". cdli.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford, CNRS.
  4. Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.
  5. Roux, Georges (1992). Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 532–534 (Chronological Tables). ISBN 978-0-14-193825-7.
  6. ^ Per Sumerian King List
  7. Unger, Merrill F. (2014). Israel and the Aramaeans of Damascus: A Study in Archaeological Illumination of Bible History. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-62564-606-4.
Kings of Isin-Larsa
Isin
1953-1730 BCE (ST)
Larsa
1940-1674 BCE (ST)
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