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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 that was found in 1901. Owing to his reputation in modern times as an ancient law-giver, Hammurabi's portrait is in many government buildings throughout the world. 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 that was found in 1901. Owing to his reputation in modern times as an ancient law-giver, Hammurabi's portrait is in many government buildings throughout the world.

==History==
]Hammurabi was a ] king of the ] of Babylon, and inherited the throne from his father, ], in ca. 1792 ].<ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p= 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 ] land.<ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=1–2}}</ref> Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian culture gained a degree of prominence among the ] classes throughout the ].<ref name="VM3">{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=3}}</ref> The kings who came before Hammurabi had begun to consolidate rule of central Mesopotamia under Babylonian ] 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 ] situation. The powerful kingdom of ] controlled the upper Tigris River while ] controlled the river delta. To the east lay the kingdom of ]. To the north, the ] was undertaking expansionistic wars,<ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=3–4}}</ref> although his untimely death would fragment his newly conquered ] empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=16}}</ref>

The first few decades of Hammurabi's reign were relatively peaceful. Hammurabi used his power to undertake a series of public works, including heightening the city walls for defensive purposes, and expanding the temples.<ref>{{harvnb|Arnold|2005|p=43}}</ref> In ca. 1766 BC, the powerful kingdom of ], which straddled important ] routes across the ], invaded the Mesopotamian plain.<ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=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>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=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">{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=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">{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|p=31}}</ref>

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>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=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>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp=54–55}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Van De Mieroop|2005|pp= 64–65}}</ref><ref name="Ar45">{{harvnb|Arnold|2005|p=45}}</ref> In just a few 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"/> However, one stele 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||author=Clay, Albert Tobias|publisher=]|date=1919|page=97}}</ref>

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>{{harvnb|Breasted|2003|p=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 ], to taking care of Babylon's massive herds of livestock.<ref>{{harvnb|Breasted|2003|pp=129–130}}</ref> Hammurabi died and passed the reins of the empire on to his son ] in ca. 1750 BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Arnold|2005|p=42}}</ref>

==Code of laws==
]]]
{{main|Code of Hammurabi}}

Hammurabi is best known for the ] of a new code of ]: the Code of Hammurabi. 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 literate. 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 ]. The code of Hammurabi contained 282 laws, written by ]s 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>{{harvnb|Breasted|2003|p=141}}</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 "]" (] "Law of Retaliation") philosophy. 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 ]. However, there is no provision for ] to alter the prescribed punishment.

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 ]s. Similar codes of law were created in several nearby civilizations, including the earlier neo-]ian example of ], and the later ].<ref>{{cite book|title=Codes of Hammurabi and Moses|author=Davies, W. W.|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|date=January 2003|isbn=0766131246}}</ref>

==Legacy and depictions==
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">{{harvnb|DeBlois|1997|p=19}}</ref> However it was the ] who eventually conquered Babylon and ruled Mesopotamia for 400 years, adopting parts of the Babylonian ], including Hammurabi's code of laws.

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>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-05-19|url=http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/lawgivers/hammurabi.cfm|title=Hammurabi|publisher=]}}</ref> An image of Hammurabi receiving the Code of Hammurabi from the Babylonian ] (probably ]) is depicted on the ] on the south wall of the ].<ref>{{cite web|accessdate=2008-05-19|url=http://www.supremecourtus.gov/about/north&southwalls.pdf|title=Courtroom Friezes|publisher=]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{ANE portal}}
*]
*]

==Notes==
{{reflist|3}}

==References==
* {{citation|first=Bill T.|last=Arnold|year=2005|title=Who Were the Babylonians?|publisher=]|isbn=9004130713}}.
* {{citation|first=James Henry|last=Breasted|year=2003|title=Ancient Time or a History of the Early World, Part 1|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|isbn=0766149463}}.
* {{citation|first=Lukas|last=DeBlois|year=1997|title=An Introduction to the Ancient World|publisher=]|isbn=0415127734}}.
* {{citation|first=Marc|last=Van De Mieroop|year=2005|title=King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography|publisher=]|isbn=1405126604}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons}}
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* {{cite wikisource|Hammurabi|type=author}}
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{{Persondata
|NAME=Hammurabi
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=King of Babylon and creator of first known code of laws in the world.
|DATE OF BIRTH=c. 1795 BC
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
|DATE OF DEATH=c. 1750 BC
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
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]

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Revision as of 19:47, 9 October 2008

For the computer game, see Hamurabi.
Hammurabi
Bornc. 1795 BC (middle)
Diedc. 1750 BC (middle)
TitleKing of Babylon
SuccessorSamsu-Iluna

Hammurabi (Akkadian from Amorite ˤAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer," from ˤAmmu, "paternal kinsman," and Rāpi, "healer"; (ca. 1795 – 1750 BC middle chronology) was the sixth king of Babylon. He became the first king of the Babylonian Empire, extending Babylon's control over Mesopotamia by winning a series of wars against neighboring kingdoms. Although his empire controlled all of Mesopotamia at the time of his death, his successors were unable to maintain his empire.

Hammurabi is known for the set of laws called Hammurabi's Code, one of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over six feet tall that was found in 1901. Owing to his reputation in modern times as an ancient law-giver, Hammurabi's portrait is in many government buildings throughout the world.

  1. Beck, Roger B. (1999). World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell. ISBN 0-395-87274-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)