Overview
This lecture covers the historical context, structure, and key laws from Hammurabi's Law Code, one of the world's earliest comprehensive legal systems.
Historical Context of Hammurabi's Law Code
- Hammurabi ruled Babylon from 1792–1750 BCE and expanded the city into a major empire.
- The law code aimed to provide comprehensive written laws, replacing older oral traditions.
- Laws were publicized on stone markers placed in public spaces like temple courtyards.
- Hammurabi claimed divine authority for his laws.
Legal Principles and Procedures
- False accusations or unproven murder charges by upper class men resulted in execution.
- False testimony in capital cases led to death; for property cases, the false accuser bore the penalty.
- Kidnapping, harboring, or assisting slave escapes were punishable by death.
- Breaking and entering or robbery was punishable by execution.
- Theft during emergencies, like fires, resulted in the thief being thrown into the fire.
Commercial and Financial Laws
- Profits or losses in partnerships must be shared equally and witnessed before the gods.
- Traders borrowing goods or money must repay with evidence; lying about debts results in triple repayment.
- Written receipts and clear records were required in commercial transactions.
Marriage, Family, and Domestic Laws
- Marriage without contract was not legally recognized.
- Adultery by wives and their partners was punishable by drowning, though the husband or king could grant mercy.
- Divorces and dowry rights depended on fault and circumstances like illness or abandonment.
- Children of both wives and acknowledged slave women had inheritance rights; unacknowledged slave children did not.
- Adoption and fostering rules protected the rights of adopted children and artisans' apprentices.
Violence, Injury, and Retaliation
- Physical injury laws were based on retributive justice: "eye for an eye, bone for a bone."
- Penalties varied by class; injuries to commoners or slaves resulted in monetary compensation.
- Assaulting a social superior led to public whipping; peers and commoners paid fines.
- Striking one’s father led to hand amputation.
Professional Responsibility and Contracts
- Doctors received fees for successful surgery but faced severe punishments (e.g., hand amputation or payment) for failure or harm.
- Builders were paid per unit but executed if their poor work caused death; lesser harm resulted in compensation or replacement.
Labor and Property Rental
- Specific wages were set for gardeners, oxen, goats, boats, and slaves.
- Contracts specified payment in grain or silver depending on the hired service.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Dowry — Property or money brought by a bride to her husband upon marriage.
- Mina/shekel/qu/se — Ancient Mesopotamian units of currency or measure.
- Retaliatory Justice — Punishment mirroring the offense ("eye for an eye").
- Seignior — Term for upper class man, replaced by "upper class man" in this text.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review assigned reading on Hammurabi's Law Code for details on specific laws and their social implications.
- Prepare examples of how class distinctions affected punishments under Hammurabi's system.