HUM 1213 Engaging Ancient Texts: Hammurabi's Code

Code of Hammurabi by Hammurabi King of Babylonia The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi) is a well-preserved ancient law code, created ca. 1790 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, inscribed on a seven foot, four inch tall basalt stele in the Akkadian language in the cuneiform script. One of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over eight feet tall (2.4 meters) that was found in 1901.

Hammurabi's Code : quaint or forward-looking? by Cyrus H. Gordon "Hammurapi's Code is the best available mirror of Mesopotamian society and it is therein that the importance of the code lies. ... The impact of ancient Mesopotamia on the West was enormous, and the value of the code consists of its being our chief single source for reconstructing the sociology of Old Babylonia. Although only a specialist in ancient history is competent to judge the extent of Mesopotamian influence in the West, nevertheless the general reader can compare the legal, social, and commercial ideas of Old Babylonia with our own."--Introduction, p. 3.

The World's Earliest Laws by Chilperic Edwards

Hammurabi's Laws by M. E. Richardson Richardson supplies a new translation and transcription (which incorporates the most important manuscript variants) of the most famous of all ancient Mesopotamian texts. He also provides a complete lexical analysis of every word that is used in it. The edition covers the prologue and epilogue as well as the laws themselves. Students of the Bible, ancient Near Eastern law and general Semitics are now provided with an indispensable reference tool in a convenient form. The detailed information in the glossary, where the full context of every quotation is given, will also be a tremendous help to those who want to learn or revisit Akkadian.

King Hammurabi of Babylon by Marc Van De Mieroop This is the first biography in English of King Hammurabi, who ruled Babylon from 1792 to 1750 BC and presents a rounded view of his accomplishments. Describes how Hammurabi dealt with powerful rivals and extended his kingdom. Draws on the King's own writings and on diplomatic correspondence that has only recently become available. Explores the administration of the kingdom and the legacies of his rule, especially his legal code. Demonstrates how Hammurabi's conquests irrevocably changed the political organization of the Near East, so that he was long remembered as one of the great kings of the past. Written to be accessible to a general audience.