KHAMMURABI
/ HAMMURABI / PUNDRIK
![](396px-Babylonian_stele_Louvre_Sb9.jpg)
Hammurabi
(standing), depicted as receiving his royal insignia from Shamash
(or possibly Marduk). Hammurabi holds his hands over his mouth as
a sign of prayer (relief on the upper part of the stele of Hammurabi's
code of laws).
|
|
King
of the Old Babylonian Empire |
Reign |
: |
42 years; c. 1792 – c. 1750 BC (middle) |
Predecessor |
: |
Nabhas
/ Sin-Muballit |
Successor |
: |
Kshemadhan
/ Samsu-iluna |
Born |
: |
c. 1810 BC Babylon |
Died |
: |
c.
1750 BC middle chronology (modern-day Iraq) (aged c. 60) Babylon |
Issue |
: |
Kshemadhan
/ Samsu-iluna |
Regnal
titles |
: |
King
of the Old Babylonian Empire |
Pundrik
/ Khammurabi / Hammurabi (c. 1810 – c. 1750 BC) was the sixth
king of the First Babylonian dynasty of the Amorite tribe, reigning
from c. 1792 BC to c. 1750 BC (according to the Middle Chronology).
He was preceded by his father, Nabhas / Sin-Muballit, who abdicated
due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered Elam and 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.
Pundrika
/ Khammurabi / 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. Although
its penalties are extremely harsh by modern standards, 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.
Pundrika
/ Khammurabi / 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.
Reign
and conquests :
![](640px-Hammurabi%27s_Babylonia_1.svg.jpg)
Map
showing the Babylonian territory upon Hammurabi's ascension in c.
1792 BC and upon his death in c. 1750 BC
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 hegemony and, by the time of his reign, had conquered
the minor city-states of Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar.
Thus
Hammurabi ascended to the throne as the king of a minor kingdom
in the midst of a complex geopolitical situation. 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.
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. In c.1801 BC, 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.
![](600px-Votive_monument_to_Hammurabi_BM_22454_n01.jpg)
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
![](Royal_portrait_-_Hamurabi_-_King_of_Babylon_-1900_before_JC_-.JPG)
This
bust, known as the "Head of Hammurabi", is now thought
to predate Hammurabi by a few hundred years (Louvre)
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 and soon after
crushing 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 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 :
![](466px-P1050763_Louvre_code_Hammurabi_face_rwk.jpg)
Code of Hammurabi stele. Louvre Museum, Paris
![](644px-Law_code_of_Hammurabi,_a_smaller_version_of_the_original_law_code_stele._Terracotta_tablet,_from_Nippur,_Iraq,_c._1790_BCE._Ancient_Orient_Museum,_Istanbul.jpg)
Law
code of Hammurabi, a smaller version of the original law code stele.
Terracotta tablet, from Nippur, Iraq, c. 1790 BC. Ancient Orient
Museum, Istanbul
The Code of Hammurabi is not the earliest surviving law code; it
is predated by the Code of Ur-Nammu, the Laws of Eshnunna, and the
Code of Lipit-Ishtar. Nonetheless, the Code of Hammurabi shows marked
differences from these earlier law codes and ultimately proved more
influential.
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.
Earlier Sumerian law codes had focused on compensating the victim
of the crime, but the Code of Hammurabi instead focused on physically
punishing the perpetrator. The Code of Hammurabi was one of the
first law code to place restrictions on what a wronged person was
allowed to do in retribution.
The
structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving
a specified punishment. The punishments tended to be very harsh
by modern standards, with many offenses resulting in death, disfigurement,
or the use of the "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth" (Lex
Talionis "Law of Retaliation") philosophy. The code is
also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of
innocence, 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.
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.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.
Legacy
:
Commemoration after his death :
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 [Marduk's] 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 :
![](640px-Babylonian_tablet_of_Hammurabi.jpg)
Tablet
of Hammurabi (4th column from the right), King of Babylon. British
Museum
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 :
![](396px-Babylonian_stele_Louvre_Sb9.jpg)
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.
Modern
rediscovery :
![](Hammurabi_bas-relief_in_the_U.S._House_of_Representatives_chamber.jpg)
The
bas-relief of Hammurabi at the United States Congress
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 Amraphael's existence is not attested in any writings
from outside the Bible.
Because
of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be found
in several United States government buildings. 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. At the time of Saddam Hussein, the
Iraqi Army's 1st Hammurabi Armoured Division was named after the
ancient king as part of an effort to emphasize the connection between
modern Iraq and the pre-Arab Mesopotamian cultures.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Hammurabi