Page 64 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

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second year on the throne, he conquered a former ally, clearly involved himself in the smallest details of admin-
the city of Mari some 400 kilometers up the Euphrates istering his large realm. Much of our knowledge of Ham-
River, making Babylon the preeminent power in Meso- murabi’s military expansion derives from how the years
potamia, vying in extent and might only with the Syrian of his reign were designated—in this period in southern
kingdom of Yamhad and its capital Aleppo. Little archae- Mesopotamia, years were designated by a significant
ological or textual material remains from Babylon itself royal event or activity, such as “(the year) he defeated
during this period, because the rising water table has Emutbal and its ruler Rim-Sin.”
made excavation difficult. There is, however, an abun- In addition to his involvement in the kingdom’s day-
dance of evidence from nearby cities that were under to-day administration, Hammurabi carried out other tra-
Babylon’s hegemony, so that we are well informed about ditional duties of a Babylonian ruler, such as building or
the social structure, economy, and political intrigue of the rebuilding temples in many of the cities under his con-
period. The textual evidence includes many royal (dedi- trol, fortifying city walls, and serving as the prime dis-
catory) inscriptions and vast numbers of legal documents penser of justice. Hammurabi seemed particularly keen
and letters. Many of the letters are from Hammurabi him- to portray himself as a “King of Justice” (the name he
self (undoubtedly dictated to a scribe), addressed to his gave to a statue of himself, after which his twenty-second
viziers in the major cities, commanding them, for exam- year was named). And, indeed, Hammurabi is best
ple, to restore to a farmer a field illicitly taken from him, known for the large stele of polished black diorite on
or to dredge the local canal, or to collect certain taxes; he which, near the end of his reign, he had some 282 laws
inscribed.The “Code of Hammurabi,” as it is commonly,
though imprecisely, called, is the longest text extant from
From the Prologue to the the first dynasty.The text includes not only the laws, but
also a prologue, in which the gods call upon Hammurabi
Code of Hammurabi
“to proclaim justice in the land, to destroy the wicked
Anu (King of Anunaki) and Bel (Lord of Heaven and the evil, that the strong may not oppress the weak”
and Earth) called by name me Hammurabi, the (author’s translation) and a lengthy epilogue of curses on
exalted prince...to bring about the rule of right- anyone who destroyed the stele and blessings on anyone
eousness in the land to destroy the wicked and who refurbished it properly.
the evil doers so that the strong should not harm The laws do not constitute a code in the strict sense
the weak so that I should rule over the black (i.e., a comprehensive and systematically arranged set of
headed people like Shamash and enlighten the laws), but are rather a collection of individual cases. An
land to further the well being of mankind. example is No. 193: “If a son has struck his father, his
hand will be cut off.” Among the topics covered in the

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