Code of Hammurabi - Softcover

Hammurabi

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1784351148 ISBN 13: 9781784351144

Publisher: JiaHu Books, 2015

Synopsis

This book is a copy of the Cuneiform inscription from the stele in the Louvre Museum in Paris.The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1754 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (lex talionis) as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man. Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract, establishing, for example, the wages to be paid to an ox driver or a surgeon. Other provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the liability of a builder for a house that collapses, for example, or property that is damaged while left in the care of another. A third of the code addresses issues concerning household and family relationships such as inheritance, divorce, paternity and sexual behavior. Only one provision appears to impose obligations on an official; this provision establishes that a judge who reaches an incorrect decision is to be fined and removed from the bench permanently. A handful of provisions address issues related to military service.

About this title

About the Author

Leonard William King, (1869 – 1919) was an English archaeologist and Assyriologist. He collected stone inscriptions widely in the Near East, taught Assyrian and Babylonian archaeology at King's College for a number of years, and published a large number of works on these subjects. He is also known for his translations of ancient works such as the Code of Hammurabi. He became the Assistant to the Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum.

Edition details

• Publisher: JiaHu Books
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1784351148
• ISBN 13: 9781784351144
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 52