Hammurabi laws are the sources of legal norms. Theme VI
State and Law of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages
Topic 1 Laws of Hammurabi
(4 hours)
Seminar plan
1. Sources and characteristic features of the Laws of Hammurabi.
2. Social structure and legal status of the main groups of the population of Ancient Babylon.
3. Legal regulation of property relations under the Laws of Hammurabi.
4. Legal regulation of marriage and family relations.
5. Crimes and punishments.
6. Court and process.
The purpose of the seminar
The purpose of the lesson is to study one of the unique monuments of law - the judicial code of King Hammurabi in the middle of the 18th century. BC e., which occupied one of the central places in the socio-normative culture of the Sumerian-Babylonian civilization of Ancient Mesopotamia.
The study of this monument of law, included in the historical literature under the name Laws of Hammurabi(hereinafter - ZX), enables the student to identify the specifics of the social structure of the ancient Babylonian society and thereby understand the complex issue of its typology, the features of the state system and political regime of Ancient Babylon as one of the first Eastern states that developed in the form of an empire in the course of a long evolution on base of numerous proto-states that preceded it.
The study of this monument will enable the student not only to get acquainted with the basic principles and institutions of the legal system of Ancient Babylon, but also to identify a relatively high level of development of legal thought, which is reflected in such concepts of GC as justice, the importance of law and order, following the law against "destructive turmoil", "oppression of the weak", etc.
For all the apologetics of the preamble and epilogue of the ZX, glorifying Hammurabi as a “caring prince”, “shepherd of the people”, “crushing the four parts of the world”, etc., it is impossible not to see in certain provisions of this legal document a real desire to establish law and order, to prevent the aggravation of social contradictions threatening the very existence of Babylonian society and the state.
The ancient Babylonian kingdom, which reached its socio-economic and political heyday under King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), was one of the first states, an empire that included vast territories from the Persian Gulf to Syria, a kind of peak of the ancient Eastern civilization of the Two Rivers. Its ideology was the cult of a single supreme god, the "king of the gods" Marduk - a basically unified system of values that determined the fundamental features of the culture of this civilization, including socio-normative, legal.
Babylon as an established eastern state is characterized by a number of features and traits. This is the creation of state administrative-territorial foundations - administrative regions and districts with a permanent capital - the city of Babylon ("the foundation" of which, as indicated in the epilogue of the ZX, is firmly established "like heaven and earth"), and the expansion of the scope of the internal functions of the Babylonian state, its the king and the administrative-bureaucratic apparatus (a special category of the so-called royal people), and the formation of a standing army and courts, as well as a strong material base, the state treasury, etc. Hammurabi is no longer a servant of the community, the ruler of the city, who received land in Sumer for feeding as official, but "the best king" (ashag-kur),"having accumulated wealth and abundance", giving gifts to other cities, raising temples, etc.
The change in traditional ideological stereotypes, attitudes about the appointment of royal power, about justifying its legitimacy, also played an important role. If, for example, the ruler of Umma Lugalzagesi (2373-2349 BC) connected his power with the fact that in the sanctuaries of Sumer as ensi(ruler) the country elected him, then Hammurabi already refers to his being chosen by God, sovereignty as the “king of kings”.
The nationwide ideology characteristic of Babylon began to form in Mesopotamia only at the turn of the 3rd-2nd millennium BC. e. Prior to this, each city was actually a separate state, uniting with others during severe disasters or to solve important, mainly military-political, tasks, when it was necessary to elect a military leader, etc.
In the historical literature, there are different points of view on whether ZX was an active lawsuit or just a declaration designed to glorify the king, strengthen the legitimacy of his vast powers as a “defender of the poor, orphans and widows”, etc.
The fact that it was a valid law code is evidenced by the relative completeness of its norms compared to previous laws, the direct reflection in these norms of the state policy pursued in Babylon, whether it concerned restrictions on usurious interest, debt slavery, or the establishment of remuneration rates for hired labor, land lease and etc.
This policy was based on a certain commonality of interests between the Babylonian rulers and the vast majority of the population of Babylon - free landowners-communities, which was the basis of their relative prosperity, state stability, "harmony" so highly valued in Babylonian society.
Hammurabi's desire to create an effective judicial code is also evidenced by the huge efforts to select, generalize, develop numerous customs, and give them a strict business form. This, in particular, is evidenced by those discrepancies, including terminological ones, of the provisions of the LC with ordinary legal practice, which were reflected in the texts of contracts, in numerous cuneiform tablets that have come down to us - business documents.
Sources and Characteristics of the Laws of Hammurabi
When answering the first question, the student needs to characterize the legal basis on which the ZH were created: customs, established judicial practice, while identifying the influence of religious norms, the traditional system of values of the Mesopotamian civilization on the judicial system. It should also be noted the formalism, casuistry, symbolism, the reflection of the remnants of the tribal system in a number of norms of the ZKh, as well as other features related to the general characteristics of the considered monument of law. At the same time, the impact on the ZX of previous legislation, which includes the oldest Laws of Ur-Nammu, compiled during the III dynasty of Ur by the son of the founder of this dynasty, Shulgi (2093-2046 BC), Lipid-Ishtar laws, ruler of the kingdom of Issin, The Laws of King Eshnunna(early 20th century BC)
ZH became a kind of result of the development of the previous written legal tradition in Mesopotamia, which determined the conceptual apparatus, the specific structure of legal documents with a prologue, a list of norms (on farmers, on slaves, on the inequality of the free, on marriage and relationships in patriarchal families, etc.) and an epilogue.
Emphasizing the relative completeness of the ZH, one cannot fail to note the fact that, due to their casuistry, they could not be exhaustive, relating mainly to the sphere of relations associated with the royal temple economy, without touching on important issues of intra-communal relations, the relationship of the community with the royal power, which were governed by numerous customs. They often only stated the illegality of this or that act, without indicating sanctions, such as punishments for such serious crimes as murder, sorcery, etc.
ZH norms are set out without a proper system, without industry affiliation, etc. But one cannot fail to notice certain internal logic in their presentation. First of all, separate blocks of norms, similar provisions relating to justice are singled out (Articles 1-5); protection of property of various categories of the free population, temples, royal servants, etc. (Art. 6-25); property and, above all, land given out by the ruler for service (Art. 25-41); transactions with real estate and punishment of offenses related to them (art. 42-88), as well as with trade (art. 89-126); crimes, in particular bodily harm, punishable by the talion principle (art. 196-204), etc.
The transition from one block of norms to another is based on the principles of association, sometime or another concept or word acquires a leading, key meaning. So, in the block of articles starting with art. 215 deals with the contract on hiring people and services, while the key word in Art. 215-225 is the word "doctor": he performs operations on people and animals, receives some kind of remuneration for his work or is punished for the harm he inflicted on the patient by his negligence. The severity of punishment depends on the social status of the victim. From Art. 228 deals with similar situations related to categories of other employees. In Art. 228-233 the builder of the house becomes the key figure first, then (vv. 234-239) the boatman, the owner of the ship. The content of the next ten articles (Articles 241-251) is concentrated around transactions related to farm animals (ox, bull), as well as around the harm caused by them to a person or a person to an animal, etc. Such associative transitions from one block of norms to others can be demonstrated with other examples.
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TOPIC II. LAWS OF HAMMURABI
§ 2.1. General characteristics of the "Laws of Hammurabi"
§ 2.2. The legal status of the population according to the "Laws of Hammurabi"
§ 2.3. Crimes and punishments according to the "Laws of Hammurabi"
§ 2.4. Marriage and family relations according to the "Laws of Hammurabi"
List of recommended literature
§ 2.1. General characteristics of the "Laws of Hammurabi"
The Laws of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) represent the most significant legal document of ancient Mesopotamia. It was discovered by French archaeologists in 1901 during excavations in the Elamite city of Susa.
The black basalt pillar, on which the laws are carved, preserved the image of Hammurabi himself.
A curled beard, heavy eyelids, thick eyebrows, deep shadow underneath. A tired face... In a prayerful pose, Hammurabi hands over his laws to Shamash, the god of the Sun and Justice.
The lawyer reflects the centuries-old result of legal thought and practice; it shows the influence of the ancient laws of Sumer and Akkad. It consists of three parts: introduction, list of articles and conclusion. Following tradition, Hammurabi proclaims himself a champion of Justice, Truth, Mercy. In that era, these terms probably meant law and order.
This code of law was of a casuistic nature, since it was mainly a source listing various precedents.
A significant part of the legal norms of the Code of Hammurabi (ZX) was devoted to the regulation of social relations associated with the royal temple economy.
At the same time, ZKh did not touch upon many important areas of intra-community relations, relations between communities and the royal power, etc.
Articles devoted to property were of great importance. Land as an object of ownership had two types: state (royal and temple) and communal. Allotments of land for service to soldiers had a special legal status - property (ilku), which was considered the main possession of the designated purpose. Royal officials, including tamkars (merchants), also received land plots.
Land, water were considered the property of the king and the community. The procedure for the use of communal land and water was determined by the governing bodies. The ZX does not contain detailed instructions on the procedure for using this land, its alienation and sale. The seizure of such plots from the community, as a general rule, was considered the prerogative of the king.
It is worth saying that the ZH to some extent protected the communal peasant, who fell into the net of a usurer, from repaying the debt by transferring a field or garden with the expected harvest to the lender (Articles 49, 52, 66). Article 48 ZX saved the debtor-peasant from losing the plot in the event of a crop failure.
The interests of the community, the protection of its arable field, irrigation systems are reflected in Art. 42-47. The law protects the farmer, the tenant of the field from the usurer, even in cases where the crop is lost due to natural disasters (Articles 45, 48). The fine from the neighbor responsible for the destruction of the field in the event of a negligent attitude to the dam, the canal was collected not in the treasury, but in favor of the victims. The law forbade speculative transactions with the field, garden and housing of community members, persecuted those who, for some reason, did not cultivate their field allotment, which caused damage to the community economy.
Thus, ZX protected the community, peasant farmers, in the first place, from the greedy desires of usurers and merchants. However, the conservatism of the community in the historical perspective hindered the socio-economic development of the ancient Eastern society.
First of all, ZX protected the owner from an unscrupulous purchaser. Claims for real estate transactions when considered in court, in addition to testimonies, should have been provided with written documents, which was in the hands of wealthy citizens. Experts in law did not engage in charity, they did not give legal advice to clients for free.
During the time of Hammurabi, commodity-money relations reached a higher level than in ancient Sumer. The community was in crisis. By law, she had the right to freely dispose of her property: sell, mortgage, change, lease, transfer by inheritance (Articles 39-47, 71). The disposal of real estate did not require the consent of the community. However, if a person left the community, lost contact with it, then he lost the right to his plot of land (Article 136). Such a sanction threatened those who did not fulfill their duties as a land user, i.e. did not participate in labor duties, especially in the construction and repair of irrigation facilities.
The royal lands had their own status, of which plots were given to soldiers, officials for service. There were temple lands. Property was protected not only by lawsuits, but also by criminal sanctions. ZX punished those who would hide another's slave in their house with particular severity (v. 16). Theft of animals belonging to the palace and the temple was punishable by a fine of 30 times. If the guilty person could not pay such a huge fine, he was executed (v. 8).
Noteworthy is the provision according to which even the tsar and his officials could not interfere in the land relations of the community, dispose of its real estate.
There are no articles in the ZKh authorizing tsarist officials to give instructions: when and what to sow, when to harvest, how much to keep livestock, how to feed it, at what price to sell agricultural products.
The lawyer contains an ardent appeal, a prayer, a request: “Let the future king keep the just words that I drew on my stele, let him not change the law of the country. let him not reject my decrees. let him justly govern his blackheads, let him settle their lawsuits. exterminate criminals and evil in the country, let him improve the situation of his people. The impossibility and uselessness of these spells were unknown to the ruler.
The system of power, administration, courts that developed under Hammurabi, the entire apparatus of the bureaucratic bureaucracy intensified the exploitation and oppression of ordinary people: community members, mushkenums, all the destitute and forced. The great-grandson of Hammurabi Samsuditan became an eyewitness to the death of a great empire. The invaders - the Kassites, occupied in 1595 BC. Babylon, plundered it and took with them even a statue of the main god Marduk.
The Laws of King Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) represent the most significant legal document of ancient Mesopotamia. It was discovered by French archaeologists in 1901 during excavations in the Elamite city of Susa. The black basalt pillar, on which the laws are carved, preserved the image of Hammurabi himself. A curled beard, heavy eyelids, thick eyebrows, deep shadow underneath. A tired face… In a prayerful pose, Hammurabi hands over his laws to Shamash, the god of the Sun and Justice.
The lawyer reflects the centuries-old result of legal thought and practice; it shows the influence of the ancient laws of Sumer and Akkad. It consists of three parts: introduction, list of articles and conclusion. Following tradition, Hammurabi proclaims himself a champion of Justice, Truth, Mercy. In that era, these terms probably meant law and order. This code of law was of a casuistic nature, since it was mainly a source listing various precedents.
A significant part of the legal norms of the Lawyer of Hammurabi was devoted to the regulation of social relations associated with the royal temple economy. At the same time, the Laws of Hammurabi did not affect many important areas of intra-communal relations, the relations of communities with royal power, etc.
Articles devoted to property were of great importance. Land as an object of ownership had two types: state (royal and temple) and communal. Allotments of land for service to soldiers had a special legal status - property (ilku), which was considered the main possession of the designated purpose. Royal officials, including tamkars (merchants), also received land plots.
Land, water were considered the property of the king and the community. The procedure for the use of communal land and water was determined by the governing bodies. The laws of Hammurabi do not contain detailed instructions on the procedure for using this land, its alienation and sale. The seizure of such plots from the community, as a general rule, was considered the prerogative of the king.
It is worth saying that the Laws of Hammurabi to some extent protected the communal peasant, who fell into the net of a usurer, from paying off the debt by transferring a field or garden with the expected harvest to the lender (Articles 49, 52, 66). Article 48 of the Laws of Hammurabi saved the debtor-peasant from losing the plot in the event of a crop failure.
The interests of the community, the protection of its arable field, irrigation systems are reflected in Art. 42 - 47. The law protects the farmer, the tenant of the field from the usurer, and in cases where the crop is lost due to natural disasters (Articles 45, 48).
The fine from the neighbor responsible for the destruction of the field in the event of a negligent attitude to the dam, the canal was collected not in the treasury, but in favor of the victims. The law forbade speculative transactions with the field, garden and housing of community members, persecuted those who, for some reason, did not cultivate their field allotment, which caused damage to the community economy.
Thus, the Laws of Hammurabi protected the community, peasant farmers, in the first place, from the greedy desires of usurers and merchants.
However, the conservatism of the community in the historical perspective hindered the socio-economic development of the ancient Eastern society.
First of all, Lawyer Hammurabi protected the owner from an unscrupulous purchaser. Claims for real estate transactions when considered in court, in addition to testimonies, should have been provided with written documents, which was in the hands of wealthy citizens. Experts in law did not engage in charity, they did not give legal advice to clients for free.
During the time of Hammurabi, commodity-money relations reached a higher level than in ancient Sumer. The community was in crisis. By law, she had the right to freely dispose of her property: sell, mortgage, change, lease, inherit (Articles 39-47, 71). The disposal of real estate did not require the consent of the community. However, if a person left the community, lost contact with it, then he lost the right to his plot of land (Article 136).
Such a sanction threatened those who did not fulfill their duties as a land user, i.e. did not participate in labor duties, especially in the construction and repair of irrigation facilities.
The royal lands had their own status, of which plots were given to soldiers, officials for service. There were temple lands. Property was protected not only by lawsuits, but also by criminal sanctions. The laws of Hammurabi punished those who would hide someone else's slave in their house (v. 16) especially severely. Theft of animals belonging to the palace and the temple was punishable by a fine of 30 times. If the guilty person could not pay such a huge fine, he was executed (v. 8).
Noteworthy is the provision according to which even the tsar and his officials could not interfere in the land relations of the community, dispose of its real estate.
There are no articles in the Laws of Hammurabi authorizing royal officials to give instructions: when and what to sow, when to harvest, how much to keep livestock, how to feed them, at what price to sell agricultural products.
The lawyer contains an ardent appeal, a prayer, a request: “let the future king keep the just words that I drew on my stele, let him not change the law of the country ... let him not reject my decrees ... let him justly manage his black-headed ones, let him sort out their lawsuits ... exterminate in the country of criminals and evil, let him improve the situation of his people. The impossibility and uselessness of these spells were unknown to the ruler.
The system of power, administration, courts that had developed under Hammurabi, the entire apparatus of the bureaucratic bureaucracy intensified the exploitation and oppression of ordinary people: community members, mushkenums, all the destitute and forced. The great-grandson of Hammurabi Samsuditan became an eyewitness to the death of a great empire. The invaders - the Kassites, occupied in 1595 BC. Babylon, plundered it and took with them even a statue of the main god Marduk.
BABYLONIA
Babylonia in the 18th century BC e.
General characteristics of the laws of Hammurabi
Naturally, the ancient law of Sumer, dating back to the legislative activity of the kings of the III dynasty of Ur, became unacceptable for the Babylonian state. The need to create a new code of laws for his state was already recognized by the second king of the 1st Babylonian dynasty, Sumulail, whose laws are mentioned in the documents of his successors.
King Hammurabi, by his legislation, tried to formalize and consolidate the social system of the state, in which small and medium slave owners were to be the dominant force. What great importance Hammurabi attached to his legislative activity is evident from the fact that he began it at the very beginning of his reign; The 2nd year of his reign is called the year when "he established the right of the country." True, this early collection of laws has not come down to us; the laws of Hammurabi known to science date back to the end of his reign.
These laws were immortalized on a large black basalt pillar. At the top of the front side of the pillar, the king is depicted standing in front of the sun god Shamash, the patron of the court. Under the relief, the text of the laws is inscribed, filling both sides of the pillar. The text is divided into three parts. The first part is a lengthy introduction in which Hammurabi announces that the gods have given him the kingdom so that "the strong may not oppress the weak." This is followed by a list of the benefits that Hammurabi provided to the cities of his state. Among them are the cities of the extreme south, headed by Larsa, as well as cities along the middle reaches of the Euphrates and the Tigris - Mari, Ashur, Nineveh, etc. the middle reaches of the Euphrates and the Tigris, i.e., in the early 30s of his reign. It must be assumed that copies of the laws were made for all the major cities of his kingdom. After the introduction, articles of laws follow, which, in turn, end with a detailed conclusion.
The monument has been preserved, in general, well. Only the articles in the last columns of the front side were erased. Obviously, this was done at the behest of the Elamite king, who, after his invasion of Mesopotamia, transported this monument from Babylonia to Susa, where it was found. Based on the surviving traces, it can be established that 35 articles were inscribed on the scraped place, and in total there are 282 articles in the monument. Based on various copies found in the excavated ancient libraries of Nineveh, Nippur, Babylon, etc., it is possible to restore most of the articles destroyed by the Elamite conqueror.
Hammurabi's laws cover numerous legal issues of contemporary Babylonian society.
The first 5 articles (the numbering of articles is established by modern scientists) are devoted to the issues of legal proceedings.
Articles 6-13 define the punishment for theft and specify the means by which theft is established.
Articles 14-20 are directed against the theft of children and slaves and against the harboring of fugitive slaves. It also sets the size of the reward for the capture of a runaway slave.
Articles 21-25 deal with various cases of robbery.
Articles 26-41 regulate the duties and rights of soldiers, and the issues of their land ownership are dealt with in particular detail.
Articles 42-47 define the rights and obligations of persons renting land.
The next five articles (48-52) establish the limits of the usurer's right to harvest the field pledged to him.
Articles 53-56 impose penalties for negligent use of the irrigation network.
Articles 57-58 protect field owners from damage caused by herds.
Articles 59-66 deal with various issues related to the ownership of gardens, including the question of the usurer's right to the harvest of his debtor's garden.
The following articles, contained in the destroyed columns of the inscription, were partly devoted to questions of the ownership of houses and building plots, partly to various types of usury.
Articles 100-107 adjoin them, speaking about merchants - tamkars and their assistants.
Taverns, which were at the same time nativity scenes, are discussed in articles 108-111.
Articles 112-126 are devoted to the right of storage and the law of debt related to securing a loan by the person of the debtor's family members.
A very large place (articles 127-195) is occupied by family law.
Articles 226 and 227 protect the slave owner from the deliberate destruction of the brand on the slave that belonged to him.
Issues related to the work of architects and shipbuilders are considered by articles 228-235.
Various types of employment are discussed in detail in articles 236-277.
The final articles contain regulations on slaves.
The legislation of Hammurabi, like the legislation of Isin, Larsa and Eshnunna, does not contain indications of the intervention of the gods. The only exceptions are Articles 2 and 132, which allow, in relation to a person accused of witchcraft, or to a married woman accused of adultery, the application of the so-called "God's court". Decrees on punishment for bodily harm according to the principle “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” go back to the distant past. The legislation of King Hammurabi extended the application of this principle to the doctor for damage during an unsuccessful operation, and to the builder for an unsuccessful building; if, for example, a collapsed house killed the owner, then the builder was killed, and if in this case the owner's son died, then the builder's son was killed.
The laws of King Hammurabi should be recognized as one of the most significant monuments of the legal thought of ancient Eastern society. This is the first detailed collection of laws known to us in world history that sanctified the slave system, private property, and the exploitation of man by man.
The study of the laws of Hammurabi in connection with the surviving royal and private letters, as well as private legal documents of that time, makes it possible to determine the social system of Babylonia, and at the same time the direction of the measures of royal power reflected in this legislation. The laws of Hammurabi clearly show the class character of the legislation of the Babylonian kingdom. The state, by establishing harsh punishments, protected the slave owners from the "obstinate" slave. For bodily injury caused to another's slave, it was required, as in relation to cattle, compensation for the loss to its owner. The one guilty of murdering a slave gave another slave to the owner in return. Slaves, like cattle, could be sold without any restrictions. The marital status of the slave was not taken into account. In the sale of a slave, the law was only concerned with protecting the buyer from being deceived by the seller. The legislation protected slave owners from stealing slaves and from harboring runaway slaves. The death penalty threatened not only the one who stole, but also the one who concealed the slave. A cruel punishment was also threatened for the destruction of the sign of slavery on a slave. In a single slave-owning family, there were usually from 2 to 5 slaves, but there are cases when the number of slaves reached several dozen. Private law documents speak of a wide variety of transactions related to slaves: purchase, gift, exchange, hire, and bequest. Slaves replenished under Hammurabi from among the "criminals", from among the prisoners of war, as well as those bought in neighboring regions. The average price of a slave was 150-250 g of silver.
Source:"World History" Volume 1. ed. Yu.P. Frantseva, State Publishing House of Political Literature, 1953.
ancient.gerodot.ru
Laws of Hammurabi - general characteristics and summary
After Hammurabi ascended the throne, the country grew stronger and developed. He introduced a number of reforms:
But the creation of state laws, the organization of the judicial system - this is the biggest contribution that he made to the strengthening of statehood.
To date, the laws of Hammurabi are the most ancient of all found and come down to us. For the time of its creation, Hammurabi's code was recorded around 1750. BC, he showed that Babylon was a state with its own powerful statehood.
If we describe what has changed after the writing of the laws of Hammurabi briefly, then:
Laws of Hammurabi: general characteristics
In 1901-1902, an expedition led by the Frenchman Jacques de Morgan found a stone object on which the laws of Hammurabi were carved. This is a basalt obelisk. It was discovered in the ancient city of Susa (now the territory of Iran). He was transported to Susa, most likely by the Elamite king, after the capture of Babylon.
On the basalt obelisk, at the top, Hammurabi is depicted, who stands in a respectful pose next to the sun god Shamash, who was revered as the patron of justice. Under the image are written laws of Hammurabi, their text is written in cuneiform form.
There are 35 articles erased on the pillar, most likely they were erased after the capture. It would be difficult to determine how many articles were in Hammurabi's code book, with the help of this artifact, but the text of the lost articles was restored thanks to other written sources that have survived to this day. After studying the texts that have come down to us from ancient libraries, historians have determined how many articles in Hammurabi's code book were originally. The text of Hammurabi's Code of Laws is divided into three parts.
In the first introductory part of the text, we are told that the god Shamash gave these laws to Hammurabi in order to make the Babylonian state even more powerful and developed. Anyone who does not comply with these laws will go against the will and command of the king, as well as against the gods.
The second part is articles, there were 282 articles in Hammurabi's law book. The laws of King Hammurabi, a summary of the sections:
- It establishes punishment for serious offenses: perjury, sorcery or sorcery, changing court decisions already made. The punishment was the death penalty, and the judge paid a huge fine and lost his position (points 1-5).
- Protection of the personal property of the king, those close to the king, and temples, establishing responsibility for the seizure of someone else's property, death was supposed for theft (points 6-25).
- About passing a death sentence for a warrior if he sent a mercenary instead of himself on a campaign. The problem is that a soldier received an allotment of land for military service (points 26-41).
- On liability when using someone else's land or field, huge fines and severe punishment were relied on as punishment (42-88 points).
- Description of the conduct of trade and commercial operations (89-126 points).
- Family law (127-195 points).
- Description of responsibility for causing intentional and unintentional bodily harm (paragraphs 196-214).
- How to correctly carry out transactions with any movable property, this also included hiring (215-282 points).
The third part lists all kinds of curses. They must certainly overtake a person, his entire family and descendants, if he does not wish to live according to these laws and strictly observe them. There is a list and description of all the Babylonian gods, who will also impose all kinds of curses on a person and his entire family.
Laws of Hammurabi: a summary
Laws were established by two main groups: slave owners and slaves. At the same time, social society was divided into:
- Full-fledged residents - avilum.
- Incomplete residents - mushkenum.
Full-fledged residents had more rights and, most often, they got off with only a fine or a small punishment for any misconduct or non-compliance with laws. While an incomplete resident was waiting for a very severe punishment if he violated the law. Incomplete residents are the lowest stratum, which had only a part of the rights.
Hammurabi's slave laws defined a group of people - the wardum. These were slaves who had no rights at all and they were only property for their master. It is interesting that if a slave was injured, then this was not an attempt on health or life, but was declared as damage to property. If you read the laws of Hammurabi carefully, it becomes clear that a slave is movable property.
Slaves had the right to own small property, but after death it passed to the owner. Slaves had the right to start families. The owner had the right to rent it out by entering into an agreement with the tenant. In court, slaves were not allowed to act as witnesses. All the slaves had a sign burnt on their arm. If someone tried to remove this sign, it was punished very seriously, up to cutting off hands.
Equally interesting are the laws on debt collection from the debtor. Before the adoption of laws, the debtor fell into lifelong slavery to the creditor. Therefore, the laws of Hammurabi regulated debt slavery in order to prevent the arbitrariness of the creditor in relation to the debtor and his family.
After the laws were passed, the debtor or any member of his family became a slave for three years. In this case, the creditor did not have the right to alienate his property. The law forbade him to inflict bodily harm on a debtor or a member of his family. And if he committed actions that led to the death of the debtor or someone from his family, then someone from the family of the creditor also lost his life.
Photo from hkar.ru
The sole owner of all the land in Babylon was the king, who leased the land to soldiers and farmers. And they paid him taxes for it. Warriors owned land, property, slaves on a leasehold basis. But they had inheritance rights. Therefore, the property was inherited, as well as the son, after the father continued to carry out military service. Warriors were held in special esteem. And if a warrior was captured, then, according to the law, he must be redeemed. If there was no required amount, then the money was given either by the village temple or they were allocated from the treasury.
No less interesting are the laws of Hammurabi regarding family law. The patriarchal structure of the family dominated here. But the woman, nevertheless, had rights, albeit partially. The husband for the daughter was chosen by the father, who entered into an agreement with the groom (like a marriage contract). But the wife was assigned the right to dispose of her dowry (which was inherited by her children).
In case of adultery, the woman was severely punished. But if the husband is to blame, then the wife could demand a divorce from him, while she took her dowry. A father could not, without a very good reason, deprive his son of an inheritance. The son could defend his rights in court. After the death of a father, his property was divided among his children, and their gender did not play any role. But, nevertheless, if the father of the family fell into debt slavery, then he could give any member of his family instead of himself for three years. Polygamy was allowed if the wife could not give birth to a child. It was also possible to adopt children from a slave. After the death of the owner, the slave-concubine became free.
After consideration, we see who was protected by the laws of King Hammurabi. First of all, the laws protected the interests of the king, because the land was given only on a leasehold basis. The temples were completely subordinate to the king, whose origin was considered divine.
What Hammurabi cared about secondarily in his laws was the slave owners. Their interests regarding movable property (slaves) were fully respected. Slaves had virtually no rights. The slave owners were the dominant class. What Hammurabi cared about in his laws is still about a full population. The laws for them were softer than for non-full residents and slaves.
The fair and unfair laws of Hammurabi were aimed at ensuring statehood and gave impetus to the development of the judicial system in the state. They systematized and fixed at the legal level the responsibility and types of punishments that occurred when the laws were not observed.
Sources of law in ancient Mesopotamia. General characteristics of the Laws of King Hammurabi.
Hammurabi was a successful military leader, administrator and diplomat. A significant part of the territory subject to him was annexed through diplomatic efforts, and not military seizures.
Laws of Hammurabi(actually a lawsuit) were compiled, according to some assumptions, at the end of his reign and absorbed:
1. laws of previous rulers;
2. customary law;
3. Hammurabi's own institutions - his decrees and typical decisions of court cases.
Customary law here, as in other parts of the world, it was a collection of rules stored in the people's memory for resolving property disputes or mutual personal accusations, with a common confidence for the parties concerned in the justice and supreme wisdom of these rules.
The laws of Hammurabi were drawn up taking into account the widespread mythological ideas about the ways to achieve "true happiness and good government" (words from the solemn Prologue to the Laws of Hammurabi). His wisdom was aimed at curbing the arbitrariness of those in power, the immense greed of the rich and powerful in relation to those who paid taxes to the royal treasury and supplied soldiers to the royal service. In the sources of the time of his reign, “decrees on the restoration of justice” are mentioned, which were aimed at counteracting the ruin and dispossession of community members, compensation for damage from natural disasters, as well as social disasters.
The Laws of Hammurabi consisted of a Prologue, a text of the Laws and an Epilogue. In total, the translators singled out 282 paragraphs, or articles, from a continuous text carved on stone, and about 37 articles were destroyed (scraped off).
The laws of King Hammurabi were created in the 18th century BC. Structurally, they are divided into an introduction, the main part, which includes 282 articles, and a conclusion.
The main features of Hammurabi's laws:
1. Preservation of the remnants of ancient customs.
3. Primitive legal technique.
4. No difference between a civil wrong and a crime.
5. Lack of division into branches of law.
6. Close connection between law and religious and moral ritual.
7. Formalism and symbolism of legal norms.
8. The presence of objective imputation, that is, the imposition of responsibility on the innocent. For example, if a house collapsed and the owner's son died, then the builder's son had to be killed.
Articles one through five deal with the most serious crimes.
From 6 to 25 - the protection of the property of the king, temples, royal servants and community members.
From 26 to 41 - property and service of soldiers.
From 42 to 88 - real estate transactions.
From 89 to 126 - other trade and commercial operations.
From 127 to 195 - family law.
From 196 to 214 - intentional and unintentional bodily harm.
From 214 to 282 - transactions with movable property, property and personal employment.
Laws of Hammurabi general characteristics of sources
Laws of Hammurabi as a historical source
The Code of Laws of King Hammurabi, inscribed in archaic cuneiform on a basalt pillar, is the most important historical source for studying the economic and social system of the Babylonian kingdom. On the top of the pillar is King Hammurabi, standing in a solemn pose in front of the sun god Shamash, seated on the throne. The rest of the column is covered with cuneiform text containing 247 articles of the Code of Laws. Five columns containing 35 articles were scraped, apparently by the Elamite conqueror, who took this monument as a trophy to Susa. This omission in the text can be restored thanks to found copies of the codex, which the ancient Babylonian scribes and judges used for teaching purposes, as well as in judicial practice.
The Code of Hammurabi is a further development and codification of the ancient Sumerian laws, which had a strong influence on Babylonian law. The Sudebnik of Hammurabi is somewhat more systematic than the collections of Sumerian court decisions, and in it the attempt of the legislator to unite related articles of the law into groups is already clearly felt. However, it still cannot be recognized as a code in the full sense of the word and is rather a set of individual legal decisions (casual law). Code of Laws consists of three parts: 1. Introduction. 2. Actually a lawsuit. 3. Conclusion. The introduction indicates that the publication of the code has as its goal the establishment of justice in the country. Further, the king lists his titles, glorifies his greatness, notes the good deeds rendered by him to the country. The middle, main part of the code contains a list of articles relating to criminal law, legal proceedings, violations of property rights (theft and robbery), and the rights of soldiers. Separate articles talk about property rights, trade, liens, family law, self-mutilation, the work of architects and shipbuilders, hiring labor and slavery. In the final part, the king enumerates his services to the people, calls blessings on the heads of those kings who will fulfill his laws, and sends terrible curses on those who will not comply with them or decide to cancel them.
Hammurabi's laws were found in 1901-1902. French archaeological expedition during excavations in Susa (the capital of ancient Elam). A characteristic feature of the Laws of Hammurabi is their incompleteness. The provisions of this historical source mainly relate to the legal regulation of relations related to the royal temple economy. They did not touch upon many important areas within social relations, the relations of communities with royal power, etc.
Also, these laws are evidence that, along with the law, a special place among the sources of law was given to community customs, which determined these sanctions. Customs were the main building material for royal codes.
At the same time, discrepancies between the ZKh, including terminological ones, and living legal practice, with the texts of agreements recorded on numerous clay tablets that have come down to us, indicate that they worked on the custom, and not just reproduced it in law.
In the Laws of Hammurabi, the rules of law are grouped according to the subjects of legal regulation, and the transition from one group to another is carried out through associations. Yes, Art. 6-25 ZH are devoted to the protection of the property of the king, temples, community members and royal people. This group of norms ends with the norm on the unlawful taking of another's property. It would seem that the transition to the next, art. 26, which opens the section on property received from the king for service, according to which a warrior who did not go on a campaign was subject to the death penalty, is illogical. Meanwhile, the logic of the ancient legislator was that it was not so much about responsibility for desertion, but rather for the use of someone else's (royal) field, the right to which the warrior lost by refusing to go on a campaign. The next group of norms (Art. 42-88) governs transactions with real estate and liability for offenses relating to this property.
The full rights of the Babylonian were directly connected with the allotment of communal land. According to the Laws of Hammurabi, he lost not only the land, but also other rights, if he broke with the community, even the wife could refuse the fugitive (136). The landownership of a community member-peasant was protected by law in every possible way. According to the Laws of Hammurabi, the military allotment was completely excluded from trade, any transaction regarding the land of a warrior was considered null and void. If a warrior abandoned his allotment for the sake of getting rid of service, he did not lose the right to it for a year, provided that he returned to his duties. This land was not inherited.
Also a characteristic feature of the Laws of Hammurabi are detailed and complete rules relating to contractual relations.
The first type of transactions, due to traditional ideas about the close connection of a thing with the life of an individual, required the fulfillment of more stringent conditions than the second: a written contract, an oath, the presence of a witness, etc. These included contracts of sale, donation, division of inheritance, adoption. The written contract of sale required an exact designation of the object of purchase, certification of the seller's proprietary rights to the thing in order to protect the buyer from a claim by a third party, from charges of theft, from the claims of the state (in particular, when selling inalienable royal lands, land allotments of soldiers and etc.). This agreement could include a mutual or unilateral waiver of the claim and a promise not to challenge the completed transaction, often sealed with a special addition to the contract price (“vartum”). After payment of the price, the contract of sale could be terminated only under certain circumstances, for example, if the seller deliberately concealed defects in the thing.
The very fact of a large number of articles in the ZKh related to the responsibility of the tenant of land, etc., testifies to the spread of enslaving conditions for borrowing, hiring, and leasing land, from which the poor suffered primarily. The found tablets testify to the frequent transactions of the priestesses of Shamash in Sippar, who leased land on the condition of not only rent, but also various offerings of the tenant to the temples - meat, flour, money. The tenant paid the fully agreed amount for the rent more often in advance, less often the contract included conditions on the payment of part of the crop. To stimulate the lease of virgin lands, in addition to it, a cultivated plot was also leased so that a poor tenant could feed himself from the field while he was raising the virgin lands.
Thus, the value of such a historical source as the Laws of Hammurabi is obvious. By studying them, we can draw conclusions about all spheres of life in the Babylonian kingdom. In addition, we can say that these laws are a typical code of rules for the society of ancient Mesopotamia, but you can also find distinctive features in them that are unique to this legislation.
1. Sources and characteristics of the Laws of Hammurabi
When answering the first question, the student needs to characterize the legal basis on which the ZH were created: customs, established judicial practice, while identifying the influence of religious norms, the traditional system of values of the Mesopotamian civilization on the judicial system. It should also be noted the formalism, casuistry, symbolism, the reflection of the remnants of the tribal system in a number of norms of the ZKh, as well as other features related to the general characteristics of the considered monument of law. At the same time, the impact on the ZX of previous legislation, which includes the oldest Laws of Ur-Nammu, compiled during the III dynasty of Ur by the son of the founder of this dynasty, Shulgi (2093-2046 BC), Laws Lipid-Ishtara, ruler of the kingdom of Issin, The laws of the king Eshnunna(early 20th century BC)
ZH became a kind of result of the development of the previous written legal tradition in Mesopotamia, which determined the conceptual apparatus, the specific structure of legal documents with a prologue, a list of norms (on farmers, on slaves, on the inequality of the free, on marriage and relationships in patriarchal families, etc.) and an epilogue.
Emphasizing the relative completeness of the ZH, one cannot fail to note the fact that, due to their casuistry, they could not be exhaustive, relating mainly to the sphere of relations associated with the royal temple economy, without touching on important issues of intra-communal relations, the relationship of the community with the royal power, which were governed by numerous customs. They often only stated the illegality of this or that act, without indicating sanctions, such as punishments for such serious crimes as murder, sorcery, etc.
ZH norms are set out without a proper system, without industry affiliation, etc. But one cannot fail to notice certain internal logic in their presentation. First of all, separate blocks of norms, similar provisions relating to justice are singled out (Articles 1-5); protection of property of various categories of the free population, temples, royal servants, etc. (Art. 6-25); property and, above all, land given out by the ruler for service (Art. 25-41); transactions with real estate and punishment of offenses related to them (art. 42-88), as well as with trade (art. 89-126); crimes, in particular bodily harm, punishable by the talion principle (art. 196-204), etc.
The transition from one block of norms to another is based on association principles, sometime or another concept or word acquires a leading, key meaning. So, in the block of articles starting with art. 215 deals with the contract on hiring people and services, while the key word in Art. 215-225 is the word "doctor": he performs operations on people and animals, receives some kind of remuneration for his work or is punished for the harm he inflicted on the patient by his negligence. The severity of punishment depends on the social status of the victim. From Art. 228 deals with similar situations related to categories of other employees. In Art. 228-233 the builder of the house becomes the key figure first, then (vv. 234-239) the boatman, the owner of the ship. The content of the next ten articles (Articles 241-251) is concentrated around transactions related to farm animals (ox, bull), as well as around the harm caused by them to a person or a person to an animal, etc. Such associative transitions from one block of norms to others can be demonstrated with other examples.
law of hammurabi babylon
The sources of Hammurabi's laws are custom, judicial practice, religion, laws that previously existed in Mesopotamia in individual city-states. Hammurabi often himself made decisions on specific cases, which were then set out in the norms of the law.
The collection of "Laws of Hammurabi" is nothing more than bringing into a certain order cases from judicial practice taken from ancient Babylonian customary civil and criminal law Volkov, I.M. Laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi. - M.: 1914. - S. 54 ..
In early antiquity, many institutions of the primitive communal system and its inherent ideology and social psychology continued to exist for a long time. From the point of view of this ideology and psychology, the emergence of a sharp property differentiation and landlessness of part of the community members was a violation of the ancient order - almost the entire world order. The ruler was still considered to a large extent as a tribal leader, obliged to take care of everyone equally. This could not but influence the ideas of the ruler himself about his tasks and functions, as well as about the methods of their existence. Therefore, when Uruinimgina declares that the goal of his “reforms” is “so that the orphan and the widow are not harmed by the strong,” then one should see an echo of the ancient ideology of communal mutual assistance. This formula then wanders from one monument to another, acquiring a finished form in the "Laws of Hammurabi" Jacobson, V.A. Laws of Hammurabi as a source on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia: abstract. - Leningrad: 1988. - S. 40 ..
Purely legislative monuments developed from royal inscriptions, reporting, among other memorable deeds of the ruler, also about his "reforms," edicts "and other events of this kind. Establishments that had constant force and an unlimited duration stood out as an independent genre of cuneiform texts, which received a finished form under Hammurabi Yakobson, V.A. Laws of Hammurabi as a source on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia: abstract. - Leningrad: 1988. - S. 41 ..
The laws of Hammurabi were compiled taking into account the widespread mythological ideas about the ways to achieve "true happiness and good government" Volkov, I. M. The laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi. - M.: 1914. - S. 48 .. His wisdom was aimed at curbing the arbitrariness of those in power, the immense greed of the rich and powerful in relation to those who paid taxes to the royal treasury and supplied soldiers to the royal service. In the sources of the time of his reign, “decrees on the restoration of justice” are mentioned, which were aimed at counteracting the ruin and dispossession of community members, compensation for damage from natural disasters, as well as social disasters.
The preface to the articles of laws contains numerous religious formulas praising the gods and the king. At the same time, it is especially noted that the main features of Hammurabi, which make him a worthy ruler, are his humility before the gods and obedience to their will. Among the deeds of the king, first of all, the strengthening of temples is glorified. Apparently, royal power was considered divine in origin, and the king was, first of all, the executor of the will of the gods. The secular power of the king was closely connected with the power of the priesthood. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. - Access mode: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 19.05.2014..
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