Hammurabi
Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC) was king of Babylonia, and the greatest ruler in the first Babylonian dynasty. He extended his empire northward from the Persian Gulf through the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys and westward to the coast of the
Mediterranean Sea. After consolidating his gains under a central government at Babylon, he devoted his energies to protecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of the empire. Hammurabi was the ruler of Mesopotamia. He is credited for uniting most of the area around mesopotamia.To acheive that Hammurabi sent several military campaigns. He also sent the campains to gain more of the tigris and euphrates river and mines.
The king began his military campaigns in 1787 BC by conquering the cities of Uruk and Isin to the south. He then turned his attention to the northwest and east. The power of Assyria prevented him from achieving any significant results, and for 20 years no major warlike activity was reported. He used the time to fortify cities on his northern borders.
The last 14 years of Hammurabi's reign were overshadowed by war. In 1763 he fought against a coalition east of the Tigris that threatened to block access to metal-producing areas in Iran. The same year he conquered the city of Larsa, which enabled him to take over the older Sumerian cities in the south. He followed this victory with the conquest of Mari, 250 miles (400 kilometers) upstream on the Euphrates. During his last two years the king concentrated on building defensive fortifications. By this time he was a sick man, and the government was in the hands of his son, Samsuiluna.
Hammurabi effected great changes in all spheres of life, mostly from the transformation of a small city-state into a large empire. Most of his rule was given to the establishment of law and order, religious buildings, irrigation projects, and defense works. He personally oversaw the administration of government. In doing so he failed to create a permanent bureaucratic system. This failure was a primary reason for the rapid deterioration of his empire after his death. Hammurabi's accomplishments are believed by historians to be exaggerated. This is partly because of the fame he gained when his law code was discovered. His lasting achievement was to shift the main theater of Mesopotamian history northward, where it remained for 1,000 years.
Throughout his long reign, he personally supervised navigation, irrigation, agriculture, tax collection, and the erection of many temples and other buildings. Although he was a successful military leader and administrator, Hammurabi is primarily remembered for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life called the Code of Hammurabi.
Mediterranean Sea. After consolidating his gains under a central government at Babylon, he devoted his energies to protecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of the empire. Hammurabi was the ruler of Mesopotamia. He is credited for uniting most of the area around mesopotamia.To acheive that Hammurabi sent several military campaigns. He also sent the campains to gain more of the tigris and euphrates river and mines.
The king began his military campaigns in 1787 BC by conquering the cities of Uruk and Isin to the south. He then turned his attention to the northwest and east. The power of Assyria prevented him from achieving any significant results, and for 20 years no major warlike activity was reported. He used the time to fortify cities on his northern borders.
The last 14 years of Hammurabi's reign were overshadowed by war. In 1763 he fought against a coalition east of the Tigris that threatened to block access to metal-producing areas in Iran. The same year he conquered the city of Larsa, which enabled him to take over the older Sumerian cities in the south. He followed this victory with the conquest of Mari, 250 miles (400 kilometers) upstream on the Euphrates. During his last two years the king concentrated on building defensive fortifications. By this time he was a sick man, and the government was in the hands of his son, Samsuiluna.
Hammurabi effected great changes in all spheres of life, mostly from the transformation of a small city-state into a large empire. Most of his rule was given to the establishment of law and order, religious buildings, irrigation projects, and defense works. He personally oversaw the administration of government. In doing so he failed to create a permanent bureaucratic system. This failure was a primary reason for the rapid deterioration of his empire after his death. Hammurabi's accomplishments are believed by historians to be exaggerated. This is partly because of the fame he gained when his law code was discovered. His lasting achievement was to shift the main theater of Mesopotamian history northward, where it remained for 1,000 years.
Throughout his long reign, he personally supervised navigation, irrigation, agriculture, tax collection, and the erection of many temples and other buildings. Although he was a successful military leader and administrator, Hammurabi is primarily remembered for his codification of the laws governing Babylonian life called the Code of Hammurabi.
Hammurabi`s Code
During the ancient times, the people of Mesopotamia lived under the rule of the Babylonian king, Hammurabi. Hammurabi created his code of laws, which consists of 282 laws, in the year 1750 BC. The Code of Hammurabi was inscribed on stone, which suggests that the King accepted the laws from the sun god, Shamash. The code of laws encouraged people to accept
authority of a king, who was trying to give common rules to govern the subjects' behavior.
The Code of Hammurabi begins with a prologue, which describes the time that Hammurabi first becomes king, as evident in this quote:
"Anu (King of Anunaki) and Bel (Lord of Heaven and Earth) called by nameme Hammurabi, the exalted prince...to bring about the rule of righteousnessinthe land to destroy the wicked and the evil doers so that the strong should not harm the weak so that I should rule over the black headed people likeShamash and enlighten the land to further the well being of mankind."
The actual laws range from public to private matters, with humane approaches to human problems. The laws include almost everything: marriage and family relations; negligence; fraud; commercial contracts; duties of public officials; property and inheritance; crimes and punishments; techniques of legal procedure; protection for women, children, and slaves; fairness in commercial exchanges; protection of property; standard procedures for adjudicating disputes; debt relief for victims of food and drought; and the list goes on to explain, in detail, each and every one of these instances.
The code of laws is then ended with a epilogue,where Hammurabi declares the he is the rightful king:
"Hammurabi is a ruler who is as a father to his subjects, who holds the words of Marduk in reverence, who has achieved conquest for Marduk over the north and south, who rejects the heart of Marduk, his lord, who has bestowed benefits for ever and ever on his subjects, and has established order in the land."
The code of laws applies to the entire Babylonian society. The penalties of the code varied according to the status of the victim. There were three classes in the Babylonian society: the patrician, who were the free men and women; the plebeians, who were the commoners; and the slaves. While the patricians were protected by the law of retaliation, the
lower classes received only monetary compensation.
The purpose of the Code of Hammurabi was to use political power to create common bonds among the diverse people of the society. It greatly influenced a total dependence on the power of their one ruler, and it was a conscious effort to exalt the king as the source, the only source, of earthly powers. It unified the empire by offering the standards for moral values, class structure, gender relationships, and religion. It was the most important of all Mesopotamian contributions to civilization.
authority of a king, who was trying to give common rules to govern the subjects' behavior.
The Code of Hammurabi begins with a prologue, which describes the time that Hammurabi first becomes king, as evident in this quote:
"Anu (King of Anunaki) and Bel (Lord of Heaven and Earth) called by nameme Hammurabi, the exalted prince...to bring about the rule of righteousnessinthe land to destroy the wicked and the evil doers so that the strong should not harm the weak so that I should rule over the black headed people likeShamash and enlighten the land to further the well being of mankind."
The actual laws range from public to private matters, with humane approaches to human problems. The laws include almost everything: marriage and family relations; negligence; fraud; commercial contracts; duties of public officials; property and inheritance; crimes and punishments; techniques of legal procedure; protection for women, children, and slaves; fairness in commercial exchanges; protection of property; standard procedures for adjudicating disputes; debt relief for victims of food and drought; and the list goes on to explain, in detail, each and every one of these instances.
The code of laws is then ended with a epilogue,where Hammurabi declares the he is the rightful king:
"Hammurabi is a ruler who is as a father to his subjects, who holds the words of Marduk in reverence, who has achieved conquest for Marduk over the north and south, who rejects the heart of Marduk, his lord, who has bestowed benefits for ever and ever on his subjects, and has established order in the land."
The code of laws applies to the entire Babylonian society. The penalties of the code varied according to the status of the victim. There were three classes in the Babylonian society: the patrician, who were the free men and women; the plebeians, who were the commoners; and the slaves. While the patricians were protected by the law of retaliation, the
lower classes received only monetary compensation.
The purpose of the Code of Hammurabi was to use political power to create common bonds among the diverse people of the society. It greatly influenced a total dependence on the power of their one ruler, and it was a conscious effort to exalt the king as the source, the only source, of earthly powers. It unified the empire by offering the standards for moral values, class structure, gender relationships, and religion. It was the most important of all Mesopotamian contributions to civilization.