Sudebnik Hammurabi and its characteristics. Property and obligations on the foreground of King Hammurabi

Such archaeological artifacts, as the forensic Hammurabi, are unique. This code of laws was created in the middle of the XVIII century BC. In order to preserve it for descendants, the Babylonians dislodged the text on the basalt column, which was originally kept in the interfluve of the Tigris and the Euphrates. A few hundred years, when this power fell, the monument was transported to Susa. Now it is southwestern Iran. It was here that the Hammurabi judgment was found by French archaeologists during the expedition of 1901-1902.

Description of the monument

From the front, the post was scraped. This was done by the Elamites, who captured the pillar, moving to its capital east. The king of this people ordered to erase part of the original inscriptions, in order to inform about his great victory over Babylon in the liberated place.

Nevertheless, this does not prevent this monument from being the most ancient code of human laws. It is put on one shelf with other codes adopted by different cultures of the then world. For example, the Hammurabi judgment and the Manu laws adopted in India often become objects of mutual analysis. It is these documents that make it possible to understand what people lived then and how they looked at the world around them.

At the top of the column a graphic drawing is cut out. It depicts the king himself Hammurabi. He prays to the god of justice and sun Shamash, who grants the ruler these laws. The rest of the surface of the column is filled with the texts of the articles. There is also a conclusion.

The researchers divided this array into 282 articles. Due to the fact that part of the image was erased, only 247 were preserved. Already after 1902, archaeologists succeeded in finding the continuation of this text on clay tablets that were kept in other settlements of this region, as well as in the famous library of Nineveh.

History of creation

A few centuries before Hammurabi in Mesopotamia there was a centralized state. It was united around Sumer and Akkad. After the invasion of Amorite nomads from the nearby steppes, this formation collapsed. In its place appeared several small states, including Babylonian. In 1755 BC, King Hammurabi unified disparate kingdoms. In addition, he ruined Susa. It was after this important victory that King Hammurabi's forefather was issued.

Laws are an important source for knowledge of the law of the ancient East. The orders that appeared under Hammurabi lasted many centuries. Reform significantly strengthened the role of the state in the daily life of the inhabitants of the kingdom.

The inscriptions on the stone are written in the Babylonian dialect of the Akkadian language. At the same time, the opening and closing parts have a special rhythm.

The First Estate

Like other collections of laws, the forensic Hammurabi introduces a clear division of society into several social groups. The upper class was the inhabitants of small communities. These groups had the right to self-government. Each member of such an education received a piece of communal fertile land. This order existed already by the time of the accession of Hammurabi - he only confirmed this custom. The kings of Babylon did not interfere in their lives, much less tried to regulate the distribution of land. State officials were forbidden to touch these plots. Nevertheless, the communities consistently paid taxes to the tsarist treasury. These deductions accounted for a considerable part of the wealth of the Babylonian state. Sudebnik Hammurabi assigned to the ruler the right to appoint elders of the communities. On this, his influence on their lives was coming to an end. The property and obligations of King Hammurabi's forefather depended primarily on social status.

Within the communities, transactions with property were distributed. The land was sold, rented and made an object of usury. The size of the Avilum district (a resident of such a group) could range from 1 to 60 hectares.

The Second Estate

Representatives of the second estate were called mushkenums. This term denoted people who were not members of communities and did not have their own allotment. Therefore, they had to obtain state land and cultivate it, falling into a certain dependence on the power of the king. Often members of this class became ruined community residents who gave their own plot for debts.

Since Babylon was the cultural center of the entire region, the inhabitants of other countries were drawn here. For example, they were nomads who wanted to settle on the ground. For this they could receive an allotment from the tsar and be in his service. To the Mushkenums the noble officials in the civil service, and the poor peasants were equally treated.

The second estate did not have self-government. This meant that his life was completely ruled by the tsarist administration. The owners of state plots could be assigned to another place without warning. The property of the second estate, in comparison with the property of the Avilums, was much more strictly guarded, since it remained state property. For example, according to Article 8 , the theft of such property was punishable by a fine of tenfold. If the thief could not pay the state from his own purse, then he was killed.

The main sources of the Hammurabi forensic suggest that the size of the state-granted outfit depended on the position held by the person. The service of temple priestesses and merchants (tamkars) was most valued. Such people could receive from 12 to 75 hectares of land. The property and obligations of the forensic Hammurabi of those who were in the military service were also stipulated. Soldiers and artisans received a plot of 9 to 12 hectares. Cattlemen were content with the smallest areas.

Slaves

The third estate was made up of slaves, or warlords. These people had a boss who could freely dispose of their lives and free time. A small fine was charged for killing a slave.

The property and liabilities of the Hammurabi forerunner were spelled out in the most detailed manner. It concerned slaves. So, for example, for concealment of fugitive slaves, a person was punished with a heavy punishment until execution. The slaves who were accused of fighting with free residents were sentenced to cutting off the ear. And it could be done by their master.

The status of a slave was inherited, except for the case when a child was born from a free woman. If a person fell into the ownership of the state or the second estate, then his situation was not so severe. He could have a family. Slaves who were attributed to the community lived in harsh conditions, as the state did not interfere in their relations with the owners.

Belonging to a certain estate determined primarily the social position, and not the wealth of man. This is well traced by how much the life of the residents of the communities and those who worked for the state was valued. For example, if the healer treated Aviluma, he received a reward of 10 silver sicles. If his patient was mushkenum, then 5. For the health of the slave were given 2 shekly. If a doctor harmed the health of a community resident, he was cut off his hand.

Court

A general description of the Hammurabi judgment says that in Babylon a false accusation was very severely punished. It is with the description of such punishments that a list of articles on basalt stone begins. The first sentence says that if a person accused another of murder and could not prove it in court, he himself will be executed for denunciation. Such severity is explained by the principle of equal compensation (another name is talion). Many people know this rule by the phrase "an eye for an eye" or "a tooth for a tooth."

The Babylonians were very superstitious people. Therefore, accusations of witchcraft were common. Accused of such a crime had to plunge into a deep river, which according to religious views, the rule of the deity. It was this that determined the guilt of a person. If he was drowning, the prosecutor could take the sorcerer's house. The tradition of divine judgment was widespread not only in ancient societies. She also lived to the Middle Ages, when Christians determined the guilt of a person by whether his hand would survive dropping into boiling water.

The main sources of the Hammurabi Judge report on the strict responsibility of the judges. If the judge has made a decision and has already issued a document, confirmed by the seal, and after that he decided to reconsider the case, he paid a large fine and was deprived of his post. This practice was later applied in Rome.

If the court could not find a robber who deprived a person of his property, the community compensated the victim for his damage (article 23). This rule applied only to the Avilums. If a family member was killed, the free person received compensation from the community in the amount of one mine of silver (24 articles). This ancient measure was used in different cultures, for example in Greece, and everywhere it was calculated in different ways. In ancient Babylon, one mine was approximately 600 grams. These obligations under the Hammurabi forensic are one of the few items regulating the life of the community.

Strictly punished looting. For example, if there was a fire, and a neighbor came to the house of a free person to profit, then he could immediately be thrown into that same fire. This phrase is literal. That is, the description of the forensic Hammurabi says that the laws did not prohibit lynchings over criminals.

Physical punishment

The son who hit his father had to lose his hand. This and many other articles reproduce the principle that punished the "guilty" part of the body. For the poking of the eye by the court's decision also punctured the eye. The same was true for broken bones, broken teeth and other injuries.

For blow to the cheek of a man belonging to the upper class, sentenced to 60 lashes. If such a conflict arose between equals (for example, between mushkenums), then the culprit was punishable by a fine.

Wage labor and trade

A lot of articles were devoted to hack work and inattention. For example, if a carpenter built a wall, which later collapsed, then he had to erect it again at his own expense.

In Babylon, the services of boatmen who transported goods were very important. If due to their fault a ship with dates died, etc., then they were obliged to pay the owner the value of the deceased property. A general characteristic of Judiciary of King Hammurabi is that any wrongdoing was considered in the state court, which could determine the size of the penalty.

The laws that regulated wage labor also determined the cost of the services of craftsmen, artisans, builders, shepherds, etc. Fixed prices allowed to avoid conflicts between the parties to the transaction.

As mentioned above, the theft of state property was punishable by execution. Other things were considered to be theft. For example, if a person bought something from the son of Avilum. The thing was that the children could not dispose of the property of the family. In this case, such a transaction was equated with theft and was punishable by the death of the buyer. Also, deals that were not executed through an agreement were punished. The Code of Laws of Hammurabi generally strictly treated treaties. For example, a marriage that was not registered with the appropriate paper could not be considered legal.

Military service

People who ended up in the army of the tsar received an allotment, that is, they belonged to the second estate. They were called redums (they were also awarded cattle in addition to land) and bairums. The status of the military was inherited. If the military accumulated enough money, he could acquire private property, but at the same time he continued to serve. Transactions with state property, given in allotment, were banned. If someone bought it (for example, cattle), it was deprived not only of buying, but of its silver.

These soldiers were privates. They obeyed officers - hundreds and tens of thousands. In order for the army to have strict discipline, the state brutally punished hazing. Oppression of officers, including robbery, was punishable by death. The reins were heavily armed infantrymen, while the bairums received bows and became arrows.

A family

The upper estate lived in a strict family. Thus, the head of the clan could pledge his children or his wife. In addition, the man identified future spouses for his offspring. The woman was in a dependent position from the head of the family. Thus, according to Article 177, she was to remain faithful even to her deceased husband. Only women who became priestesses were independent. However, they could not start a family at all, devoting their lives to serving the gods (110 articles).

If the wife could not give birth to her husband, he could leave her. For this he needed to pay a ransom equal to the dowry brought from her father's house. After that, the divorce could be considered legal. In case if during the wedding the wife did not bathe at all, the husband should have left her one silver mine. The divorce was regulated by the court.

If the wife was of a stubborn character, did not obey her husband or publicly humiliated him, he had the right to divorce her without paying a ransom. In addition, the husband could leave her with him and marry a second time. At the same time, the ex-wife became a slave in his house.

But the court also defended his wife. For example, if the husband was drunk, loved to humiliate her, then the wife could apply to the court, which had the right to allow her to leave the house and take with her a dowry. Family members convicted of incest were burned at the stake. This was considered a terrible sin and blasphemy.

Conclusion

After the transfer of 282 articles on basalt stone follows the conclusion written on behalf of Hammurabi. In it, he lists the successes of his government and hopes that his laws will give happiness and tranquility to his country.

In conclusion, a general description of the forensic author Hammurabi is given. The king states that his laws are necessary so that no one can oppress the weak. He also states that justice should be for everyone - from nobles to orphans and widows.

In his appeals the king often calls himself excellent, excellent and wise. The source of this confidence is that the king believed that the laws were given to him by the gods, including Shamash, Marduk, and so on.

A general description of the laws of the forensic Hammurabi is given in the very last paragraph. The Sovereign believed that in their execution, an ideal order and a perfect society are possible, which will exist until the end of the centuries.