The law of Hammurabi, or rather their whole code, which governed the life of the ancient Babylonian society, is considered to be the oldest source of law . They discovered it during one of the archaeological expeditions on the territory of Mesopotamia, between the legendary rivers Tigris and Euphrates. French archaeologists worked in Susa, one of the oldest cities in modern Iraq. Finds were
impressive: objects of
material culture, numerous clay tablets with mysterious cuneiform texts,
household utensils. Among them was a special item - a black basalt pillar 2.25 meters high. Its lower part was completely covered with cuneiform signs. Upstairs was a picture of the sun god Shamash. He passed some scroll to a man in royal attire.
The find was delivered to Paris, to the Louvre National Museum of France. Researchers immediately were delighted to decipher the mysterious inscriptions. It was an amazing creation of art and at the same time a memorial of ancient law, called "the laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi."
How did this legalist come about? In order to answer this question, you should take a look at the political map of the region. In the first half of the XVIII century. BC. Mesopotamia was a number of cities that often competed with each other. Hammurabi united these states into a single whole, stopped civil strife and chose Babylon as his capital. In order to centralize his power, he adopts his own set of rules and norms. This is the history of the laws of Hammurabi, but what is their essence?
The lawyer, who was handed over to the king by Shamash himself, consists of an introduction, articles (the total number of which is 282) and a conclusion. Their violation was considered a crime against the deity, so it was punished very severely. Hammurabi's law was to give Babylonia peace, justice and prosperity. The articles are compiled in casuistic form, that is, they describe not general norms, but concrete cases from life.
The Hammurabi Act affirmed the division of society into full and partial. They responded differently for the same crimes. The state used slave labor, and the dependent person was completely subordinate to the will of his master. However, the slave could have his own farm, family, and even enter into civil law transactions. The Hammurabi law contributed to the formation of the institution of private property, but it also regulated civil and family relations, heredity.
The criminal policy of the Babylonian state was also interesting. Hammurabi wanted to eradicate evil, he fought against criminals, atheists and villains. His laws called for retribution, for punishment, which was equal to the damage done. The principle, “eye for eye, tooth for tooth,” which is later found in the Bible, came from here. In addition, intimidation, a system of fines and a public court were used as a relic of the tribal system, and mitigating circumstances were taken into account.
Although the lawyer Hammurabi has been used for a rather short time, his influence on the development of the legal culture of the world is invaluable.