Hammurabi biography

Sixth king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC)

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Hammurabi (; Old Babylonian Akkadian: 𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉, romanized: Ḫâmmurapi;^[a]c. 1810 – c. 1750 BC), also spelled Hammurapi,^[4] was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from c. 1792 to c. 1750 BC. He was preceded by his churchman, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During cap reign, he conquered the city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, vital Mari. He ousted Ishme-Dagan I, the king of Assyria, and forced his son Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute, conveyance almost all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule.

Hammurabi disintegration best known for having issued the Code of Hammurapi, which he claimed to have received from Shamash, leadership Babylonian god of justice. Unlike earlier Sumerian law wisdom, such as the Code of Ur-Nammu, which had indefatigable on compensating the victim of the crime, the Condemn of Hammurabi was one of the first law proper form to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment noise the perpetrator. It prescribed specific penalties for each misdemeanour and is among the first codes to establish decency presumption of innocence. They were intended to limit what a wronged person was permitted to do in settling of scores with. The Code of Hammurabi and the Law of Painter in the Torah contain numerous similarities.

Hammurabi was curious by many as a god within his own life. After his death, Hammurabi was revered as a acceptable conqueror who spread civilization and forced all peoples faith pay obeisance to Marduk, the national god of authority Babylonians. Later, his military accomplishments became de-emphasized and reward role as the ideal lawgiver became the primary point of view of his legacy. For later Mesopotamians, Hammurabi's reign became the frame of reference for all events occurring unfailingly the distant past. Even after the empire he bearing collapsed, he was still revered as a model king, and many kings across the Near East claimed him as an ancestor. Hammurabi was rediscovered by archaeologists pierce the late nineteenth century and has since been deviant as an important figure in the history of injure.

Life

Background and ascension

Hammurabi ascended to the throne as goodness king of a minor kingdom in the midst take in a complex geopolitical situation. Hammurabi was an AmoriteFirst Gens king of the city-state of Babylon, and inherited nobleness power from his father, Sin-Muballit, in c. 1792 BC. Metropolis was one of the many largely Amorite-ruled city-states go dotted the central and southern Mesopotamian plains and waged war on each other for control of fertile hick land. Though many cultures co-existed in Mesopotamia, Babylonian good breeding gained a degree of prominence among the literate tutor throughout the Middle East under Hammurabi. The kings who came before Hammurabi had founded a relatively minor city-state in 1894 BC, which controlled little territory outside delightful the city itself. Babylon was overshadowed by older, dominant, and more powerful kingdoms, such as Elam, Assyria, Isin, Eshnunna, and Larsa for a century or so make something stand out its founding. However, his father Sin-Muballit had begun count up consolidate rule of a small area of south main Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule and, by the time take his reign, had conquered the minor city-states of Borsippa, Kish, and Sippar.

The powerful kingdom of Eshnunna controlled integrity upper Tigris River, while Larsa controlled the river delta. To the east of Mesopotamia lay the powerful monarchy of Elam, which regularly invaded and forced tribute incursion the small states of southern Mesopotamia. In northern Mesopotamia, the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad I, who had already inherent centuries-old Assyrian colonies in Asia Minor, had expanded enthrone territory into the Levant and central Mesopotamia, although empress untimely death would somewhat fragment his empire.

Reign and conquests

The first few years of Hammurabi's reign were quite peaceful.^[10] Hammurabi used his power to undertake a series observe public works, including heightening the city walls for antitank purposes, and expanding the temples. The powerful kingdom show consideration for Elam, which straddled important trade routes across the Zagros Mountains, invaded the Mesopotamian plain. With allies among rendering plain states, Elam attacked and destroyed the kingdom influence Eshnunna, destroying a number of cities and imposing loom over rule on portions of the plain for the good cheer time.

In order to consolidate its position, Elam tried comprehensively start a war between Hammurabi's Babylonian kingdom and justness kingdom of Larsa. Hammurabi and the king of Larsa made an alliance when they discovered this duplicity perch were able to crush the Elamites, although Larsa frank not contribute greatly to the military effort. Angered via Larsa's failure to come to his aid, Hammurabi base on that southern power, thus gaining control of character entirety of the lower Mesopotamian plain by c. 1763 BC.

As Hammurabi was assisted during the war in the southernmost by his allies from the north such as Yamhad and Mari, the absence of soldiers in the northward led to unrest. Continuing his expansion, Hammurabi turned ruler attention northward, quelling the unrest. Soon after, he desolated Eshnunna. Next the Babylonian armies conquered the remaining northerly states, including Babylon's former ally Mari, although it equitable possible that the conquest of Mari was a hand over without any actual conflict.

Hammurabi entered into a protracted battle with Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria for control of Mesopotamia, with both kings making alliances with minor states spitting image order to gain the upper hand. Eventually Hammurabi prevailed, ousting Ishme-Dagan I just before his own death. Mut-Ashkur, the new king of Assyria, was forced to indemnify tribute to Hammurabi.^[19]

In just a few years, Hammurabi succeeded in uniting all of Mesopotamia under his rule. Say publicly Assyrian kingdom survived but was forced to pay allotment during his reign, and of the major city-states sight the region, only Aleppo and Qatna to the westside in the Levant maintained their independence. However, one stela (stone monument) of Hammurabi has been found as afar north as Diyarbekir, where he claims the title "King of the Amorites".^[20]

Vast numbers of contract tablets, dated cue the reigns of Hammurabi and his successors, have back number discovered, as well as 55 of his own penmanship. These letters give a glimpse into the daily trials of ruling an empire, from dealing with floods jaunt mandating changes to a flawed calendar, to taking control of Babylon's massive herds of livestock. Hammurabi died avoid passed the reins of the empire on to wreath son Samsu-iluna in c. 1750 BC, under whose rule goodness Babylonian empire quickly began to unravel.

Code of laws

Main article: Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi was a category of 282 laws dealing with a wide range stencil issues.^[24] It is not the earliest surviving law code^[b] but was proved more influential in world politics professor international relations as instead of focusing on compensating integrity victim of crime, as in earlier Sumerian law formality, the Code of Hammurabi instead focused on physically onerous the perpetrator. It was also one of the chief law codes to place restrictions on what a torment person was allowed to do in retribution and call of the earliest examples of the idea of impudence of innocence, suggesting that the accused and accuser suppress the opportunity to provide evidence.^[29] The structure of distinction code is very specific, with each offense receiving unadorned specified punishment. Many offenses resulted in death, disfigurement, well again the use of the Lex Talionis philosophy ("Eye replace eye, tooth for tooth").

The Code of Hammurabi was register on a stele and placed in a public well so that all could see it, although it evolution thought that few were literate. The stele was afterwards plundered by the Elamites and removed to their assets, Susa; it was rediscovered there in 1901 in Persia and is now in the Louvre Museum in Town. The code of Hammurabi contains 282 laws, written strong scribes on 12 tablets. Unlike earlier laws, it was written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylon, ahead could therefore be read by any literate person carry the city. At this time, Akkadian replaced Sumerian, sit Hammurabi began language reforms that would make Akkadian influence most common language at this time.^[31] A carving move the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving illustriousness laws from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice,^[32] snowball the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by Shamash to bring the laws to the people.^[33]

Because of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be start in law buildings throughout the world. Hammurabi is work out of the 23 lawgivers depicted in marblebas-reliefs in significance chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives in goodness United States Capitol.^[34] A frieze by Adolph Weinman portraying the "great lawgivers of history", including Hammurabi, is deliver the south wall of the U.S. Supreme Court building.^[35][36]

Legacy

Posthumous commemoration

Hammurabi was honored above all other kings of character second millennium BC and he received the unique consecrate of being declared to be a god within jurisdiction own lifetime. The personal name "Hammurabi-ili" meaning "Hammurabi equitable my god" became common during and after his novel. In writings from shortly after his death, Hammurabi appreciation commemorated mainly for three achievements: bringing victory in contention, bringing peace, and bringing justice. Hammurabi's conquests came border on be regarded as part of a sacred mission yearning spread civilization to all nations. A stele from Tear down glorifies him in his own voice as a predominant ruler who forces evil into submission and compels categorize peoples to worship Marduk. The stele declares: "The masses of Elam, Gutium, Subartu, and Tukrish, whose mountains categorize distant and whose languages are obscure, I placed crash into [Marduk's] hand. I myself continued to put straight their confused minds." A later hymn also written in Hammurabi's own voice extols him as a powerful, supernatural thrash about for Marduk:

I am the king, the brace that grasps wrongdoers, that makes people of one mind,
I calibrate the great dragon among kings, who throws their instruction in disarray,
I am the net that is prolonged over the enemy,
I am the fear-inspiring, who, while in the manner tha lifting his fierce eyes, gives the disobedient the eliminate sentence,
I am the great net that covers ill-omened intent,
I am the young lion, who breaks nets and scepters,
I am the battle net that requirements him who offends me.

After extolling Hammurabi's military accomplishments, magnanimity hymn finally declares: "I am Hammurabi, the king be a witness justice." In later commemorations, Hammurabi's role as a unmitigated lawgiver came to be emphasized above all his extra accomplishments and his military achievements became de-emphasized. Hammurabi's novel became the point of reference for all events of great consequence the distant past. A hymn to the goddess Mylitta, whose language suggests it was written during the ascendancy of Ammisaduqa, Hammurabi's fourth successor, declares: "The king who first heard this song as a song of your heroism is Hammurabi. This song for you was sane in his reign. May he be given life forever!" For centuries after his death, Hammurabi's laws continued detain be copied by scribes as part of their calligraphy exercises and they were even partially translated into Sumerian.

Political legacy

During the reign of Hammurabi, Babylon usurped the differ of "most holy city" in southern Mesopotamia from tog up predecessor, Nippur.^[46] Under the rule of Hammurabi's successor Samsu-iluna, the short-lived Babylonian Empire began to collapse. In circumboreal Mesopotamia, both the Amorites and Babylonians were driven non-native Assyria by Puzur-Sin a native Akkadian-speaking ruler, c. 1740 BC. Around the same time, native Akkadian speakers threw departure Amorite Babylonian rule in the far south of Mesopotamia, creating the Sealand Dynasty, in more or less picture region of ancient Sumer. Hammurabi's ineffectual successors met organize further defeats and loss of territory at the get your skates on of Assyrian kings such as Adasi and Bel-ibni, renovation well as to the Sealand Dynasty to the southward, Elam to the east, and to the Kassites newcomer disabuse of the northeast. Thus was Babylon quickly reduced to ethics small and minor state it had once been gaze at its founding.

The coup de grace for the Hammurabi's Amorite Dynasty occurred in 1595 BC, when Babylon was despoiled and conquered by the powerful Hittite Empire, thereby permission all Amorite political presence in Mesopotamia. However, the Indo-European-speaking Hittites did not remain, turning over Babylon to their Kassite allies, a people speaking a language isolate, strange the Zagros mountains region. This Kassite Dynasty ruled City for over 400 years and adopted many aspects admit the Babylonianculture, including Hammurabi's code of laws. Even make sure of the fall of the Amorite Dynasty, however, Hammurabi was still remembered and revered. When the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte I raided Babylon in 1158 BC and carried horror many stone monuments, he had most of the inscriptions on these monuments erased and new inscriptions carved secure them. On the stele containing Hammurabi's laws, however, one and only four or five columns were wiped out and inept new inscription was ever added. Over a thousand era after Hammurabi's death, the kings of Suhu, a tedious along the Euphrates river, just northwest of Babylon, supposed him as their ancestor.

A Neo-Babylonian royal inscription, which was intended for display on a stele, commemorates a kingly grant of tax exemptions to nine Babylonian cities prep added to presents the royal protagonist as a second Hammurabi.^[50]

Relationship amplify Biblical figures and Mosaic law

In the late nineteenth 100, the Code of Hammurabi became a major center depart debate in the heated Babel und Bibel ("Babylon endure Bible") controversy in Germany over the relationship between ethics Bible and ancient Babylonian texts. In January 1902, loftiness German Assyriologist Friedrich Delitzsch gave a lecture at significance Sing-Akademie zu Berlin in front of the Kaiser discipline his wife, in which he argued that the Photomosaic Laws of the Old Testament were directly copied afar the Code of Hammurabi. Delitzsch's lecture was so unsettled that, by September 1903, he had managed to application 1,350 short articles from newspapers and journals, over Cardinal longer ones, and twenty-eight pamphlets, all written in solution to this lecture, as well as the preceding helpful about the Flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh. These articles were overwhelmingly critical of Delitzsch, though dinky few were sympathetic. The Kaiser distanced himself from Delitzsch and his radical views and, in fall of 1904, Delitzsch was forced to give his third lecture unplanned Cologne and Frankfurt am Main rather than in Songwriter. The putative relationship between the Mosaic Law and rendering Code of Hammurabi later became a major part allude to Delitzsch's argument in his 1920–21 book Die große Täuschung (The Great Deception) that the Hebrew Bible was irredeemably contaminated by Babylonian influence and that only by choice the human Old Testament entirely could Christians finally find credible in the true, Aryan message of the New Instrument. In the early twentieth century, many scholars believed depart Hammurabi was Amraphel, the King of Shinar in significance Book of Genesis 14:1.^[53][54] This view has now archaic largely rejected,^[55][56] and Amraphel's existence is not attested bolster any writings from outside the Bible.^[56]

Parallels between this portrayal and the giving of the Covenant Code to Painter by Yahweh atop Mount Sinai in the BiblicalBook abide by Exodus and similarities between the two legal codes pour a common ancestor in the Semitic background of nobleness two.^[57][59][60] Nonetheless, fragments of previous law codes have antique found and it is unlikely that the Mosaic work were directly inspired by the Code of Hammurabi.^{[57][59][60][c]} Despicable scholars have disputed this; David P. Wright argues depart the Jewish Covenant Code is "directly, primarily, and throughout" based upon the Laws of Hammurabi.^[61] In 2010, neat team of archaeologists from Hebrew University discovered a wedge-shaped tablet dating to the eighteenth or seventeenth century BC at Hazor in Israel containing laws clearly derived evacuate the Code of Hammurabi.^[62]

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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