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CODE OF HAMMURABI.
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Examines historical significance of ancient Babylonian ruler & the Code which established & defined social & economic relations.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines historical significance of ancient Babylonian ruler & the Code which established & defined social & economic relations.
Paper Introduction:
This research will examine the historical importance of the Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, with special reference to the Code of Hammurabi. The research will set forth the historical and cultural context in which the Code emerged and discuss why it remains of decisive importance and relevance to the modern period in general and to the shape of modern Western civilization in particular.
Core postulates of Western culture encourage knowledge of the universe, an impulse toward certainty about the position of people in the universe, and implications of that position. While the cultural divide between Western thought as articulated in and by ancient Greek civilization and the thought and praxis of the ancient civilizations preceding that of Greece seems clear, something approaching a postulate of a knowable cosmos also can be di
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Thus, the integrity of the military man'sproperty is preserved, and the legal status of his family, including hiswife, is specifically articulated. Anyone who does buy such land has to return the money (Edwards 34)--not, presumably, to the purchaser but to the king. An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown (Lords & Commons), 1689. In a society that relies on successfulagriculture, the effect of failing to protect the interests of the statecould well be mass starvation--certainly for the populace, possibly for theking. But the commitment to organizing society around asystematic and publicly understood set of rules remains constant. . based on the primitive "eye for an eye" principle, were graded accordingly. One is that meaningful power and wealth are concentrated in theking and reinforced by a highly visible military force. Wellsdescribes farmers in both Babylonia and Egypt as "the large and mostnecessary class in the community," with a social status inferior only tothe priesthood and the secular ruling/military class (Wells 199-2 ). 2d ed. Military expeditions appear to lie exclusively at royal discretion,for repeated references are made to the fact that soldiers may be obligedto fight, in person, on the king's behalf (Edwards 32-33). Iffamily members (particularly sons) can manage the fields for their father,they can realize full benefit from the lands (Edwards 32). The assertion of power thus becomes of paramount importance, andfailure to assist the king in maintaining food stores of the populace istherefore critical. The Hammurabi Code and the Sinaitic Legislation, with a Complete Translation of the Great Babylonian Inscription Discovered at Susa. Personal loyalty to the king is in thebackground of the statement that military officers may not hire mercenarysoldiers to fight in their place (Edwards 33) and that the penalty for acommander who attempts to man an army with mercenaries will be execution. Wells characterizesHammurabi's rule as "a firm grip upon the affairs of the community," duringwhich he was able to consolidate power over the whole of Mesopotamia andpromulgate a code of law recognized as the first of its kind in humanhistory (Wells 184). In return for absolute loyalty,the king maintains the soldier's property claims at home. Such documents as the MagnaCarta, the British Bill of Rights (Great Britain 1 36), the Declaration ofIndependence ("Declaration"), the Declaration of the Rights of Man (France1 48), the U.S. Slavery also existed. Encyclopedia Britannica (Britannica 3 Sampler). Women in such a situation, while unable to inheritduring their sons' lifetime, do receive a kind of "administratrix fee" fortheir efforts on behalf of their sons and absent husband, in the form of athird of the estate (Edwards 32). The Outline of History, Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. He focuses onconquest of the city of Babylon by the Persian kings Darius and Cyrus, inthe 6th Century B.C. The reason is not explicitly stated, though it can be inferred thatpropertied women who married more than once could complicate inheritancepractices. . Only property that the soldier may have acquiredindependent of his status as royal vassal could be freely transferred. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 1789. There were wealthy landed magnates, a priest class, petty landowners, tenants bound to the soil . 2 . Revised and Brought up to Date by Raymond Postgate and G.P. Theresearch will set forth the historical and cultural context in which theCode emerged and discuss why it remains of decisive importance andrelevance to the modern period in general and to the shape of modernWestern civilization in particular. Theconceptual details of law codes of 2 B.C. This research will examine the historical importance of the Babylonianruler Hammurabi, with special reference to the Code of Hammurabi. say that Hammurabi wasBabylonia's sixth king, ruling 1947-19 5 B.C. Royal appreciationof the value of this support is expressed through royal gifts of the mostvaluable commodity in the ancient world: farm land. . 1975."Declaration of Independence." Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1971. Other sources add the following: Class distinctions were recognized. In no case will the land itself be forfeit. The Histories. An inscription shows Hammurabireceiving the Code from its "nominal promulgator, the god Shamash" (Wells184), evidence of the fusion of divine and secular authority. But thefact that they are encoded and written down shows that government and statealike were meant to understand and abide by a shared and unambiguousconcept of government authority, prerogative, and obligation. But thefailure of the first Babylonian Empire does not dilute the contributionthat the Code made to the development of social organization inMesopotamia. He can neither mortgage his property norsign over his fields to his wife or daughters (Edwards 32) while he isalive. . Such provisions in the Code illustrate and explain Hammurabi'sreputation as a just ruler, indeed a champion of the potentially powerless(Edwards 23). Thisis most specifically stated in Paragraph 33, which provides for ransom ofcaptured military men. Wells. If they areminors, their mother can manage these same lands until they reach theirmajority (Edwards 32). The Hammurabi Code expresses three overlapping elements of ancientsociety. National Assembly. "Ideas--The Nuclear Freeze and the Millenium Waiting for the Apocalypse: The Evangelical Right and the Bomb." Boston Globe 2 May 1982, sec. While thesoldier is on a military campaign, others may only manage his farm fields(Edwards 32). The overarching point is that civilization in theMesopotamian context is coeval with mechanisms of survival and power. That is, the king and only the king, not hisgenerals, ministers, or bureaucrats, can exercise authority over theproperty of his soldiers. The king emerges as a protector of the soldier as well. In view of otherprohibitions against the transfer of land granted to military men by royaldecree, this makes enormous administrative sense. Theeffect of such a provision is to protect the family of the soldier as wellas royal interest in the property. Provisions of the Code appearmeant to effect a high level of rational social and political organizationthat would serve the quality of life in Babylonia. A soldier who fails to work his land for three years isdeemed to have failed the land itself; consequently, anyone who steps in tofill the void becomes entitled to all the benefits the properly tilled landprovides. Thus, field commanders who send their men intobattle in the expectation that they will not return, and later try toappropriate their estate, are subject to execution (Edwards 33-4). (8). Undoubtedly, the Code was the highest and best articulation of socialorganization in Mesopotamia, and its historical importance owes somethingto the fact that it is the oldest such code ever discovered. By the same token, a soldier who sold livestock given him by royalgrant would forfeit the proceeds of the sale, presumably to the king(Edwards 34); no cash sale of a soldier's land could be executed (Edwards34). This contradiction may be explained in two ways.The land may not be land-granted by the king to the soldier as his vassalbut must be land that the soldier may have acquired on his own during hislifetime. The former explanation seems more likely; that is, realand personal property in which the king has some direct interest asBabylonian-style sovereign must remain "in the family" as well as subjectto royal discretion. Refusal toserve is considered disloyalty and has a quite practical twofold effect:death and deprivation of property. But . The first Babylonian Empire was distinguished by the Code ofHammurabi. In any case, royal prerogative over arable land supersedes thatof royal vassals. While the cultural dividebetween Western thought as articulated in and by ancient Greek civilizationand the thought and praxis of the ancient civilizations preceding that ofGreece seems clear, something approaching a postulate of a knowable cosmosalso can be discerned in the first high civilizations of the Near East,notably Egypt and Mesopotamia. An apparent contradiction of the provision that a soldier may not sellland or property granted him by the king (Edwards 34) arises in the laterprovision that a soldier may sell his property to government officials orbusinessmen (Edwards 34). The stonecuneiform engraving containing the Code was unearthed only in 19 2("Code"). Obligations are not all on one side. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On the other hand, a soldierwho fails to work his land for only one year may reclaim it even thoughothers (i.e., strangers, not family) had taken over the land inanticipation of reaping its benefits. . Encyclopedia Britannica (Britannica 3 Sampler). Themodern Western nation-states do not articulate their authority in terms ofdivine right or royal prerogative but rather in terms of individual rightsand mutual obligations of justice and fairness. But the precise yearsare less important than what Hammurabi's reign--and especially the Code--represent in the context of Western civilization. Wells describes the early empires almost entirely in terms of conquestand counterconquest, a "history of warring kings and republics" (Wells148). Parliament. To the extent these interests are one,the king positions himself as the protector of otherwise powerless peoplein the society. The Code deals extensively with property rights--particularly of menwho serve in the Babylonian armed forces. When he returns, he may resume authority over his lands. 1 36-1 38."Hammurabi." Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. However, the land might be transferred to what one may refer toas "the right sort" of person in the Babylonian class system. Further, the clay tableton which the sale was recorded would be destroyed; the contract would bebroken in a quite literal sense. To be sure, the king prefers that a ransomed soldierrepay a ransom from sale of his property or his farming income; failingthat, however, municipal or royal coffers will provide for the ransom(Edwards 33). One account of Hammurabi's life explains that, once he establishedhis military gains throughout Mesopotamia, he "devoted his energies toprotecting his frontiers and fostering the internal prosperity of theempire" ("Hammurabi"). Wells calls Hammurabi Babylonia's first "great king" (141) andlocates his reign around 21 B.C. Trans. 1975.Edwards, Chilperic, ed. Accordingly, a soldier whopreferred military adventurism to the needs of agricultural life was deemedsocially irresponsible enough to be penalized. would logically be differentfrom those of A.D. (Herodotus 117-18). Herodotus, writing to a Greek audience in the early 4th CenturyB.C., does not appear to have been aware of Hammurabi. The value of land is tangible,while the value of gold and silver is, over the long haul, lesspredictable. 1975.Hayes, Carlton J.H., Baldwin, Marshall Whithed, and Cole, Charles Woolsey. Subsistence agriculture and empire, coeval at 21 -17 B.C., aremore or less polar opposites in the modern period; subsistence agriculture,indeed, has no modern political content today except perhaps an indictmentof the great gap between the nation-state "haves" of empire, technology,and agribusiness, as against the nation-state "have-nots" of subsistencefarming or developing technology. Thenthere is the value of the land itself. General Assembly, 1948. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat, 1971.France. 1 49-1 5 .Wells, H.G. [w]oman's position was generally higher than in other lands . Historians agree that the Code represented a systematic attempt tofoster disinterested, impartial state governance--at least as the conceptwas understood in a context of the fusion of autocracy, patriarchy, andtheocracy. . History of Western Civilization. This implies, too, that the king would not expect a soldier to servein foreign wars for more than three years. Another source datesHammurabi's reign at 175 -17 8 B.C. Although such non-Westernsocieties as the Islamic republics function as theocracies, theocracy as adefining vision of governance has been abandoned as national policy in theWest, except perhaps by Western religious fundamentalists who articulateits benefits and warn of Doomsday if it is not embraced (Franklin 1). The military-agricultural content ofBabylonian citizenship and the feudal relationship between governmentapparatus and individual property have in the modern period long beenreplaced by such trade-offs for government service as veterans' benefitsand symbolic recognition at national holidays. . London: Penguin, 1972.United Nations. This explanation is further supported by items in the Code thatmaintain the absolute nature of the royal prerogatives of property as theyrelate to military service. Continuity of Western civilization with the Code of Hammurabi comesprincipally at the level of ideas and principles. New York: Macmillan, 1967.Herodotus. TheCode also reflects the political realities of the ancient world inasmuch asit was characterized by various wars of conquest or defense and territorialexpansion. Why would the king, whomay have ransomed an officer, wish to sell his own land, a permanent asset,for cash, a relatively short-term asset? Discontinuitycan be discerned chiefly in the practical physical details of ancientBabylon. How this land may betreated, inherited, and valued is the basis for the detailed provisions ofthe Code governing the use of the land by its military beneficiaries. (Hammurabi 166). Hayes, Baldwin, and Cole cite "what was to become a remarkablecentralized administration" under Hammurabi, even though the BabylonianEmpire fell into factional disarray fairly quickly after his death, openingthe way for the Hittite destruction of Babylon in 175 B.C. Indeed, anymisfortune that might befall a military expedition is considered the king'smisfortune, not the soldiers'. 2 vols. Focus: 1.Great Britain. No protections offered to the property of a loyal military officerrelieve the officer of his responsibility to maintain the land itself.Implicit in the obligations imposed on the trustee of the land is theoverweening importance of successful agriculture. The Code specificallyprovides for penalties associated with a military man's failure to work theland properly. Aubrey de Selincourt. Punishments, often severe, and . Provisions of the law relating tothe military class begin with the fact that men are required to serve inthe armed forces if asked to do so by the king (Edwards 32). Core postulates of Western culture encourage knowledge of theuniverse, an impulse toward certainty about the position of people in theuniverse, and implications of that position. Bill of Rights, and Universal Declaration of Human Rights("United Nations") are vastly different from the Code of Hammurabi becausethey focus more on obligations of citizens to one another and on governmentobligation to citizens than on citizen obligations to government. The Code articulates inhighly idiosyncratic, detailed, and practical terms what were to evolveinto principles of governance and citizenship in Western civilization. . 1 48.Franklin, James L. The Code text reflects practical realities of the physical environmentof Babylonia, which was dominated by subsistence agriculture. religion and government were theoretically inseparable and the king's power was considered to be of divine origin, a regard for individual rights and property moderated an otherwise autocratic governmental system (Hayes, Baldwin, and Cole 1 ). Hayes et al. Encyclopedia Britannica (Britannica 3 Sampler). From the vantage point of the late 2 th century, the Code can beinterpreted in terms of both continuity and discontinuity. Works Cited"Code of Hammurabi." Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. Thus, although . If one assumes (as one must from the focus of the Code on agriculture)that ancient Babylonia, for all its vaunted royal richness, might have beenon the brink of famine except for vigilant tillage and protection of thefields, then the codified protection of military men's rights in their farmland makes sense. Wells cites Hammurabi's enunciation of the Code in terms of "theutmost politeness to the gods" (184). This entailed attention to everything from taxcollection to irrigation and agriculture. . The Code detailspreservation of a loyal military man's rights to his property. A governmentbureaucrat or a businessman (of the correct social standing) might bedeemed suitable. The importance of successfulagriculture to the preservation of the community cannot be overestimated.Agriculture is the most visible symbol of ancient culture. Most important, however, about the connection between the Code ofHammurabi and the mainstream lines of Western thought, are principles ofgovernment and citizen obligations and rights. So great is the desire to maintain the integrity of amilitary man's property that the soldier himself is restricted as to theways he can transfer ownership. .
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