( Log Out /  If he hire a young animal for threshing, the hire is ten ka of corn. If a herdsman, to whose care cattle or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss. If the prisoner die in prison from blows or maltreatment, the master of the prisoner shall convict the merchant before the judge. who went to extinguish the fire saw, wanted, and looted any of the property Her estate belongs to her brothers. If a chieftain or a man is captured on the “Way of the King” (in war), and a merchant buy him free, and bring him back to his place; if he have the means in his house to buy his freedom, he shall buy himself free: if he have nothing in his house with which to buy himself free, he shall be bought free by the temple of his community; if there be nothing in the temple with which to buy him free, the court shall buy his freedom. house. If a man marry a woman and she bear him no sons; if then this woman die, if the “purchase price” which he had paid into the house of his father-in-law is repaid to him, her husband shall have no claim upon the dowry of this woman; it belongs to her father’s house. If any one place his property with another for safe keeping, and there, either through thieves or robbers, his property and the property of the other man be lost, the owner of the house, through whose neglect the loss took place, shall compensate the owner for all that was given to him in charge. His adoptive father shall give him of his wealth one-third of a child’s portion, and then he may go. be paid forty grams of silver. 124. 61. But the owner of the house shall try to follow up and recover his property, and take it away from the thief. The following are just some of the laws contained in the Code of Hammurabi. 199. If a slave say to his master: “You are not my master,” if they convict him his master shall cut off his ear. on whose ground and territory and in whose domain it was compensate him for the goods stolen. his father, both of them shall be executed by burning. If a fire breaks out in a free person's house and another free person The verdicts could be very harsh indeed, and Columbia University professor Marc van de Mieroop notes in his book \"King Hammurabi of Babylon\" (Blackwell Publishing, 2005) that the death penalty is listed as punishment no fewer than 30 times. 195. 41. I am the shepherd who brings well-being and abundant prosperity; my rule 232. If any one hire oxen, cart and driver, he shall pay one hundred and eighty ka of corn per day. If the thief is not caught, the city of the free person who has been robbed 264. If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death. Let these curses be unalterable, and let them quickly overtake the kings 42. If he has not taught him his craft, this adopted son may return to his father’s house. Electronic Text at K. C. Hanson's Collection Hammurabi's Code of Laws 141. If it ruin goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined, and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and it fell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means. by name for the welfare of the people: To cause justice to appear in the world, to destroy the evil and the wicked the interest. 229. The Code of Hammurabi is the longest-surviving text from the Old Babylonian period. If any one give another silver, gold, or anything else to keep, he shall show everything to some witness, draw up a contract, and then hand it over for safe keeping. 162. If he take the seed-corn for himself, and do not use the yoke of oxen, he shall compensate him for the amount of the seed-corn. 183. 251. 107. The tight boat he shall give to the boat owner. or . . 15. For the complete list of 282 laws in the original The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabi’s Code), created ca. 122. 254. shall be put to death. 10. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser. If there are no mercantile arrangements in the place whither he went, he shall leave the entire amount of money which he received with the broker to give to the merchant. 26. person who is a minor, or from a free person's slave, without a contract signed The son of the wife is to partition and choose. They seem to have been written by the king of … 232. 111. Her brothers can raise no claim thereto. Whatever she leaves shall belong to her children. If a . 138. Like the laws of today, Hammurabi's Code lays out specific punishments for specific crimes. 131. If a man take a wife, and she be seized by disease, if he then desire to take a second wife he shall not put away his wife, who has been attacked by disease, but he shall keep her in the house which he has built and support her so long as she lives. 48. If a merchant entrust money to an agent (broker) for some investment, and the broker suffer a loss in the place to which he goes, he shall make good the capital to the merchant. If he put out the eye of a man’s slave, or break the bone of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value. If a free person has pawned anything without a contract signed by witnesses, Hammurabi then created his code of laws, which consists of 282 laws, in the year 1750 BC. . If a free person puts out the eye or breaks the bone of a civil-servant, If this woman bear sons to her second husband, in the place to which she went, and then die, her earlier and later sons shall divide the dowry between them. If he kill the cattle or sheep that were given to him, he shall compensate the owner with cattle for cattle and sheep for sheep. If a free person steals ordinary property, such as an ox or a sheep, from 8. or even enters a bar for drink, that priestess shall be executed by burning. If a priestess who does not live in the temple owns and operates a bar The code, written in cuneiform was displayed on huge pillars near If a woman of the free class lose her child by a blow, he shall pay five shekels in money. The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia, dated to about 1754 BC (Middle Chronology). This famous set of laws is known as Hammurabi’s Code, a set of 282 laws that were made public for all inhabitants of the empire to know and understand. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death. 227. I, Hammurabi, have been called by the great deities. If any one bring an accusation of any crime before the elders, and does not prove what he has charged, he shall, if it be a capital offense charged, be put to death. If a son strike his father, his hands shall be hewn off. The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating back to about 1772 BC.It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. Claude Hermann Walter Johns, M.A. The Code of Hammurabi at Sacred-texts.com, L.W. If a “sister of a god,” or a prostitute, receive a gift from her father, and a deed in which it has been explicitly stated that she may dispose of it as she pleases, and give her complete disposition thereof: if then her father die, then she may leave her property to whomsoever she pleases. The son of a paramour in the palace service, or of a prostitute, can not be demanded back. Her estate belongs to her brothers. gerahs, . 193. 11. 139. If he be a freed man he shall give her one-third of a mina of gold. 265. 273. If it kill a slave of the owner, then he shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house. If any one hire a herdsman for cattle or sheep, he shall pay him eight gur of corn per annum. If a free person helps a slave of either a palace or a civil-servant escape, 278. 152. If any one have a claim for corn or money upon another and imprison him; if the prisoner die in prison a natural death, the case shall go no further. 210. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall ... 3. If the owner do not bring witnesses to identify the lost article, he is an evil-doer, he has traduced, and shall be put to death. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. 169. 55. 158. If any one buy the field, garden, and house of a chieftain, man, or one subject to quit-rent, his contract tablet of sale shall be broken (declared invalid) and he loses his money. ( Log Out /  CODE OF LAWS 1. 127. 205. King, translator. 44. 222. . 138. If the man die of his wound, he shall swear similarly, and if he (the deceased) was a free-born man, he shall pay half a mina in money. . The Code of Hammurabi is the longest surviving text from the Old Babylonian period. 251. This is meant to create equity in the way that punishments are meted out. 16. 210. If a physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off. 198. 267. be liable for the damages. 1780 B.C.E., is one of the earliest sets of laws found and one of the best preserved examples of this type of document from ancient Mesopotamia.The code is a collection of the legal decisions made by Hammurabi during his reign as king of Babylon, inscribed on a stele. 101. He may, however, assign a field, garden, or house which he has bought, and holds as property, to his wife or daughter or give it for debt. If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina. If any one take money from a merchant, and give the merchant a field tillable for corn or sesame and order him to plant corn or sesame in the field, and to harvest the crop; if the cultivator plant corn or sesame in the field, at the harvest the corn or sesame that is in the field shall belong to the owner of the field and he shall pay corn as rent, for the money he received from the merchant, and the livelihood of the cultivator shall he give to the merchant. If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall ... 3. If any one deceive a barber, and have him mark a slave not for sale with the sign of a slave, he shall be put to death, and buried in his house. shall be executed. If any one hire an ox-driver, he shall pay him six gur of corn per year. If a father devote his daughter as a wife of Mardi of Babylon (as in 181), and give her no present, nor a deed; if then her father die, then shall she receive one-third of her portion as a child of her father’s house from her brothers, but Marduk may leave her estate to whomsoever she wishes. Here are the most relevant laws of the Code of Hammurabi: 1. The government promoted laws to ill treat slaves like former prisoners of war and the families of such people. If any one hire oxen for a year, he shall pay four gur of corn for plow-oxen. 40. . 153. 244. 34. 22. 154. If a “sister of a god” open a tavern, or enter a tavern to drink, then shall this woman be burned to death. [ A tooth for a tooth ]. has, she may take her dowry and return to her father's house. 140. 212. 250. If the person is a slave, the owner shall pay sixteen grams of silver for drawing up a contract signed by witnesses before completing the transaction. Penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of … If a man give his child to a nurse and the child die in her hands, but the nurse unbeknown to the father and mother nurse another child, then they shall convict her of having nursed another child without the knowledge of the father and mother and her breasts shall be cut off. If a chieftain or a man be caught in the misfortune of a king, if his son is able to enter into possession, then the field and garden shall be given to him, he shall take over the fee of his father. . 63. enter himself as withdrawn from the “Way of the King,” and send a mercenary as substitute, but withdraw him, then the . 25. If any one, who has brought chattels into his father-in-law’s house, and has paid the purchase-money, looks for another wife, and says to his father-in-law: “I do not want your daughter,” the girl’s father may keep all that he had brought. stolen property. 112. 132. the loss. the judge shall be publicly expelled from office. . If a surgeon performs a major operation which saves the life of a free Almost completely preserved, the code is far more significant in legal history than any of its forerunners. fails to raise a crop in the field, that person must pay the landlord an amount 1. If any one buy a male or female slave, and a third party claim it, the seller is liable for the claim. 117. The Code of Hammurabi This law code dates from approximately 1800 BCE. 228. If a man strike a free-born woman so that she lose her unborn child, he shall pay ten shekels for her loss. If he knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina. If the cultivator do not plant corn or sesame in the field, the debtor’s contract is not weakened. the grain at the rate of exchange set by the king; if the merchant tries to mine, governing the world in justice. If a slave says to the master, "you are not my master," the 163. at a higher rate, that merchant shall forfeit both the capital and the interest. If any one hire a cart alone, he shall pay forty ka of corn per day. 221. If a man do not give a dowry to his daughter by a concubine, and no husband; if then her father die, her brother shall give her a dowry according to her father’s wealth and secure a husband for her. of a ropemaker four gerahs, of . If the river succeeds in dragging him, his accuser will take away his property. Many historians have argued that the Hammurabi Code is in actual fact more of an anecdote of the judgements Hammurabi passed when faced with a situation. Around 1792 BCE, Hammurabi became the king of Babylon. He created a strong empire, but to hold his vast empire in Mesopotamia together he had to create rules of law. on my monument. If she is guiltless, and there is no fault on her part, but he leaves and neglects her, then no guilt attaches to this woman, she shall take her dowry and go back to her father’s house. 92. pay one mina of silver to their relatives. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. both the female slave and her sons shall be given their freedom. If a merchant loans grain or silver at one rate but later tries to collect He created a strong empire, but to hold his vast empire in Mesopotamia together he had to create rules of law. own, then the sons have no right to share in the paternal inheritance; but 120. If a man has stolen a child, he shall be put to death. A partial copy exists on a 2.25-metre-tall (7.4 ft) stone stele. If he were a slave his owner shall pay the physician two shekels. If after the flocks have left the pasture and been shut up in the common fold at the city gate, any shepherd let them into a field and they graze there, this shepherd shall take possession of the field which he has allowed to be grazed on, and at the harvest he must pay sixty gur of corn for every ten gan. If any man, without the knowledge of the owner of a garden, fell a tree in a garden he shall pay half a mina in money. 243. If a man be taken prisoner in war and there be no sustenance in his house and his wife go to another house and bear children; and if later her husband return and come to his home: then this wife shall return to her husband, but the children follow their father. 3. everlasting kingdom, with foundations laid strong as those of heaven and earth. 43. 161. If they are from another country, the buyer shall declare the amount of money paid therefor to the merchant, and keep the male or female slave. He who buys the utensils of the children of a widow shall lose his money, and the goods shall return to their owners. 64. If an inn-keeper furnish sixty ka of usakani-drink to . If any one fail to meet a claim for debt, and sell himself, his wife, his son, and daughter for money or give them away to forced labor: they shall work for three years in the house of the man who bought them, or the proprietor, and in the fourth year they shall be set free. entire house caves in, the carpenter shall rebuild it free of charge. If any one hire a ship of sixty gur, he shall pay one-sixth of a shekel in money as its hire per day. 1792-1750 b.c.e), Babylonia's most famous king, is of more interest for the code of laws bearing his name than for his military and political triumphs. The judge shall examine their testimony–both of the witnesses before whom the price was paid, and of the witnesses who identify the lost article on oath. but later a natural disaster destroys the crop, the cultivator must stand If a . hundred liters for a free person, that shipwright shall be paid sixteen grams Find in this title: Find again. 142. 15. If any one store corn for safe keeping in another person’s house, and any harm happen to the corn in storage, or if the owner of the house open the granary and take some of the corn, or if especially he deny that the corn was stored in his house: then the owner of the corn shall claim his corn before God (on oath), and the owner of the house shall pay its owner for all of the corn that he took. 2. relations but cannot prove the charge, that free person shall be publicly If he have no money to repay, then he shall pay in corn or sesame in place of the money as rent for what he received from the merchant, according to the royal tariff. 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