Ancient Mesopotamia, the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now western Iraq and eastern Syria, is considered to be the cradle of civilization—home of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, as well as the great Code of Hammurabi. The Code was only part of a rich juridical culture from 2200–1600 BCE that saw the invention of writing and the development of its relationship to law, among other remarkable firsts. Though ancient history offers inexhaustible riches, Dominique Charpin focuses here on the legal systems of Old Babylonian Mesopotamia and offers considerable insight into how writing and the law evolved together to forge the principles of authority, precedent, and documentation that dominate us to this day. As legal codes throughout the region evolved through advances in cuneiform writing, kings and governments were able to stabilize their control over distant realms and impose a common language—which gave rise to complex social systems overseen by magistrates, judges, and scribes that eventually became the vast empires of history books. Sure to attract any reader with an interest in the ancient Near East, as well as rhetoric, legal history, and classical studies, this book is an innovative account of the intertwined histories of law and language.

v. 13: Late old Babylonian documents and letters, by Jacob. J. Finkelstein.

The Code of Hammurabi (Codex Hammurabi) is a well-preserved ancient law code, created ca. 1790 BC (middle chronology) in ancient Babylon. It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, inscribed on a seven foot, four inch tall basalt stele in the Akkadian language in the cuneiform script. One of the first written codes of law in recorded history. These laws were written on a stone tablet standing over eight feet tall (2.4 meters) that was found in 1901.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 edition. Excerpt: ...impossible to make out the name (see Nos. 83 and 134, Vol. VI, Plates X and VIII6). The inscription never contains an addition to the name 1 Der imr-gul ah Notar in Nippur, O. L. Z., 1907, col. 175-181. 2 But before the female witnesses, cf. 6: 24, 25. Exceptions to the rule we find only on Nos. 39 and 40. In the first instance the burgul is separated from the dubsar by but one person; in the second he occupies the regular place of the oflicial persons at the end of the list of witnesses. Compare also C. T., 32o: 18 and 19 (Sippar), where the fujzdnu (li. 18) and the dubsar (li. 19) follow the male witnesses (li. 14-17), but precede the female witnesses (li. 20 and 21); the same persons occur R., 22: 25 and 26 after the witnesses 17-24. In the Tell Sifr documents the Jiazunu is usually the first witness and in one case also the scribe. 3 See Plate II and compare with Vol. VI, 1, Plate X. Cf., e. g., No. 6 with Nos. 29, 70, etc. 1 Only then the inscription has a latitudinal direction when so much space was left that the inscription could be reproduced in full (or nearly so). Cf. No. 34. On the tablet from Yokha (No. 8) the seal impressions show the same direction as on the Nippur tablets, and likewise (but sometimes only partially) on a considerable number of tablets in the Berlin Museum which I have examined. This fact should be noticed in the determination of their provenance. denoting a religious confession, like "servant of this or that divinity," which is so frequently found on cylinders, but confines itself, on account of its official character, to strictly legal designations, i.e., the kunya; and not infrequently the statement of the vocation, which stands before the kunga, e.g.: The most remarkable feature, however, is...

New translations of fifty transliterated texts for research and classroom use This collection of sixth-century B.C.E. Mesopotamian texts provides a close-up, often dramatic, view of ancient courtroom encounters shedding light on Neo-Babylonian legal culture and daily life. In addition to the legal texts, Holtz provides an introduction to Neo-Babylonian social history, archival records, and legal materials. This is an essential resource for scholars interested in the history of law. Features Fifty new English translations Transliterations for use in advanced Akkadian courses Background essays perfect for courses dealing with ancient Near Eastern history and law Explanatory essays preceding each text and its translation