قوانینِ شاہ حمورابی جغرافیائی اور سیاسی حالات کے تناظرمیں اس کی دریافت ، تحقیقی مطالعہ

The Code of King Hammurabi: Discovery and Analytical Study in the Context of Geopolitical Conditions

Abstract

The Code of Hammurabi is considered one of the earliest legal documents in human history, dating back to the 18th century BCE. The code consists of 282 laws, inscribed on twelve tablets and affixed to eight-foot-tall stone pillars placed in prominent locations across Babylon, Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), and other cities. These pillars were installed in public squares to ensure broad accessibility, allowing the common people to be aware of the laws governing them.

When the Egyptians conquered the city of Babylon, much of the inscriptions on the pillars were erased, and the code was largely forgotten in historical records. However, it was rediscovered in 1901 by French archaeologists, reintroducing the world to this ancient legal system. The inscriptions depict Hammurabi receiving the code from the gods Marduk or Shamash, and they suggest that divine forces selected Hammurabi to deliver these laws to humankind. Furthermore, the texts claim that Hammurabi's rule was predestined, and that he would unify various small states into a grand empire.

The profound and long-lasting influence of Hammurabi’s Code cannot be denied. Subsequent religious and legal systems have emerged under its shadow, unable to completely dissociate themselves from its legacy. Elements of this code can even be observed in modern Western law.