The Laws of Eshnunna (abrv. LE) are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abū Harmal, Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities headed by Taha Baqir unearthed two parallel sets of tablets in 1945 and 1947.[1] The two tablets are separate copies of an older source and date back to ca. 1930 BC. An additional fragment was later found at Me-Turan.[2] The differences between the Code of Hammurabi and the Laws of Eshnunna significantly contributed to illuminating the development of ancient and cuneiform law.
In distinction from the other Mesopotamian collections of law, this one got its name after the city where it had originated – Eshnunna, located on the bank of the Diyala River, tributary to the Tigris, north of Ur. Eshnunna became politically important after the fall of the third dynasty of Ur, founded by Ur-Nammu.
This collection of laws is not a real systemized codex; nearly sixty of its sections are preserved. The Laws are written in Akkadian and consist of two tablets which are marked with A and B. In 1948, Albrecht Goetze of the Yale University had translated and published them. In some sources the Laws of Eshnunna are mentioned as the Laws of Bilalama due to the belief that the Eshnunnian ruler probably was their originator, but Goetze maintained that tablet B was originated under the reign of Dadusha. The text of the prologue is broken at the point where the ruler who promulgated the laws was specified.
Albrecht Goetze has noticed the specific style of expression. The laws were composed in a mode that facilitated memorizing.[3] A distinguished Israeli scientist and one of the foremost experts on this collection of laws, Reuven Yaron of the University of Jerusalem concerning this matter stated: “What matters to me – and might have mattered to those who fashioned them almost 4000 years ago – is the ease of remembering the text.”[4]
The conditional sentence (“If A then B” – as it also is the case with the other Mesopotamian laws) is an attribute of this codification. In 23 paragraphs, it appears in the form šumma awilum – “If a man…” After the disposition, a precise sanction follows, e.g. LU42(A): “If a man bit and severed the nose of a man, one mina silver he shall weigh out.”
The Laws clearly show signs of social stratification, mainly focussing on two different classes: the muškenum and awilum. The audience of the Laws of Eshnunna is more extensive than in the case of the earlier cuneiform codifications: awilum – free men and women (mar awilim and marat awilim), muškenum, wife (aššatum), son (maru), slaves of both sexes – male (wardum) and female (amtum) – which are not only objects of law as in classical slavery, and delicts where the victims were slaves have been sanctioned, and other class designations as ubarum, apþarum, mudum that are not ascertained.
Reuven Yaron has divided the offences of the Laws of Eshnunna into five groups. The articles of the first group had to be collected from all over the Laws and the articles of the other four were roughly ordered one after the other:
5. Damages caused by a goring ox and comparable cases.
The majority of these offences were penalized with pecuniary fines (an amount of silver), but some serious offences such as burglary, murder, and sexual offences were penalized with death. It seems that the capital punishment was avoidable (in contrast to the Code of Hammurabi), because of the standard formulation: “It is a case of life … he shall die”.
^Albrecht Goetze, "The Laws of Eshnunna", Sumer, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 63-102, September 1948
^Mustafa, Abdul-Kader Abdul-Jabbar. The Old Babylonian tablets from Me-Turan (Tell al-Sib and Tell Haddad). University of Glasgow (United Kingdom), 1983.
^Albrecht Goetze. The Laws of Eshnunna, The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Vol. 31, The Laws of Eshnunna (1951 - 1952), pp. v-197
Eichler, Barry L. (1987). "Literary Structure in the Laws of Eshnunna". In Rochberg-Halton, Francesca (ed.). Language, Literature, and History: Philological and Historical Studies. New Haven. pp. 71–84. ISBN0940490676.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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The Laws of Eshnunna abrv LE are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abu Harmal Baghdad Iraq The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities headed by Taha Baqir unearthed two parallel sets of tablets in 1945 and 1947 1 The two tablets are separate copies of an older source and date back to ca 1930 BC An additional fragment was later found at Me Turan 2 The differences between the Code of Hammurabi and the Laws of Eshnunna significantly contributed to illuminating the development of ancient and cuneiform law In distinction from the other Mesopotamian collections of law this one got its name after the city where it had originated Eshnunna located on the bank of the Diyala River tributary to the Tigris north of Ur Eshnunna became politically important after the fall of the third dynasty of Ur founded by Ur Nammu Contents 1 Contents 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksContents EditThis collection of laws is not a real systemized codex nearly sixty of its sections are preserved The Laws are written in Akkadian and consist of two tablets which are marked with A and B In 1948 Albrecht Goetze of the Yale University had translated and published them In some sources the Laws of Eshnunna are mentioned as the Laws of Bilalama due to the belief that the Eshnunnian ruler probably was their originator but Goetze maintained that tablet B was originated under the reign of Dadusha The text of the prologue is broken at the point where the ruler who promulgated the laws was specified Albrecht Goetze has noticed the specific style of expression The laws were composed in a mode that facilitated memorizing 3 A distinguished Israeli scientist and one of the foremost experts on this collection of laws Reuven Yaron of the University of Jerusalem concerning this matter stated What matters to me and might have mattered to those who fashioned them almost 4000 years ago is the ease of remembering the text 4 The conditional sentence If A then B as it also is the case with the other Mesopotamian laws is an attribute of this codification In 23 paragraphs it appears in the form summa awilum If a man After the disposition a precise sanction follows e g LU42 A If a man bit and severed the nose of a man one mina silver he shall weigh out The Laws clearly show signs of social stratification mainly focussing on two different classes the muskenum and awilum The audience of the Laws of Eshnunna is more extensive than in the case of the earlier cuneiform codifications awilum free men and women mar awilim and marat awilim muskenum wife assatum son maru slaves of both sexes male wardum and female amtum which are not only objects of law as in classical slavery and delicts where the victims were slaves have been sanctioned and other class designations as ubarum aptharum mudum that are not ascertained Reuven Yaron has divided the offences of the Laws of Eshnunna into five groups The articles of the first group had to be collected from all over the Laws and the articles of the other four were roughly ordered one after the other 1 Theft and related offences 2 False distraint 3 Sexual offences 4 Bodily injuries 5 Damages caused by a goring ox and comparable cases The majority of these offences were penalized with pecuniary fines an amount of silver but some serious offences such as burglary murder and sexual offences were penalized with death It seems that the capital punishment was avoidable in contrast to the Code of Hammurabi because of the standard formulation It is a case of life he shall die See also EditAkkadian Empire Eshnunna Cuneiform law Code of Hammurabi Code of Ur Nammu Code of Lipit Ishtar List of ancient legal codesReferences Edit Albrecht Goetze The Laws of Eshnunna Sumer vol 4 no 2 pp 63 102 September 1948 Mustafa Abdul Kader Abdul Jabbar The Old Babylonian tablets from Me Turan Tell al Sib and Tell Haddad University of Glasgow United Kingdom 1983 Albrecht Goetze The Laws of Eshnunna The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research Vol 31 The Laws of Eshnunna 1951 1952 pp v 197 Reuven Yaron The Laws of Eshnunna Brill 1989 ISBN 978 90 04 08534 3Further reading EditEichler Barry L 1987 Literary Structure in the Laws of Eshnunna In Rochberg Halton Francesca ed Language Literature and History Philological and Historical Studies New Haven pp 71 84 ISBN 0940490676 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Finkelstein J J 1970 Review On Some Recent Studies in Cuneiform Law Journal of the American Oriental Society 90 2 243 256 doi 10 2307 598140 JSTOR 598140 Speiser E A 1963 Cuneiform Law and the History of Civilization Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 107 6 536 541 JSTOR 986110 External links EditLaws of Eshnunna tablet at the Iraq National Museum Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laws of Eshnunna amp oldid 1178286263, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
