Code of Hammurabi

1. Code of Hammurabi Babylonian Lawgiver 1792-1750 BC

2. All Pictures, except the Ziggurat and Royal Tombs of Ur, courtesy of the

3. The Ziggurat of Ur Pictures courtesy of the

4. Royal tombs of Ur images courtesy of

5. Head of “Hammurabi” (ca 2000 BCE)

6. The Stela shows the king receiving the laws from the God of Justice Shamash

7. Placing this object in Context

8. The object is part of a long tradition Mesopotamian Monument and Statuary Tradition

9. Early Early First towns • 5300 – 3900 BCE • City name: Uruk • Buildings found there: EannaZiggurat and AnuZiggurat • Characterized by Massive public projects, growing population.

10. Eanna Ziggurat

11. Ziggurats • Ziggurats were the seat of power of rulers • They directed priests, merchants and aristocrats; and • managed the life of craftsmen, farmers, fisherman, herdsmen and others who made up the population of the towns and surrounding areas.

12. Early Dynastic Period Sumerian City States

13. Royal Cemetery (Tombs) of Ur 2800 -2700 BCE

14. Headdress, Lyre, Spears

15. Stele of the Vultures 2450 B.C.E.

16. Stele of the Vultures • Oldest known historical document • It’s a Victory Stele • It recounts the recurrent conflict between the neighboring city-states of Lagash and Umma

17. Cone of Enmetena, King of Lagash 2400 BCE

18. These cones were inserted into the temple walls to record their building, rather like modern foundation stones. Rulers built these buildings to prove their worth to the Gods

19. Map of Mesopotamia

20. First Great Conqueror of History • Sargon 2370 BCE • Made this official art widespread • royal victories became the predominant theme • The steles were made in royal workshops. They were placed in the temples of the principal cities of the empire.

21. Fragment of Victory Stele 2340 BCE (Sargon )

22. Victory Stele fragment • On this fragment • You see a line of enemies captured in battle, only two prisoners are visible. • They are Nude and stripped of their weapons, their hands are tied behind their backs.

23. Obelisk

24. Obelisk • Erected by Manishtusu (2270-2255 BC), son of Sargon and third king of theAkkadian dynasty • The text records that King Manishtusu made large purchases of land in the region of Kish, where the dynasty originated.

25. Akkadian Victory Stele 2230 B.C.E.

26. Naram-Sin Victory Stele • This Stele (pictured in our textbook) • Commemorates the victory of Naram-Sin (Sargon’s grand-son) over mountain dwelling Lullibi people.

27. What happened to the Akkadian Empire?

28. Neo-Sumerian Period • Sumer once again flourishes with the Third Dynasty of Ur • Cylinders of Gudea 2100 BCE and other statuary (2nd dynasty of Lagash)

29. Cylinders of Gudea

30. Cylinders of Gudea • Continues the rulers' constant desire to be seen as meritous by the gods and glorious by their subjects. • These Cylinders tell those stories.

31. Third Dynasty of Ur • Famous for its Ziggurat of Ur ca 2090 BCE

32. Ziggurat of UR

33. Lament for Destruction of UR 2000 BCE

34. Ancient Sumerian composition/poem bewailing the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur

35. Babylon rises • Hammurabi was the sixth ruler of the 1st dynasty of Babylon. • Text is Akkadian, but subsequent finds reveal the code is a body of Sumerian law many centuries old

36. Hammurabi’s Influence?

37. King MardukZakirShumi900 BCE • The Kudurru stone of an invader • Stones suggest continuity but the invasions were accompanied by a new cultural koine.

38. Kuddurru of the Babylonian King Marduk-Zakir-Shumi, Late Assyrian Period, circa 900 BC

39. Kuddurru of the Babylonian King Marduk-Zakir-Shumi, Iran, Late Assyrian Period, circa 850 BC

40. Closeup

41. Kudurru’s • Kudurrus were stone steles • They primarily recordedgifts of land made by Babylonian rulers to members of their family or to high-ranking civil or religious dignitaries