The Stela of the Laws of Hammurapi and the Representation of Political Power -- Royal Legitimization Through the Establishment of Justice -- The Laws of Hammurabi as a Royal Inscription -- Scribes and Statutes -- Excursus: Scribes and Scribal Education -- Adoption in the Laws of Hammurabi -- The Legal Authority of the Laws of Hammurabi -- The Afterlife of the Laws of Hammurabi : The Continuation of Scribal Improvisation Outside of Mesopotamia and the Creation of Commentaries in Mesopotamia -- Conclusion
Summary:
"The Laws of Hammurabi is one of the earliest law codes, dating from the 18th century BCE Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). It is the culmination of a tradition in which scribes would demonstrate their legal flair by composing statutes on a repertoire of traditional cases, articulating what they deemed just and fair. The scribe of the Laws of Hammurabi advanced beyond earlier scribes in composing statutes that manifest systematization and implicit legal principles. The scribe inserted the statutes into the structure of a royal inscription, skillfully reshaping the genre. This allowed the king to use the law code to demonstrate that Hammurabi had fulfilled the mandate to guarantee justice enjoined upon him by the gods, affirming his authority as king. This tradition of scribal improvisation on a set of traditional cases continued outside of Mesopotamia. It influenced biblical law and the law of the Hittite empire and may have shaped Greek and Roman law. The Laws of Hammurabi is also a witness to the start of another stream of intellectual tradition. It became a classic text and the subject of formal commentaries, marking a Copernican revolution in intellectual culture"-- Provided by publisher.
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