The most ancient source of law is considered to be the law of Hammurabi, or rather their whole set, which regulated the life of ancient Babylonian society. It was discovered during one of the archaeological expeditions in Mesopotamia, between the legendary Tigris and Euphrates rivers. French archaeologists worked in Susa, one of the oldest cities in present-day Iraq. The finds were
impressive: objects of material culture, numerous clay tablets with mysterious cuneiform texts, household utensils. Among them was a special item - a black bas alt pillar 2.25 meters high. Its lower part was completely covered with cuneiform characters. Above was an image of the sun god Shamash. He was handing some kind of scroll to a man in royal attire.
The find was delivered to Paris, to the Louvre National Museum of France. The researchers were immediately delighted, having deciphered the mysterious inscriptions. It was an amazing work of art and at the same time a reminder of ancient law, called "the laws of the Babylonian kingHammurabi".
How did this lawyer come about? In order to answer this question, one should look at the political map of the region. In the first half of the XVIII century. BC. Mesopotamia was a series of cities that often competed with each other. Hammurabi united these states into a single whole, stopped civil strife and chose Babylon as his capital. In order to centralize his power, he adopts his own set of rules and regulations. This is the history of Hammurabi's laws, but what is their essence?
The lawyer, which was handed over to the king by Shamash himself, consists of an introduction, articles (the total number of which is 282) and a conclusion. Violation of them was considered a crime against a deity, so it was punished very severely. Hammurabi's law was supposed to give Babylonia peace, justice and prosperity. The articles are written in a casuistic form, that is, they describe not general norms, but specific cases from life.
Hammurabi's law asserted the division of society into full and non-full. For the same crimes they answered differently. The state used slave labor, and the dependent person completely obeyed the will of his master. However, a slave could have his own household, family, and even enter into civil law transactions. Hammurabi's law contributed to the formation of the institution of private property, but it also regulated civil and family relations, heredity.
The criminal policy of the Babylonianstates. Hammurabi wanted to eradicate evil, fought criminals, atheists and villains. His laws called for retribution, for punishment that equaled the damage done. The principle that says "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth", which is later found in the Bible, originated from here. In addition, intimidation, a system of fines and a public trial were used as a relic of the tribal system, extenuating circumstances were taken into account.
Although the lawyer Hammurabi was used for a rather short time, his influence on the development of the legal culture of the world is invaluable.
