Expressions of social justice in Mesopotamia: A study of the Hammurabi code (inscription from the 18th century BCE)

Abstract

Few tangible written sources have captured the historical evolution of social regulation and its corresponding ideals of justice in Mesopotamia as comprehensively as the Code of Hammurabi, the Babylonian king in the 18th century BCE. Inscribed in cuneiform on a stone stele, this legal corpus consists of 282 articles encompassing various political, economic and social dimensions. Hammurabi’s primary aim in codifying these laws was to establish social relations grounded in justice and equity. This study aims to: 

-explore how political, social, economic, and religious variables shaped the evolution of legal norms intended to enforce social justice, as exemplified in Hammurabi’s legislation.

- assess the broader implications of legal unification under Hammurabi's reign, particularly how the centralization of royal authority contributed to the promotion of justice, equity, familial stability, and national security.

This paper is guided by the following research questions: What motivations and objectives led Hammurabi to unify his legal statutes into a single, authoritative corpus? How did he leverage this legal instrument as a medium for broadcasting royal decrees and achieving social order? Why did the legislator emphasize corporal punishments, particularly retributive justice, and capital penalties? Do such severe sanctions reflect a necessity for embedding justice and equality in Mesopotamian society?

The descriptive method is employed to outline the structural and thematic features of the Code; the analytical method delves into the code’s articulation of justice; and the comparative method is used to contrast it with earlier legal systems, such as the Sumerian-Akkadian collections (32nd–20th centuries BCE).

The study unfolds in four steps. It begins with a survey of Mesopotamia’s civilizational development, treated from geographic and ethno-political angles. It then offers a brief history of the archaeological discovery of the Hammurabi stele, followed by a profile of Hammurabi as ruler and lawmaker. The analysis concludes by examining two legal clusters: rules that correspond to what later traditions call personal-status matters, and provisions on exchange, contractual obligations, and property.

Several clauses appear severe to modern readers, particularly those concerning bodily retaliation or death penalties. Placed in their historical setting, they aim to restrain private violence, convert vendetta into formal procedure, and circumscribe coercive force. In more than a few cases, the rule operates as a shield for the weaker party.

Taken together, the results treat the Code as a primary source for thinking about social order in early complex polities. Its clauses illuminate prior legal practice and a long afterlife of legal ideas. In this sense, early legislative projects helped set frames that later surface in international instruments and institutional standards.

Keywords: Mesopotamia; Code of Hammurabi; cuneiform; Babylonian civilization