Law in Mesopotamia

Basalt stele with the Code of Hammurabi etched into it

• Good overview of Hammurabi's Code
• The ultimate primary source

The link comes from the Louvre website. The website is credible, current and informative. This is another example of a primary source located in a museum.

• The complete text of Hammurabi's Code
• Complete English translation and transliteration

This link is from the Liberty Fund website. The Liberty Fund is a non-profit educational organization. This site appears credible. It houses a collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. This text is vital to understanding law in Mesopotamia.

• Video about the law code stele of King Hammurabi located in the Louvre
• Good background information on King Hammurabi and his code

This is an informative video from Smart History. Smart History videos and essays are part of the Khan Academy. Khan Academy has a good reputation for posting valuable, pertinent information.This video briefly details King Hammurabi and his law code.

The Code of Hammurabi translated by L.W. King

• English translation of Hammurabi's Code in an easy to read format

The website only has three links which open PDF files of legal documents. The website isn't very credible, but the source document is by a very credible author. L.W. King was an authority on Mesopotamia and his translation of Hammurabi's Code has been widely used since its publication.

The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character by Samuel Kramer (PDF)

• Extensive information about Sumer
• Laws of Ur-Namma p. 83-88
• Lipit-Ishtar Law Code p. 336-340

The website is the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. The site specializes in artifacts from the ancient Middle East. The author of the book, Samuel Kramer, was "one of the foremost authorities on the ancient Sumerian language and literature," according to his New York Times obituary. The website and the author are extremely credible. The book details all aspects of the Sumerian civilization, including some of the first codified laws in Mesopotamia. The clay tablet, the Law Code of Ur-Namma, pictured is also a primary source.

Excerpts from The Code of the Assura, c. 1075 BCE

The website is a Fordham University site and is very reputable. The excerpts detail some of the Assyrian law code.

• Complete translation of Assyrian Law Code
• Tablet pictured is the primary source

The document is hosted on Internet Archive. It is a free digital library hosting millions of documents. The translation is by Morris Jastrow, originally published in 1921. The source document is very reputable. It was published in the Journal of the American Oriental Society. This document is important, because it helps one understand Assyrian law and how it compares to Sumerian, and Babylonian law.

Lipit-Ishtar Law Code

• Primary source

This is a tablet containing the Lipit-Ishtar Law Code. This is a primary source. The Ur-Namma and Lipit-Ishtar Law Codes were the first examples of the codification of law in Mesopotamia.