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What were the earliest laws like?
Hammurabi’s code doesn’t tell the whole story
Fifty years after the discovery of the Hammurabi stele, archaeologists discovered the Code of Ur-Nammu — a king of Ur who, in his time, had also conquered much of southern Mesopotamia — on some cuneiform tablets. Hammurabi, the prince, called of Bel am I, making riches and increase, enriching Nippur and Dur-ilu beyond compare, sublime patron of E-kur; who reestablished Eridu and purified the worship of E-apsu; who conquered the four quarters of the world… Hammurabi brags occasionally about helping people (”the lord who granted new life to Uruk, who brought plenteous water to its inhabitants”), but it’s mostly about how powerful he is and how pleased the gods are with his heroics.
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