Justice in History

Gods and Kings in Mesopotamian Justice

Mesopotamian kings placed a high priority on ruling their subjects justly. Shamash, the sun god and protector of justice, named two of his children Truth and Fairness. In the preface to his law code, Hammurabi explained the relationship between his rule and divine justice:

At that time, Anu and Enlil [two of the greatest gods], for the well-being of the people, called me by name, Hammurabi, the pious, god-fearing prince, and appointed me to make justice appear in the land [and] to destroy the evil and wicked, so that the strong might not oppress the weak, [and] to rise like Shamash over the black-headed people [the people of Mesopotamia].¹

Taking It Further

• Greengus, Samuel. "Legal and Social Institutions of Ancient Near Mesopotamia," in Civilizations of the Ancient Middle East, ed. Jack M. Sasson, vol. 1, 469–484. 1995. Describes basic principles of law and administration of justice, with a bibliography of ancient legal texts.
  
  
• Kuhrt, Amelie. The Ancient Middle East: ca. 3000–330 b.c., vol. 1. 1995. An authoritative survey combining archaeological and textual evidence.
  
  
• http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hammenu.htm
  Academic discussions of Hammurabi's code from Yale University's Avalon Project
  
  
• http://www.lawresearch.com/v2/codeham.htm
  Information on Hammurabi's code gathered by the Cornell School of Law