Code of Hammurabi (1752 BCE)

Document Text

Prologue

… The gods Anu and Enlil … named me by my name: Hammurabi, the pious prince, who venerates the gods, to make justice prevail in the land, to abolish the wicked and the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to rise like the sun-god Shamash over all humankind, to illuminate the land.

I am Hammurabi, the shepherd…

discerning king, obedient to the god Shamash, the mighty one, who establishes the foundations of the city of Sippar, who … made famous the temple of Ebabbar which is akin to the abode of heaven;

the warrior, who shows mercy to the city of Larsa, who renews the Ebabbar temple for the god Shamash his ally;

the lord who revitalizes the city of Uruk, who provides abundant waters for its people, who raises high the summit of the Eanna temple, who heaps up bountiful produce for the gods Anu and Ishtar;

the protecting canopy of the land, who gathers together the scattered peoples of the city of Isin …

the judicious one, the noble one, who allots...