Reform Edict of Urukagina (2350 BCE)
Impact
Although previous Lagashite kings (such as Entemena) refer to edicts against social inequality and governmental abuse, the reforms of Urukagina represent the earliest known systematic treatment of legal and social reform in world history. Although they do not employ the “if … , then …” clauses of later monumental inscriptions, the reform texts are clearly antecedents to later Mesopotamian and other ancient Near Eastern legal texts, including the Ur-Nammu Code (ca. 2110 BCE), the Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1792 BCE), and the Middle Assyrian Laws (ca. 1100 BCE). Moreover, many royal hymns of Ur-Nammu, Shulgi (ca. 2095–2047 BCE), and Hammurabi, as well as later royal inscriptions of the Assyrian kings Sargon II (ca. 721–705 BCE) and Ashurbanipal (ca. 668–627 BCE) and the Persian Darius I (ca. 521–486 BCE) reflect a concern for social and legal reform. In addition, the Mosaic laws (ca. 1300 BCE), especially in Exodus 22:20–36, exhibit a similar concern for social reforms,...
