![]() The current common name is somewhat of a misnomer. He ruled for over 40 years, and this artifact comes from near the end of that reign, at roughly the time of pottery use in Peru, the extinction of the woolly mammoths in Siberia, the end of pyramid building in Egypt, the development of chariots, the composite bow, and tables for solving quadratic equations. There is much we don’t know about him, including how old he was when he ascended the throne in 1792 BCE, other than during his reign there was a move toward consolidation of city-states into larger political units. Hammurabi’s reign lies smack in the middle of the 300-year First Dynasty of Babylon, and he was involved in the requisite kingly military campaigns, political offensives and conquests. I confess my prior knowledge of this was limited to hazy junior-high cradle-of-civilization, Tigris-and-Euphrates memories. ![]() It was displayed in its time in the city of Sippar, then captured in the 12 th century BCE and moved to Susa, where it was rediscovered in 1901 by Gustave Jéquier, and moved to the Louvre, where it now resides in room 227. It’s the longest known early Mesopotamian inscription, executed in cuneiform in the Akkadian language in a traditional, even archaic, format, likely calling back to times historic, though written in everyday language, perhaps so that it would be more readily understandable. I was not expecting a 7+ foot high stela, free standing, tall and narrow, resembling let’s say, a finger, carved from top to bottom, in vertical lines – and not that many people around, compared to the hordes surrounding the Mona Lisa or the Venus de Milo, who’ve had better press. When she wanted to find this, naturally I was up for it, expecting – I dunno, tablets of some kind? – having never really given it much thought. I’m Joe Janes of the University of Washington Information School, and I’m dedicating this episode to Annie Price, who inspired it. And so we ran smack into one of the seminal legal writings of all time, whose motivation and purpose are kinda murky and whose common name is probably misleading, and whose power and influence resonate more than 3 millennia later.Ī document that changed the world: A basalt stela, engraved with what is today known as the Code of Hammurabi now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, about 1754 BCE. Naturally, when all hope was gone, voila: There it was. Maps, guides, apps, other visitors, all were happy to help, though without much effect, so with regret we decided to abandon the hunt and make for the “nearest” exit, apparently some 10 km away. So when, after a brisk and toasty whirl through the major sights, our niece said she wanted to find one more thing – not included in our handy guidebook – off we went in search. Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Where is the law, anyway? That’s a surprising question – more typically you might ask what the law is, or perhaps who says so, why it is how it is, how we might change it, but “where”? I mean, Google it, or ask a lawyer, or go to a courthouse or library if necessary, but it’s got to be around here somewhere, right?Įven those of us with keen senses of direction can get turned around in complicated spaces, and they don’t come any more complicated than a major museum, to wit the Louvre.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions. ![]() This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives. ![]()
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