A mighty ONE in the earth

Ur-Nammu

 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. 

Ur-Nammu

dedication tablet for the Temple of Inanna in Uruk.[3] Inscription "For his lady Inanna, Ur-Nammu the mighty man, King of Ur and King of Sumer and Akkad":

𒀭𒈹 Dinanna  Dinanna.... "For Inanna-"

𒎏𒂍𒀭𒈾 Nin-e-an-na...  Nin-e-an-na.... "Ninanna,"

𒎏𒀀𒉌 NIN-a-ni. NIN-a-ni.... "his Lady"

𒌨𒀭𒇉 UR-NAMMU.... "Ur-Nammu"

𒍑𒆗𒂵NITAH KALAG ga.... "the mighty man"

𒈗𒋀𒀊𒆠𒈠 LUGAL URIM KI ma.... "King of Ur"

𒈗𒆠𒂗𒄀𒆠𒌵𒆤  LUGAL ki en gi ki URI ke.... "King of Sumer and Akkad"

Ur-Nammu (or Ur-Namma, Ur-Engur, Ur-Gur, Sumerian: 𒌨𒀭𒇉, ruled c. 2112 BC – 2095 BC middle chronology, or possibly ca. 2047-2030 BC short chronology) founded the Sumerian Third Dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule.

His main achievement was state-building, and Ur-Nammu is chiefly remembered today for his legal code, the Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest known surviving example in the world.

He held the titles of "King of Ur, and King of Sumer and Akkad".

Contents

•  1Reign

•  2See also

•  3Notes

•  4External links

Reign[edit]

According to the Sumerian King List, Ur-Nammu reigned for 18 years.[4] Year-names are known for 17 of these years, but their order is uncertain. One year-name of his reign records the devastation of Gutium , while two years seem to commemorate his legal reforms ("Year in which Ur-Nammu the king put in order the ways (of the people in the country) from below to above", "Year Ur-Nammu made justice in the land").[5]

Among his military exploits were the conquest of Lagash and the defeat of his former masters at Uruk. He was eventually recognized as a significant regional ruler (of Ur, Eridu, and Uruk) at a coronation in Nippur, and is believed to have constructed buildings at Nippur, Larsa, Kish, Adab, and Umma. He was known for restoring the roads and general order after the Gutian period.[6]

Ur-Nammu was also responsible for ordering the construction of a number of ziggurats, including the Great Ziggurat of Ur.[7]

He was killed in a battle against the Gutians after he had been abandoned by his army.[6] He was deified, and succeeded by his son Shulgi.[4] His death in battle was commemorated in a long Sumerian elegiac composition, "The Death of Ur-

•  Site drawings of the temple built by Ur-Nammu at Ur to the moon god Nanna.

•  Nabonidus dedication to the Ziggurat

•  The Code of Ur-Nammu at Britannica

•  Foundation Figurine of King Ur-Nammu at the Oriental Institute of Chicago

•  The "Ur-Nammu" Stela. Penn Museum. 2006. ISBN 978-1-931707-89-3.

•  The face of Ur-Namma. A realistic statue of Ur-Namma shows us how he may have looked.

•  A brief description of the reign of Ur-Namma.

•  I am Ur-Namma. The life and death of Ur-Namma, as told in Babylonian literature.

The ziggurat (and temple?) of Ur-Nammu

This ziggurat was erected to the moon god Nanna. It was built by Ur-Nammu at Ur around 2113-2096 B.C. It was composed of three stages. It is not clear whether there was a temple at the top. The remains of the ziggurat probably stood over an existing structure going back to the early dynastic period, and restored by the Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus (556-539 B.C.). It is the most preserved of all ziggurats in Mesopotamia and has been partially reconstructed reaching a hight of 11 m. It stood within a rectangular court 62.5 m x 43 m. at the base. Its outer faces are of baked brick, are inclined to a pronounced batter and have regularly spaced, flat buttresses. These outer faces encase the solid core of mudbricks. Access to the ziggurat was through three converging ramps from where a central stairway continued to the second stage. The shape of the staircase leading to the third stage is unclear.

Aerial view:

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The Code of Hammurabi was one of the only sets of laws in the ancient Near East and also one of the first forms of law.[12] The code of laws was arranged in orderly groups, so that all who read the laws would know what was required of them.[13] Earlier collections of laws include the Code of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (c.  2050 BC), the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (c. 1870 BC), while later ones include the Hittite laws, the Assyrian laws, and Mosaic Law.[14] These codes come from similar cultures in a relatively small geographical area, and they have passages that resemble each other.[15]

Figures at the top of the stele "fingernail", above Hammurabi's code of laws.

The Code of Hammurabi is the longest surviving text from the Old Babylonian period.[16]

The code has been seen as an early example of a fundamental law, regulating a government – i.e., a primitive constitution.[17][18] The code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, and it also suggests that both the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence.[19]

The occasional nature of many provisions suggests that the code may be better understood as a codification of Hammurabi's supplementary judicial decisions, and that, by memorializing his wisdom and justice, its purpose may have been the self-glorification of Hammurabi rather than a modern legal code or constitution.

However, its copying in subsequent generations indicates that it was used as a model of legal and judicial reasoning.[20]

While the Code of Hammurabi was trying to achieve equality, biases still existed against those categorized in the lower end of the social spectrum and some of the punishments and justice could be gruesome.

The magnitude of criminal penalties often was based on the identity and gender of both the person committing the crime and the victim. The Code issues justice following the three classes of Babylonian society: property owners, freed men, and slaves.[21]

Punishments for someone assaulting someone from a lower class were far lighter than if they had assaulted someone of equal or higher status.[21]

For example, if a doctor killed a rich patient, he would have his hands cut off, but if he killed a slave, only financial restitution was required.[22]

Women could also receive punishments that their male counterparts would not, as men were permitted to have affairs with their servants and slaves, whereas married women would be harshly punished for committing adultery.[21]

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