Code of Ur-Nammu

E37110

The Code of Ur-Nammu is one of the oldest known law codes in history, originating from ancient Sumer under the rule of King Ur-Nammu and outlining early principles of justice and social order.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Code of Ur-Nammu canonical 6
Ur-Nammu law code 1
law code of Ur-Namma 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient law code
cuneiform text
legal document
author Ur-Nammu
claimsDivineAuthorityFrom Nanna
Utu
contains epilogue
laws
prologue
countryOfOrigin Ur III dynasty
surface form: Third Dynasty of Ur
creator Ur-Nammu
currentLocation Istanbul Archaeological Museums
surface form: Istanbul Archaeology Museums

Penn Museum
dateCreated circa 2100–2050 BCE
discoveredIn Nippur
Ur
followedBy Code of Hammurabi
Code of Lipit-Ishtar
follows earlier Mesopotamian legal traditions
genre law code
historicalSignificance earliest extant law code written in Sumerian
one of the oldest known law codes in history
language Sumerian
legalPrinciple lex talionis in limited form
monetary compensation for bodily injury
oath-taking as proof
presumption of innocence
proportional punishment
legalSystem Sumerian law
material clay tablets
namedAfter Ur-Nammu
numberOfLawsPreserved about 40
originalNumberOfLawsEstimated about 57
placeOfOrigin Sumer
Ur
Iraqi alluvial plain
surface form: southern Mesopotamia
purpose to establish justice in the land
to protect the weak from the strong
religiousContext Mesopotamian religion
subject civil law
criminal law
family law
justice
property law
social order
timePeriod Bronze Age
Ur III period
writingSystem cuneiform

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Mesopotamia developedLegalCode Code of Ur-Nammu
Sumer legalCode Code of Ur-Nammu
Ancient Near East importantLawCodes Code of Ur-Nammu
Ur III period notableFor Code of Ur-Nammu
this entity surface form: law code of Ur-Namma
Ur-Nammu knownFor Code of Ur-Nammu
this entity surface form: Ur-Nammu law code
Ur-Nammu lawCode Code of Ur-Nammu
Ur III dynasty legalCode Code of Ur-Nammu
Code of Lipit-Ishtar follows Code of Ur-Nammu