Ḫammurabi, who stands before the seated god, is clothed in a long robe reaching to his feet, and held up by his left arm. His right shoulder and arm are bare, and the hand is raised as if to emphasize the words he is uttering. Like the god, he is heavily bearded. On his head he wears the globular thick-brimmed hat distinctive of men in authority for many hundred years before his time, and for a considerable period afterwards.
The inscription, which is in horizontal columns, covers all four sides of the stone, and is divided into two parts, called by [pg 488] Prof. Scheil, who first translated it, the “obverse” and the “reverse” respectively. The former is in 16 columns, after which come 5 columns which have been erased, probably, as Prof. Scheil remarks, to insert the name and titles of an Elamite king, Šutruk-Naḫḫunte, who has his inscription placed on several other monuments of Babylonian origin found there. For some reason or other, the space on the stele of Ḫammurabi still remains blank. The “reverse” has 28 columns of inscription. The columns are narrow, and the lines consequently short, but as the latter are no less than 3638 in number, the text is a very extensive one, and when complete, must have consisted of over 4000 lines.
The inscription consists of three portions: the Introduction, consisting of 4 columns and 25 lines, detailing all the benefits which Ḫammurabi had conferred on the cities and temples of the land; the Laws, which occupy the remainder of the obverse, and 23 columns of the reverse (in all, 40 columns less 25 lines); and the Conclusion, occupying the remaining 5 columns, in which he recounts his own virtues, and in a long curse, calls upon the gods whom he worshipped to punish and destroy any of his successors who should abolish or change what he had written, or destroy his bas-relief.
The Laws Of Ḫammurabi.
Introduction.
When the supreme God, king of the Annunaki,[146] and Bel, lord of the heavens and the earth, who fixes the destinies of the land, had fixed for Merodach, the eldest son of Aê, the Divine Lordship over the multitude of the people, and had made him great among the Igigi, they called Babylon by its supreme name, caused it to be great among the countries (of the world), and caused to exist for him in its midst an everlasting kingdom, whose foundation is as firm as heaven and earth.
At that time Ḫammurabi, the noble prince—he who fears God—me—in order that justice might exist in the country, to destroy the evil and wicked, that the strong might not oppress the weak,—God and Bel, to gladden the flesh of the people, proclaimed my name as a Sungod[147] for the black-headed ones,[148] appearing and illuminating the land.
Ḫammurabi, the shepherd proclaimed of Bel am I—the perfecter of abundance and plenty, the completer of everything for Niffur (and) Dur-an-ki,[149] the glorious patron of Ê-kura;[150]
The powerful king who has restored the city Êridu to its first state, who has purified the service of Ê-apsû;[151]
The best of the four regions, who made great the name of Babylon, rejoicing the heart of Merodach, his lord, who daily stays (at service) in Ê-sagila;[152]