Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/764

 738 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

tion. The first American edition, by Professor Robert Francis Harper, of the University of Chicago, is an admirable specimen of careful scholarship. 1 The transliteration is paralleled on opposite pages by a clear and well-considered translation, which is followed by an exhaustive subject index and a complete glos- sary. Specialists will welcome the autographed text and sign- list which conclude the volume.

Although the annotation and elucidation of this ancient body of law are the special task of the orientalist, the document has rich meaning for all students of institutions. It will engage the attention of historians, jurists, economists, and sociologists. This article will treat briefly the social organization of ancient Babylon as reflected in the code, suggest a few parallels which are to be found in the legislation of other peoples, and finally summarize the principles of social control underlying the rule of Hammu- rabi.

The early history of Babylon (4500-3800) is a record of struggles between small city-states, each seeking leadership and aggrandizement. A second period (3800-2250) was" opened auspiciously by Sargon I., who established a precarious hegemony and laid the foundations for a unification finally achieved by Hammurabi, who reigned for fifty-five years some time in the twenty-third century before Christ. 2 Hammurabi, the Amraphel of the Old Testament, 3 was a forceful king, a man of war and an able administrator. A series of his letters which have come to light afford glimpses of his constant activity, his scrutiny of details, and his imperious manner. A German scholar is reminded of Frederick II. or Frederick William I. 4 The Babylonian gave his commands right royally. A canal is to be finished in three days; an officer whom he summons shall, riding day and night, forthwith appear in Babylon; orders are to be carried out without fail. The king also concerns himself with legal matters, commands the retrial of cases, the return of prop- erty, the payment of debts. He summons litigants to the palace

GooDSPEED, A History of the Babylonians and Assyrians, pp. 5965 and 107 ff- 3 Gen. 14:1. 4 KOHLER AND PEISER, op. cit., p. 2.
 * R. F. HARPER, The Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon (Chicago, 1904).