The Code of Ur-Nammu is the oldest known surviving law code, written in the Sumerian language in cuneiform script during the rule of Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi, kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia. It predates the better-known Code of Hammurabi by some three centuries. Like later codes, it is organised in a conditional form, saying that if a person does something, a penalty follows, but it relies mostly on fines in silver rather than on physical punishment, for injuries, false accusations and family matters. Surviving fragments come from clay tablets found in Nippur and Ur, and a major one is in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Before and after
- 22nd century BCEConstruction of Ziggurat of Ur
- c. 2,100s BCEEpic of Gilgamesh
- c. 2,101 BCEThe Code of Ur-Nammu is issued
- from c. 2,050 BCE to 2,000 BCETenth Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 2,050 BCECode of Ur-Nammu
- from c. 2,040 BCE to 1,782 BCEMiddle Kingdom of Egypt
- c. 2,040 BCEEruption of Long Island
- from c. 2,025 BCE to 609 BCEAssyrian Empire
- from 3rd millennium BCE to 2nd millenniumMaya civilization
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The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 21st century BCE.