Equity

The Code of Ur-Nammu has a preface that tells how the people came to be united. It tells its core principles “of equity and truth…. equity in the land; he banished malediction, violence and strife” and sets measurements.

It also says that the measurements shall not define the man.

“The orphan was not delivered up to the rich man; the widow was not delivered up to the mighty man; the man of one shekel was not delivered up to the man of one mina.”

The value of a person is separate from the value of their property. This is equity.

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Alex in Constitution Collection, In other words | Write a comment

Code of Ur-Nammu

Source: “Code of Ur-Nammu” at Wikipedia

Written: 2100 BC-2050 BC. Credited to king Ur-Nammu of Ur (2112-2095 BC). Maybe written by his son Shulgi.

The Constitution

…After An and Enlil had turned over the Kingship of Ur to Nanna, at that time did Ur-Nammu, son born of Ninsun, for his beloved mother who bore him, in accordance with his principles of equity and truth… Then did Ur-Nammu the mighty warrior, king of Ur, king of Sumer and Akkad, by the might of Nanna, lord of the city, and in accordance with the true word of Utu, establish equity in the land; he banished malediction, violence and strife, and set the monthly Temple expenses at 90 gur of barley, 30 sheep, and 30 sila of butter. He fashioned the bronze sila-measure, standardized the one-mina weight, and standardized the stone weight of a shekel of silver in relation to one mina… The orphan was not delivered up to the rich man; the widow was not delivered up to the mighty man; the man of one shekel was not delivered up to the man of one mina.

[[One mina ( 1/60 of a talent ) was equal to 60 shekels ( 1 shekel = 11 grams]] ….

  • 1. If a man commits a murder, that man must be killed.
  • 2. If a man commits a robbery, he will be killed.
  • 3. If a man commits a kidnapping, he is to be imprisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver.
  • 4. If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set free, he does not leave the household.
  • 5. If a slave marries a native (i.e. free) person, he/she is to hand the firstborn son over to his owner.
  • 6. If a man violates the right of another and deflowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shall kill that male.
  • 7. If the wife of a man followed after another man and he slept with her, they shall slay that woman, but that male shall be set free.
  • 8. If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin slavewoman of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver.
  • 9. If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay her one mina of silver.
  • 10. If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay her half a mina of silver.
  • 11. If the man had slept with the widow without there having been any marriage contract, he need not pay any silver.
  • …
  • 13. If a man is accused of sorcery he must undergo ordeal by water; if he is proven innocent, his accuser must pay 3 shekels.
  • 14. If a man accused the wife of a man of adultery, and the river ordeal proved her innocent, then the man who had accused her must pay one-third of a mina of silver.
  • 15. If a prospective son-in-law enters the house of his prospective father-in-law, but his father-in-law later gives his daughter to another man, the father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had brought.
  • ….
  • 17. If a slave escapes from the city limits, and someone returns him, the owner shall pay two shekels to the one who returned him.
  • 18. If a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out ½ a mina of silver.
  • 19. If a man has cut off another man’s foot, he is to pay ten shekels.
  • 20. If a man, in the course of a scuffle, smashed the limb of another man with a club, he shall pay one mina of silver.
  • 21. If someone severed the nose of another man with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver.
  • 22. If a man knocks out a tooth of another man, he shall pay two shekels of silver.
  • ….
  • 24. …. If he does not have a slave, he is to pay 10 shekels of silver. If he does not have silver, he is to give another thing that belongs to him.
  • 25. If a man’s slave-woman, comparing herself to her mistress, speaks insolently to her, her mouth shall be scoured with 1 quart of salt.
  • ….
  • 28. If a man appeared as a witness, and was shown to be a perjurer, he must pay fifteen shekels of silver.
  • 29. If a man appears as a witness, but withdraws his oath, he must make payment, to the extent of the value in litigation of the case.
  • 30. If a man stealthily cultivates the field of another man and he raises a complaint, this is however to be rejected, and this man will lose his expenses.
  • 31. If a man flooded the field of a man with water, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of field.
  • 32. If a man had let an arable field to a(nother) man for cultivation, but he did not cultivate it, turning it into wasteland, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of field.
  • ….
Posted on July 29, 2010 by Alex in Constitution Collection, Examples | Write a comment

Eshnunna

“Laws of the town Eshnunna” is ‘democratic’ in these ways:

It is written down, so the rules and relationships are explicit and publicly known.

It summarizes the common values in the introduction: it shows how the people of Eshnunna are unified together by telling, “How did we come to be here?” (the Header)

It provides standards of measurement, telling what is equal to what.

It shows that different situations call for different actions, when a person is or is not to be held responsible, and what will be done to make the situation fair. (Sections 27/28, 29/30, 36/37)

It provides checks and balances on people in situations of power: when you give your property to a man to hold it, then return and your property is gone, this constitution tells you how to know whether the man stole it or was stolen from. Eshnunna makes the checks and balances work most of the time: to steal from you and not be held accountable, the man would have to destroy his own house! That was likely an effective balance almost all of the time. (Section 36/37)

It defines who the people are, and their different roles. Men, women, and slaves are different under this Constitution.

It defends people who would otherwise be more likely to fight each other or leave. Its laws provide peaceful resolutions more often than not.

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Alex in Constitution Collection, In other words | Write a comment

What a constitution is

A ‘constitution’ is the “system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed.”

A constitution is written down. It makes the most important rules about the relationships and expectations between people explicit and publicly available.

‘Most important rules’ in a constitution means, “How can we be sustainably successful, honor our common values,
and grow our business together as a company of people?”

A constitution has the highest authority of any written document in that group’s legal system.

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Alex in Constitution Collection, In other words | Write a comment

Laws of the town Eshnunna

Written and used by the people of Eshnunna: 1800 BC.

Commentary and source:

The Constitution:

The Heading

…. on the 21st day …. of Ellil, the … god …. the kingship of Eshunna …. so that into his father-house …. (and when) Supur-Samas …. across the Tigris … (same) one year were seized with mighty (force of) weapon.

Section 1

  • 1 kor barley for 1 shekel silver
  • 3 qa rustum oil for 1 shekel silver
  • 1 seah (and) 2 qa sesame oil for 1 shekel silver
  • 1 seah (and) 5 qa lard for 1 shekel silver
  • 4 seah “river oil” for 1 shekel silver
  • 6 minas wool for 1 shekel silver
  • 2 kor salt for 1 shekel silver
  • 1 kor potash for 1 shekel silver
  • 3 minas copper for 1 shekel silver
  • 2 minas wrought copper for 1 shekel silver

Section 2

  • 1 qa sesame oil sa nishatim 3 seah (is) its barley
  • 1 qa lard sa nishatim 2 seah (and) 5 qa (is) its barley
  • 1 qa “river oil” sa nishatim 8 qa (is) its barley

Section 3
A wagon together with its oxen and its driver: 1 pan (and) 4 seah barley (is) its hire. If silver — 1/3 shekel (is) its hire. All the day he may drive it.

Section 4
The hire of a boat (per) 1 kor (of capacity, is) 2 qa, and … qa (is) the hire of the boatman. All the day he may drive it.

….

Section 6
If a man ina nullani seized a boat (which was) not his — 10 shekels silver he shall weigh out.

Section 7
2 seah barley (is) the hire of a harvester. If silver — 12 grains (is) his hire.

Section 8
1 seah barley (is) the hire of a winnower.

Section 9
Should a man give 1 shekel silver for harvesting to a hired man; if he (the worker) was not ready for him, and did not at all harvest for him the harvesting — 10 shekels silver he shall weigh out.

Section 9A
….

Section 10
1 seah barley (is) the hire of a donkey, and 1 seah barley (is) the hire of its driver. All the day he shall drive it.

Section 11
The hire of a hired man (is) 1 shekel silver; 1 pan barley (is) his provender. One month he shall serve.

….

Section 15
From the hands of a slave or of a slave woman a tamkarum or a sabitum silver, barley, wool, sesame oil adi mad/tim shall not receive.

Section 16
A coparcener son of a man, or a slave, shall not be given credit.

Section 17/18
Should a son of a man bring bride payment to the house of his father-in-law:

(i) if of the two one went to the fate, the silver to its owner indeed shall return;

(ii) if he took her and she entered to his house, (and) either the groom or the bride went to the fate, whatever (one) has brought, (one) will not cause to go forth; its excess only (one) will take.

Section 18A
1 shekel — one sixth and 6 grains interest will bear; 1 kor — 1 (pan and) 4 seah of barley interest will bear.

Section 19
A man, who will give for its equivalent, at the threshing floor will collect.

….

Section 25
If a man claimed (his bride) at the house of his father-in-law, but his father-in-law wronged him and gave his daughter to [another] — the father of the daughter the bride payment he received shall twofold return.

Section 26
If a man brought bride payment for a man’s daughter, but another without asking her father and/or her mother, forcibly seized her and deflowered her — (it is) a case of life indeed; he shall die.

Section 27/28
If a man took a man’s daughter without asking her father and/or her mother: –

(i) and also (subsequently) did not fix marriage feast and?/or? contract for her father and/or her mother, — should she (even) dwell in his house the days of one year, (she is) not “a wife”.

(ii) If he (subsequently) fixed contract and?/or? marriage feast for her father and/or her mother and took her, (she is) “a wife”. The day in the lap of a man she will be seized, (one) shall die, shall not live.

Section 29
If a man has been [made prisoner] during a raid or an invasion, or has been carried off forcibly, (and) [dwelt] in another land for a l[ong] time, another indeed took his wife and she bore a son: whenever he returns, his wife he may [take back].

Section 30
If a man hated his city and his master and fled, another indeed took his wife: — whenever he returns, to his wife he shall have no claim.

….

Section 34/35
If a slave woman of the palace her son or her daughter gave to a subject for upbringing, the son or the daughter whom she gave the palace will take away; and the taker, who took the son of the slave woman of the palace, his equivalent to the palace shall replace.

Section 36/37
If a man gave his goods to be held, and the naptarum who holds them causes the goods to be lost — the house not having been broken into, the threshold not having been scraped off, the window not having been torn out — the naptarum shall replace the goods to the man. If the napatarum‘s house was plundered, loss of the owner of the house was incurred — the owner of the house shall in the house (in the gate) of Tispak swear to the man by god: “Together with thy goods my goods were (verily) lost, I have not done evil and fraud.” He shall swear to him, and nothing upon him he shall have.

Section 38
If one of the brothers will sell his share, and his brother wishes to buy, the average (price) of another he shall pay in full.

Section 39
If a man become impoverished and sold his house — the day the buyer will sell, the owner of the house may redeem.

Section 40
If a man bought a slave, a slave woman, an ox, or (any other) purchase, however much it be, and has not established the seller — he himself is the thief.

Section 41
If an ubarum, a naptarum, or a mudum will give his beer, the sabitum at the current rate the beer to him shall sell.

….

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Alex in Constitution Collection | Write a comment