New Babylonian fragment of law

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As Neo-Babylonian laws fragment which is cuneiform inscription on a clay tablet called that now in the British Museum is (inventory number BrM 82-7-14,988) and especially in researching ancient Near Eastern law plays a role. The Akkadian text is written on both sides of the clay tablet in three columns and its content consists of legal clauses. Therefore, the Neo-Babylonian legal fragment is often counted as the only Neo-Babylonian representative of the ancient oriental legal collections, differs from the other texts of this genre, such as the Codex Ḫammurapi , but in the introductory formula of the legal clauses. In the Neo-Babylonian fragment of the law, the legal clauses are introduced by amēlu ša ("A man who ...") instead of the usual šumma ... (if ...). An exact dating of the text is not possible, however, based on palaeographic and linguistic observations, it is assumed that the text was no later than the 6th century BC. Was created, probably as a student copy.

In terms of content, the legal clauses deal with field rights (§§ 1–7) as well as with marriage and inheritance law (§§ 8–15). Between these two sections there is the note “ dīnšu ul qati ul šaṭir ” ( Its determination is not concluded and not written ). Since a comparison with roughly simultaneous legal documents makes it clear that the text reflects the law that was valid at least at the time, the legal character of the text was controversially discussed. So held Mariano San Nicolò the Neo-Babylonian laws fragment as for the part of the Neo-Babylonian Code , while others such held for the design. In the meantime, however, the view that it is an exercise text by a student that may have been taken from a legal collection that is no longer known has been widely accepted.

literature

  • Joachim Oelsner: Considerations on the structure, character and dating of the so-called «New Babylonian legal fragment» . In: Ancient Near Eastern Research . tape 24 , 1997, pp. 219-225 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Richard Haase : Introduction to the study of cuneiform legal sources . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1965, p. 35 .
  2. ^ Mariano San Nicolò: Contributions to legal history in the area of ​​cuneiform legal sources . Aschehoug, Oslo 1931, p. 85 . dates the fragment to the time of Nabonidus ; Herbert Petschow : The New Babylonian Legislative Fragment . In: Journal of the Savignystiftung für Rechtsgeschichte, Romance Department . tape 76 , 1959, pp. 40 . and Burkhart Kienast : The Old Oriental Codices between Orality and Written Form . In: Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Hrsg.): Legal codification and social norms in an intercultural comparison . Gunter Narr, Tübingen 1994, p. 20 . speak generally of the 7th or 6th century BC Chr.
  3. ^ A b Hans Neumann : Law in ancient Mesopotamia . In: Ulrich Manthe (Hrsg.): The legal cultures of antiquity: From the ancient Orient to the Roman Empire . CH Beck, Munich 2003, p. 101 .
  4. ^ Mariano San Nicolò: Contributions to legal history in the area of ​​cuneiform legal sources . Aschehoug, Oslo 1931, p. 85 .
  5. ^ Bruno Meissner : Meeting reports of the Prussian Academy of Sciences . Prussian Academy of Sciences, Berlin 1918, p. 281, 296-297 .