Power and Authority in Babylon

Babylonian power and authority was established through both religion and social laws. Originally part of the Sumerian Empire, Babylon rose to extreme prominence for a short time under the rule of King Hammurabi, becoming the world’s first legitimate metropolis. Authority was established through Hammurabi’s ability to communicate with Mesopotamian Gods and deities, Marduk, Babylon’s city God, being made supreme deity by the other Gods, and a stone stele containing 282 laws and consequences known as the Code of Hammurabi.

“Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared Marduk, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind”. By stating that he could speak to Babylon’s Gods, King Hammurabi easily established power, authority, and dominance over his people. No citizen could defy something said by someone who was put in power by the Gods, nor could Hammurabi make a law that wasn’t unanimously agreed upon by the citizenry, regardless of fairness or hypocrisy. The importance of religious legitimacy in a monarchy or any form of single party government can never be overstated. A king backed by the Gods is one that cannot be overthrown, as Gods have the ability to make one’s afterlife incredibly unsavory. Because of this, many rulers made obedience to the government a religious practice (Iran being a more modern example), and Hammurabi was no different.

By establishing Marduk’s supremacy as the head of the Babylonian pantheon, the supreme Mesopotamian deity chosen by the other Gods, an early form of Nationalism emerged. How can one not have pride in their city-state, and later empire, when every God in your polytheistic religion has declared your city God’s supremacy?  King Hammurabi easily used this to his advantage, as Babylonians could now take solace in the fact they were ruled by a God king, and protected by the King of Gods.

The Code of Hammurabi is a set of 282 laws, along with their corresponding punishments engraved in a large, index finger shaped stone, known as a stele. Subjects range from violent crimes and robbery to slavery, incest, and debt. Through these rules, Hammurabi easily established his political doctrine, while at the same time protecting his people from the inside. The code was the first time a ruler had ever established an entire body of laws to be governed by the state. It was written that even if a man builds a house poorly and it collapses and kills its owner, the builder is to be killed. If the owner’s son is killed, the builders son is to be slain. This concept would later be adopted by the Hebrew’s to create lex talionis, or, “an eye for an eye”. Punishments varied greatly depending not only on what crime you committed, but also on the gender of the victim. If the owner’s daughter is killed, the builder must pay a fine. Although Babylon was an extremely patriarchal society, punishments were still given to those who committed crimes against women, but they were far more comfortable that crimes committed against men  

By establishing societal limitations and incorruptible religious dogmas, Hammurabi insured a future for Babylon that could never be destroyed through domestic attack. With authority established, Babylon rose from a small independent Mesopotamian city-state to become the grandiose Sumero-Akkadian empire still studied today.