When we look back from today’s world, where we understand more and more how important an independent legal system is, we see that a strong legal system and laws have always been one of the most important needs of people. Although numerous rules have been set to meet this need, the first written laws surviving among them are the Urgakina Laws.
The Urgakina Laws were created by Urgakina, who made a military revolution during the Sumerian period by revolting against evil rulers and clerics who exploited the people. Of course, it is a bad situation for the law that it was made after a revolution, but when we consider the conditions of that period and evaluate these laws objectively, it is possible to say that it was libertarian. Let’s answer the curious questions such as what are the Urgakina Laws and what are their articles in all details.
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First, what civilization does the Urgakina Laws belong to?
The Laws of Urgakina belong to the Sumerians, one of the first and most important civilizations in history. The Sumerians are a civilization that existed between 4 thousand and 2 thousand years BC. The first city-states and settled order were established here. The Sumerians, an advanced society according to the conditions of the period, were also the first civilization to use writing. Therefore, it is not surprising that the first written laws emerged from here.
What are Urgakina Laws?
Urgakina, an ordinary soldier after a military revolution against the Ur-Nanshe dynasty, which ruled the Sumerian civilization in the 24th century BC, and the clergy who put great pressure on the people at that time, became the king of the Lagash city-state as the name that started the revolution, and in a series called Urgakina Laws. rule announced.
For the Urgakina Laws, it would be more accurate to call it the first written laws to survive, rather than the first written laws. Because it is known that writing was found and used at that time. Just like the Urgakina Laws, other laws may have been written in wet clay and then dried into tablets. The Laws of Urgakina, which are exhibited in the Louvre Museum in France today, are very well preserved.
What are the features of the Urgakina Laws?
The Urgakina Laws are the first written laws in history that have survived to this day. It is a set of rules created by a group of soldiers gathered under the leadership of Urgakina after the revolution, when the dynasty and the clergy enjoyed it but the people were crushed under heavy taxes. The Laws of Urgakina, written in Sumerian letters on a clay tablet, consists of three parts, as we can see in other Sumerian tablets.
In the first part of the Urgakina Laws, the pre-revolutionary period is mentioned. It explains why the revolution was made and the situation of the people. In the second part of the Urgakina Laws, what was done after the revolution is mentioned. In the last part, a series of rules regulating the social structure were written.
The Urgakina Laws are more like a list of instructions than the law structure we know today. The rules are clear and general. It can be said that he is a libertarian because he uses ransom and diet punishment method in many crimes. The main purpose of the Urgakina Laws is to take away the privileges of the clergy and to get rid of taxes and practices that put the people in trouble.
Urgakina Laws, as well as being the first written laws in history, was also recorded as the first revolution in history made by Urgakina. These laws, which were created at a time when there was a god-king understanding and the clergy were seen above everything, are also the first reform texts in history. In other words, it is possible to say that human history is of great importance for the structure of justice, even if they are not similar to the rules of law we know.
Some of the articles and subjects of the Urgakina Laws:
- There will be no officers between the sea and the border of Ningirsu.
- Three pitchers of beer and 80 loaves of bread will be bought for each dead body to be buried.
- The undertaker will receive a head goat and a bed.
- The mourners tasked with crying at funerals will receive loaves of bread, beer and mudguards.
- Living blind people will be given one loaf of bread in the morning, one at noon, six in the evening, and five at night.
- When a woman insults a man, her mouth will be crushed by a burnt brick.
- He will not sell his property to a rich man unless the poor ask for it.
- The rich, who shop from the poor, will pay with silver.
Since we are talking about the 24th century BC, it would be best to evaluate these laws according to that period. When we look at the laws in general, we see that the points that are open to the exploitation of the clergy, such as funerals, are regulated. Supporting people with disabilities by the state can also be seen as a progressive step for that period.
It is noteworthy that the commercial relations between the poor and the rich are specially arranged. So even thousands of years ago, the rich were somehow trying to seize the property of the poor. From this point of view, it is possible to say that the Urgakina Laws focus only on the most basic issues without dealing with details and try to regulate them in general.
Let’s compare the Laws of Urgakina with the Laws of Hammurabi:
- While the Urgakina Laws favor more fines for the crimes committed, the Code of Hammurabi prefers the tit-for-tat method.
- The Code of Hammurabi is much stricter and thus guarantees the rights of all parties.
- The Code of Hammurabi is based on the Urgakina Laws and Semitic traditions.
- The Code of Hammurabi destroyed the concept of god king.
- Both the Urgakina Laws and the Codes of Hammurabi developed the understanding of the rule of law.
The Urgakina Laws were established in the Sumerians in the 24th century BC, and the Laws of Hammurabi in the Babylonians in the 18th century BC. So there are hundreds of years between them. For this reason, it is necessary to evaluate both sets of rules according to the conditions of the period. The most important difference between them is that one of them was made after the revolution.
Hammurabi is one of the most powerful Babylonian kings that ever lived. For this reason, he was able to act much more courageously while creating the Code of Hammurabi. Urgakina, on the other hand, saved a suffering people by making a revolution, so her priority was to make fundamental adjustments. If someone who took the helm of the city-state of Lagash with the military revolution also made rules like the Code of Hammurabi, it would be a mess.
We answered the question of what are the Urgakina Laws, which were created in the Sumerians after a military revolution, and talked about its articles and features. You can share your thoughts on the Urgakina Laws in the comments, where many firsts were experienced for the history of humanity.
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