基本介紹

歷史上最早的成文法典是古代西亞烏爾第三王朝創(chuàng)始者烏爾納姆頒布的。它適應(yīng)奴隸制的發(fā)展,，主要用來保護奴隸占有和私有制經(jīng)濟,，鎮(zhèn)壓奴隸和貧民的反抗。這部法典大部損壞,，只剩殘片,。烏爾第三王朝（約公元前2113~前2006年）創(chuàng)始人烏爾納姆（約公元前2113~前2096年在位）建立了強大的中央集權(quán)制度，總攬全國大權(quán)，統(tǒng)一兩河流域的法律,，適應(yīng)奴隸制的發(fā)展和奴隸主鎮(zhèn)壓奴隸反抗的需要,，緩和自由民內(nèi)部的矛盾，他下令用蘇美爾文（楔形文字）寫成了一部適用于烏爾全境的法典,，這便是《烏爾納姆法典》,。

內(nèi)容介紹

法典包括序言和正文29條（傳下來的只有23條）兩大部分，沒有結(jié)語,，主要涉及政治,、宗教和法律等方面。序言宣稱,，是神授予烏爾納姆統(tǒng)治權(quán)力,，烏爾納姆在人世間的行為是按照神意，確立「正義」和「社會秩序」,，并列舉了他在保護貧弱,、抑制豪強等方面所采取的措施。

現(xiàn)已發(fā)現(xiàn)的最早抄本大約是巴比倫時代的,，但大部分已毀損,，僅存幾條殘片。從破損較嚴重的法典殘片看,，法典的主要內(nèi)容是對奴隸制度,、婚姻、家庭,、繼承,、刑罰等方面的規(guī)定。如：第一次離婚支付1米納白銀,，而第二次離婚應(yīng)當支付1/2米納白銀,，通奸者將被處死；強暴自己的女奴者將被課以5西克爾罰金,；作偽證將被處以罰款,；斗毆中打折骨頭需支付1米納白銀，損傷腳需支付10西克爾,；外國人的土地被淹沒,，每0.3公頃土地將給予3古爾（約900公升大麥）補償；將逃亡奴隸捉回的奴隸主要給捕捉者適當?shù)膱蟪?；傷害他人的身世要處以酷刑并罰款,；禁止行巫術(shù)；破壞他人耕地者要支付食物賠償,；女奴對女主人不敬則予體罰,。婦女在家庭中地位低下,，如犯通奸罪則處死等等。這些條文充分表明了當時立法已采用罰金賠款等方式逐步取代同態(tài)復仇,。

從現(xiàn)在僅存的二十多條殘篇來看,，涉及女奴的有五條，她們時常遭受強暴,、買賣和毆打,；有兩條涉及寡婦，她們的社會地位較之女奴較好——法典序言提到不允許有勢力的人支配寡婦,，正文又提到遺棄寡婦的男人應(yīng)賠償一定數(shù)額的白銀,；法典也涉及普通婦女，她們的社會地位比女奴和婦女高,，但較普通男子卑下,。盡管法典中仍殘存著讓河神澄清妖術(shù)罪和妻子被控通奸罪的規(guī)定，但有關(guān)身體傷害的處罰規(guī)定比原始的處罰有了很大的進步,。

《烏爾納姆法典》無論在內(nèi)容上或形式上,，都有創(chuàng)新之處，在西亞地區(qū)占有重要的地位,，對后來兩河流域各國制定的法典影響頗大,。

序言

The prologue, typical of Mesopotamian law codes, invokes the deities for Ur-Nammu's kingship and decrees "equity in the land".

"…After Anand Enlilhad 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-minaweight, and standardized the stone weight of a shekelof 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."

正文

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. (§4 in some translations)

8. If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin slavewoman of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver. (5)

9. If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall pay her one mina of silver. (6)

10. If it is a (former) widow whom he divorces, he shall pay her half a mina of silver. (7)

11. If the man had slept with the widow without there having been any marriage contract, he need not pay any silver. (8)

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. (10)

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. (11)

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. (12)

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. (14)

18. If a man knocks out the eye of another man, he shall weigh out ½ a mina of silver. (15)

19. If a man has cut off another man’s foot, he is to pay ten shekels. (16)

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. (17)

21. If someone severed the nose of another man with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver. (18)

22. If a man knocks out a tooth of another man, he shall pay two shekels of silver. (19)

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. (21)

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. (22)

28. If a man appeared as a witness, and was shown to be a perjurer, he must pay fifteen shekels of silver. (25)

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. (26)

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. (27)

31. If a man flooded the field of a man with water, he shall measure out three kur of barley per iku of field. (28)

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. (29)

背景介紹

烏爾納姆（Ur-Nammu）約公元前2113年－公元前2096年在位阿卡德王國滅亡后，蠻族庫提人統(tǒng)治蘇美爾地區(qū),，雖然其間有些蘇美爾城邦保持著相對的獨立和繁榮,。公元前2120年,，漁夫出身的烏魯克人烏圖赫加爾起兵自立為烏魯克王,，并且打敗了庫提人，俘獲了庫提人的末代國王梯里根（Tiriga）,，烏圖赫加爾占領(lǐng)烏爾后任命烏爾納姆治理烏爾,。烏圖赫加爾與烏爾納姆的關(guān)系現(xiàn)在仍是史學界研究的課題，一說烏爾納姆是烏圖赫加爾的弟弟,，另一說烏爾納姆則是烏圖赫加爾的女婿,。但可能在烏圖赫加爾尚在世時，烏爾納姆就已經(jīng)與他反目為仇,，不臣服于他了,。約公元前2112年，烏圖赫加爾死于一場意外（或者可能是陰謀）,。此后烏爾納姆南征北戰(zhàn),，繼阿卡德王國以后，統(tǒng)一整個美索不達米亞,，建立起了強大的中央集權(quán)制王朝,。（另一強大的蘇美城邦拉格什于約公元前2110年被征服）烏爾納姆留給后人一部《烏爾納姆法典》,，今天考古所得的只是這部法典的一小部分。

鑒賞評價

《烏爾納姆法典》是部成熟的法律,，蘇美爾文明的法制體系已經(jīng)經(jīng)歷了很長時間的發(fā)展,。雖然如此，《烏爾納姆法典》但仍然可視為人類文明史上現(xiàn)存的最早的成文法,。