A
code of
laws written during the reign of
Hammurabi of
Babylon (1792-1750 B.C.), discovered at the beginning of the 20th century by the
French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan in the city of
Susa (where it was brought after it was
plundered from Babylon). The
stela was originally placed in Babylon, and is remarkable not for the code itself, but for its
publication. Sure, it cries out "here are the laws under which you are
judged", but adds the
footnote "...now all you have to do is go join a
school, become a
scribe, learn how to
read, and even then we're making no
promises".
The format is simple; after a long literary and historical preamble, it switches to a simple and plain prodasis/apodosis style. In Akkadian, all you need to remember is three words: "shumma awilum..." (If a man...) and "...iddak" (...he shall be put to death).
I'll post more as I translate.