A History of Ancient Near Eastern Law

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UET 5 203). A charge of burglary was brought directly before

Hammurabi, who prepared to hear the evidence himself (AbB 13

12). The king is occasionally found trying civil disputes (property

and contract), but on what basis they were selected—the difficulty

of the issue, the status of the litigants, or a royal interest—is not

clear (e.g., ARN 163).

2.1.4.2 The king might deal with a case brought before him in one

of three ways. He either tried the case himself and gave final judg-

ment, decided a point of law and remitted the case to a local court

for a decision on the facts, or remitted the entire case to a local

court.^19

2.1.4.3 There were also royal judges who tried disputes at first

instance. They were undoubtedly higher in standing than the local

courts, but there does not appear to have been any formalized

hierarchy of courts.^20 Nor does there appear to have been a formal

system of appeal. A party dissatisfied with the judgment of a court

probably applied to the king by way of petition (see 2.2.2 below).

2.1.4.4 Provincial officials are frequently seen acting in a judicial

capacity, either independently or as a member of a court alongside

those described as judges. Thus the head of the irrigation bureau

tried two men charged with embezzling workers’ wages.^21 Hammurabi

referred many cases to his district governor Sin-iddinam for trial

(e.g., AbB 13 10).

2.1.4.5 Local courts were constituted by a college of judges, which

could vary in size. They functioned at the administrative level of the

city. The ward could be a venue for litigation, but it is not certain

that it constituted a court with powers of final judgment.^22 In some

cities (notably Nippur), the court was known as an assembly (pu¢rum);

(^19) Leemans, “King Hammurapi as Judge”; Dombradi, Darstellung..., 215–21.
(^20) Dombradi, Darstellung.. ., 226–30.
(^21) Waters, Water.. ., 67.
(^22) The ward could investigate (LH 142) and take evidence (BE 6/2 58 = Westbrook,
Marriage Law.. ., 116). Its dignitaries could form part of a larger court (VAS 7 56;
18 1 = Westbrook, Marriage Law.. ., 135) and could at least broker a settlement
(VAS 7 16 = UAZP 279).
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