The Hittite Laws, also called the Code of Nesilim, are roughly two hundred provisions inscribed on cuneiform tablets found at the Hittite capital Hattusa, in use across the Hittite Empire from about 1650 to 1100 BCE. Copies exist in Old, Middle and Late Hittite, showing the code was revised over centuries, notably replacing capital punishment with monetary compensation in some later provisions. It regulated assault, theft, murder, witchcraft and divorce, and is notable for comparatively humane treatment of enslaved persons, who could marry by choice, own property, run businesses and buy their freedom.
Facts
Open Questions
Promulgated ByNot named in the surviving text; no promulgating king or authority is recorded. 2 The Hittite Laws tablets do not name who authored or promulgated them. Some historians infer the source was someone of high rank in Hittite society, possibly a king, but this is inference rather than an attested fact from the text itself. Legal Status
Legal Status (category)Historical / No Longer in Force 1 Erac. 1650 to 1100 BCE (in force through the Hittite Empire) 2 Era
Era (category)Early Modern (1500-1800) 2 Connections
Open Questions
Source Hittite Laws (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Hittite laws (Wikipedia)
Lead sectionQuote, Lead section
The Hittite laws, also known as the Code of the Nesilim, constitute an ancient legal code dating from c. 1650-1500 BCE.
2. Hittite Laws (Wikipedia)
WikipediaOverview and History sections
remaining valid throughout the duration of the Hittite Empire (ca. 1650-1100 BCE).
Authorship section
While it is not known who exactly authored the legal document, some historians believe that its source was someone important or of high power in the Hittite society and this could even be a king.
Open Questions (1 open question)
Who promulgated the Hittite Laws: a named king, an anonymous royal court, or some other authority the surviving tablets do not record?
The surviving Hittite Laws tablets do not name an author or promulgating authority. Some historians infer the source was someone of high rank in Hittite society, possibly a king, but this is scholarly inference rather than an attested statement in the text itself.
What would resolve this A Hittite royal inscription, colophon, or independent Hittitological source naming the specific king or court that issued the laws would resolve this; absent that, the promulgator may simply be unrecoverable from the surviving record.
Hittitology / Ancient Near Eastern StudiesHittite Laws (Wikipedia)
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