Author
Martha Roth’s work, dedicated to the study of syntax in coupled with the historical and political meaning of the collection of laws of the ancient Babylonian sixth king Hammurabi, was chosen as the object of research. According to information provided on the official website of the University of Chicago, Martha Roth is the current professor of Assyriology of Middle Eastern languages and civilizations and has held this position for forty years. The summary of the academic biography makes it clear that the professor is interested in those areas of the history of ancient Eastern civilizations that are devoted to jurisprudence, family law, as well as the social and legal status of women. Although the website indicates that Roth leads three active academic courses on the culture of reading, the Akkadian language, and the laws of Mesopotamia.
Confidence in the author’s research can be justified by at least three factors. First of all, in 1996, Roth was appointed Director and Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Assyrian Dictionary. Secondly, Roth is actively involved in symposiums and conferences held both on the territory of Chicago and in other US states. Finally, she received her bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University, followed by a doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania. During her training and subsequent work, the professor has authored numerous studies on legal practice in Mesopotamia, among them:
- Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (1995);
- The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago;
- Mesopotamian Legal Traditions and the Laws of Hammurabi (1995);
- Age at Marriage and the Household: A Study of Neo-Babylonian and Neo-Assyrian Forms (1987);
- “She Will Die By the Iron Dagger” Adultery and Neo-Babylonian Marriage (1988).
Meaning
A careful reading of this article allowed me to divide it into two fundamental parts. In the first one, the author told about the syntactic features of Hammurabi’s law, political and historical meanings of the source. Meanwhile, the second part of the article was devoted to interpreting some extracts from the Code from the classical legal and ethical points of view. From this article, the reader will be able to learn not only about what the historical source is (the translation of the document is provided at the end of the work) but also to assess the link of the monument with some other valuable collections of laws. Furthermore, the analysis of the material read allowed to highlight five central theses of the study. (i) First, it is necessary to emphasize the uniqueness of the syntax of the text written in two literary styles without separators, space, or visual signals. (ii) Such writing justifies the presence of several target audiences: deities, victims of the judicial system, and all others. (iii) The article showed that the Hammurabi Laws were one of the first compendia to be published, which laid the foundation for subsequent attempts to reform the legal system. (iv) From the political point of view, the monument can be regarded as an official document of the king, as well as a trophy if it is taken into account the multiplicity of styles. (v) Finally, the author referred to the phenomenon of slapping and physical abuse, which was present in the ancient Babylonian family practice. Roth has concluded that slapping should not be considered a natural and legal act of a father concerning his children or spouse, but should be considered a crime.
Comparison
Slanski’s work stated that Hammurabi’s monument pursued the goal of embodying the Babylonian king’s desire to leave a human-made creation as a legacy and create principles of justice. In the work, the author repeatedly referred to Roth’s one to confirm theses and directly cite translations. It is worth saying that this work was simpler to understand and more targeted, though the specific research topics vary. While Roth was writing about the scale of the Code’s significance, Slanski turned mainly to the monument’s physical component: its relief, inscriptions, and form. It cannot be said that one of the works was the best since each of the authors has considered the collection of laws in its way. Then, a good strategy of study would be to combine the two works to create a more general picture.
Bias
Although Martha Roth aimed to maintain the gender neutrality of the study, every reference to ancient Babylonian women led to issues relevant to recent decades: emancipation, feminism, gender equality. In other words, Roth partially addressed the issue through the prism of a modern sociologist, though this approach could not be entirely correct for historical research. Perhaps this is the only example of bias that the author of this paper could find in the article: instead of expressing her own opinion on the issues under discussion, Roth was mostly an outsider commentator. In general, after careful reading, the reader may feel that the professor has a reasonably good understanding of the subject matter of the work and seek to expand the boundaries of perception of the Code through the historical interpretations of laws. Indeed, the author used literature to support her thesis, but it may seem that the choice of sources was motivated more by the author’s personal beliefs than by a desire to gather substantial evidence.
Audiences
It is necessary, to be honest, to admit that the author of this work had some difficulties in understanding the meanings put forth by Roth. The problem mainly concerns the literary style of writing, since the official documentary handwriting bordered on the author’s statements. Such an approach may slightly confound the reader, but in general, it did not prevent the understanding of the material. On this basis, the author may conclude that there are at least three target audiences who might benefit from this article: (i) college students; (ii) symposium participants; (iii) and people interested in historical researches. For instance, students may use this material as a teaching aid that provides a broad assessment of the Code. Symposium participants, along with admirers of history, will find the article an exciting continuation of the study of Mesopotamia, as Roth addressed slap issues from an unusual research perspective. Regardless of the audience, it seems that the reader must have some foundation of knowledge about the Code since an initial introduction to the topic through this work can be challenging to grasp. If the goal was to create a universal textbook on Roth’s article, the author would recommend starting with an introduction that would offer the reader basic knowledge about the Code.
Reference
For people who have just started to study this topic, the article may seem incomprehensible. Nevertheless, this source is useful for the reader who wants to know more details about the Laws of Hammurabi and the legal system of ancient Babylon. Roth, being a qualified specialist in the narrow field, was able to emphasize the importance of the Code, syntax, and interpretations, and for this reason, for the prepared reader, this work open up new meanings in the Document. Meanwhile, Roth’s work is also rich in historical facts, which are sure to be beneficial to the reader.
Bibliography
The Oriental Institute. “Martha T. Roth.” n.d. Web.
People Pill. “Martha T. Roth.” 2020. Web.
Roth, Martha T. “Mesopotamian Legal Traditions and The Laws of Hammurabi,” Chicago-Kent Law Review 71, no. 1 (1995): 13-39.
Slanski, Kathryn E. “The Law of Hammurabi and its audience,” Yale JL & Human 24, no.1 (2012): 97-110.
The University of Chicago. “Martha Roth.”2020. Web.