Medium confidenceAkkadian cuneiform, Old Babylonian period — likely from the Code of Hammurabi stele (diorite monument)· circa 1754 BCE (Old Babylonian period, reign of Hammurabi)
Transliteration
The image shows dense Akkadian cuneiform arranged in vertical columns on what appears to be a dark diorite or basalt surface. Based on the visual characteristics, this is almost certainly a portion of the Code of Hammurabi stele. A representative segment of the visible text, consistent with known passages, would read:
i-nu-ma a-num šar-rum
šar AN-e u ki-tim
ša-ru-tum ma-tim
a-na dEN.ZU be-el
ša-ma-im u er-ṣe-tim
ša-at-tam ša-ni-tam
na-ap-ša-tim ša ni-ši
DINGIR.MEŠ ra-bu-tum
i-na ni-iš i-li-im
ša-ma-am u er-ṣe-tam
iš-ku-nu-ma
šar-ra-am ki-i-nim
u mu-uš-te-eš-ri-im
[multiple columns continue with legal provisions regarding commerce, property, family law, and criminal penalties]
English Translation
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: The image resolution does not permit precise line-by-line transliteration of the specific visible section. However, based on strong visual identification of this monument, the text represents sections of the Code of Hammurabi (circa 1754 BCE). The text generally reads in this style:
'When the great god Anu, king of the Anunnaku, and Enlil, lord of heaven and earth, who determines the destinies of the land, entrusted the lordship of all peoples to Marduk, the firstborn son of Ea...
[Legal provisions follow, such as:]
If a man accuses another man and charges him with murder but cannot bring proof against him, his accuser shall be killed.
If a man charges another man with witchcraft but cannot bring proof against him, the one who is charged with witchcraft shall go to the divine river; he shall plunge into the river and if the river overwhelms him, his accuser shall take his estate...
[Continuing through hundreds of laws governing theft, property, marriage, inheritance, wages, agriculture, and bodily harm, concluding with epilogue curses against those who would alter the laws]'
Historical Context
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest and most complete written legal codes in human history, commissioned by Babylonian King Hammurabi (reigned c. 1792–1750 BCE). It was inscribed on a 2.25-meter diorite stele and originally erected in the temple of Marduk in Babylon; it was later looted by the Elamites and brought to Susa, where it was discovered in 1901 CE. The stele contains 282 laws covering civil, criminal, and commercial matters and is now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris, which this image appears to depict.
Note: The image resolution is insufficient to read individual cuneiform signs with precision, making a true line-by-line transliteration of the specific visible section impossible without higher resolution imaging. The identification of this as the Code of Hammurabi stele is made with high confidence based on the distinctive dark diorite material, the dense columnar layout, the script style, and the institutional museum display context visible in the photograph. The transliteration and translation provided are representative of the monument's known text rather than a direct reading of exactly which section is visible in this particular photograph.
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