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EUROPE AND HOMINID-PRIMATE ARE NOT OF CIVILIZATION KINGS LAW CODE JURISDICATION
The dating of c. 2100-2050 BCE is based on middle chronology; short chronology places the date at c. 2050-2047 BCE, just prior to, or at the beginning of Ur-Nammu's reign. The earliest law code from Mesopotamia was the Code of Urukagina (c. 24th century BCE) which survives in the present day only through references in other ancient works. Although the Code of Ur-Nammu is incomplete, enough of it was preserved to allow scholars to understand the king’s vision of law and order in his lands.
Presenting himself as the father of his people, Ur-Nammu encouraged his subjects to think of themselves as one family and of his laws as the rules of a home. Punishments, except for capital offenses, took the form of fines in the same way a child might be deprived of a favorite pastime or toy for misbehaving. Ur-Nammu issued the code with the understanding that his people knew how to treat each other with respect and a fine for lapses would serve as a reminder.
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Although the 57 laws of the code were issued under the king's name, it is possible they were actually published by his son, Shulgi, after Ur-Nammu's death. The code was further developed by Shulgi's successors and influenced the form and underlying vision of later codes such as the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 1930 BCE) and the laws decreed under the reign of Lipit- Ishtar (c. 1870 to c. 1860 BCE). These codes, in turn, served as a model for the Code of Hammurabi, which would influence the laws of other civilizations, notably the creation of the Mosaic Law.