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This case study outlines how the eHammurabi.com digital tool was built by describing its development from start to finish. The Law Code of Hammurabi was created in c. 1750 BCE and is well-known for being one of the oldest and most important legal texts in recorded human history.
Source: OMNIKA
Abstract: "If a man has destroyed the eye[sight] of another man, they shall destroy his eye[sight]," so reads provision §196 of the Law Code of Hammurabi, dated c. 1750 BCE, one of the oldest and most important legal texts in recorded human history. Many probably recognize this provision as the principle of "an eye for an eye." However, the original source materials from which it is derived from are less known. To unpack the inscription's linguistic contents, one must negotiate the complexities of the Akkadian language alongside other challenges unique to the study of ancient languages in general. Existing digital humanities projects have assisted researchers via the distribution of relevant scholarly materials. Notwithstanding, there is no authoritative, widely-available resource that consolidates multiple publications into a single resource. The eHammurabi.com project sought to remedy this state of affairs by means of building a simple-to-use digital tool. The present case study outlines how this new tool was built by describing its development from start to finish. A systematic review of existing digital tools was conducted before development began. Three arguments were posited: (1) digital tools like eHammurabi.com must be both an aggregator and redactor of data from authoritative publications; (2) the user interface is most important; and (3) the user interface must be designed in accordance with a singular, pre-determined user goal that can be measured objectively. The goal of eHammurabi.com was to enable users to find relevant linguistic contents for a given statute as quickly as possible. Certain features of the user interface seemed to satisfy this goal: a single-page website for all 282 statutes; a vertical multi-panel display that contains all required contents for each statute; and a persistent left-side navigation menu. Following the website's launch, a user study was conducted. Our data suggest that eHammurabi.com enables users to find a statute's contents roughly ten times faster in comparison to print books and PDF files. These results support our arguments. Website traffic data suggest that external reception has been positive. Further research is likely required. Implications for practitioners of digital humanities are discussed. Interdisciplinary cooperation amongst language experts and computer scientists is recommended.
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Primary
Myth
In the prologue, Hammurabi boasts about his intimacy with Marduk while giving him praise. Details about his own accomplishments are also pointed out, especially with respect to the enactment of justice in the world. Next, 282 laws are detailed. Many of them deal with divorce, taxes, medicine, theft, and familial matters. The famous phrase, "an eye for an eye," is also provided. The epilogue explains Hammurabi's authority as an arbiter of justice, as well as his divine authority.
Belief system
The Babylonian religion was practiced throughout modern-day Iraq and the general near east (Mesopotamia) during antiquity. Its chief deity was Marduk.
Translation
"Hammurabi's Code" is a composite English translation of the Law Code of Hammurabi by Robert F. Harper in 1902. It includes the Epilogue, the 282 listed laws, and the Prologue. The general publications also includes autographed plates with the cuneiform inscriptions.
Myths cited
It looks like only the main myth was referenced in this work.
Belief systems cited
Primary
Basalt Stele (Monument)
The title primarily deals with this artifact.
Artifacts cited
It looks like only the main artifact was referenced in this work.
Other works
Conference paper · 2023
This work is a conference paper by Boban Dedović concerning Allo Latin, a digital tool first presented at the 24th biennial conference of the Dictionary Society of North America in Boulder, CO, May 31 – June 3, 2023.
Preprint · 2023
This case study outlines how the eHammurabi.com digital tool was built by describing its development from start to finish. The Law Code of Hammurabi was created in c. 1750 BCE and is well-known for being one of the oldest and most important legal texts in recorded human history.
Seminar paper · 2019
"Inanna's Descent" outlines all the scholarship related to the Sumerian afterlife myth named "Inanna's descent to the netherworld." The work contains a chronological survey of the scholarship, as well as an appendix of over forty artifact pictures and citation details. The work was produced by Dedović while he was studying death and burial rituals in the ancient world at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
Conference paper · 2022
"‘Minds’ in ‘Homer’" is a 2021 empirical research study on mental language in the Homeric epics which argued that the Iliad has much less mental language than the Odyssey, statistically speaking. Following peer review, the findings were accepted as a conference paper for the twelfth International Conference on the Mental Lexicon in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada, from October 11–14, 2022.
Website · 1997
The "JJS" promotes the work of Julian Jaynes, a former Princeton professor who revolutionized ancient (and modern) psychology with his book, titled The Origin of Consciousness .... The book's contributions to ancient studies are legion, and cover the Homeric Epics (the Iliad and Odyssey), and more Greek and Akkadian myths. The society was started in 1997 by the prolific author Marcel Kuijsten, its Executive Director.
Website · 2021
The Electronic Hammurbi website provides a digital version of the Law Code of Hammurabi; and includes the cuneiform signs, transliteration, normalization into Akkadian (Old Babylonian), and an English translation derived chiefly from Huehnergard's standard Akkadian grammar. The website was created by Boban Dedović on February 2021 while he was studying Mesopotamian Law at the University of Chicago, and is operated by the OMNIKA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Las Vegas, NV.
Conference paper · 2023
In "When Art Betrays Mythology," Dedović argued that Francisco Goya's Saturn painting is not representative of the mythological figure Cronus from Hesiod's Theogony. Instead, the author presents evidence to show that the painting's figure aligns with Grendel from Beowulf.
Book · 2022
Conversations on Consciousness is a collection of transcribed interviews related to the theories of Julian Jaynes. The major focus of Jaynes' work was the origin of human consciousness. The work was compiled and edited by Marcel Kuijsten of the Julian Jaynes Society.
Library works
Book · 1904
The Code of Hammurabi is a 1904 translation of the Law Code of Hammurabi basalt stele, published by Robert Francis Harper. The printed book contains a translation, transliteration, and collection of plates which show the Akkadian cuneiform inscriptions. 282 laws are translated, as well as the prologue and epilogue.
Book · 2011
Huehnergard's Akkadian Grammar is the gold-standard introductory text to Old Babylonian (Akkadian). In its third edition, the grammar text provides a thorough overview of Akkadian grammar used by the Babylonians. The appendix includes useful charts for verbs of different stems. Huehnergard is one of the world's most well-regarded experts in Semitic languages.
Book · 1953
Bergmann's 1953 publication is the standard text for the Law Code of Hammurabi. It provides pictures of the cuneiform inscription from over ten sources. The preface is written in Latin.
Book · 2017
Abulhab's 2017 publication includes the entire Law Code of Hammurabi. It is collated, transliterated, and includes an English and Arabic translation.
Website · 2021
The Electronic Hammurbi website provides a digital version of the Law Code of Hammurabi; and includes the cuneiform signs, transliteration, normalization into Akkadian (Old Babylonian), and an English translation derived chiefly from Huehnergard's standard Akkadian grammar. The website was created by Boban Dedović on February 2021 while he was studying Mesopotamian Law at the University of Chicago, and is operated by the OMNIKA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Las Vegas, NV.
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Cite this work
ChicagoDedović, Boban. "eHammurabi.com: A case study on developing user-friendly digital tools for complex ancient languages like Akkadian." Preprint. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2023.