# Canonical recap data for Hittite Code of Laws Published (1400)
# Source: https://recap.at/1400/hittite-laws
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: hittite-laws
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1400/hittite-laws"
title: Hittite Code of Laws Published
aliases:
- Code of Hattusili
- Hittite Laws
- Hittite Legal Code
subtitle: The Hittite Laws represent one of antiquity's most sophisticated legal codes, establishing precedent for systematic jurisprudence and social hierarchy.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1400-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1400
decade: 1400
country:
name: Turkey
slug: turkey
summaryShort: Hittite cuneiform is the form of cuneiform script used in writing the Hittite language. The surviving corpus of Hittite texts is preserved in cuneiform on clay tablets dating to the 2nd millennium BC.
summaryLong: Hittite cuneiform is the form of cuneiform script used in writing the Hittite language. The surviving corpus of Hittite texts is preserved in cuneiform on clay tablets dating to the 2nd millennium BC.
lede: Around 1400 BCE, Hittite scribes in what is now Turkey preserved a comprehensive legal code on clay tablets using cuneiform script. This collection of laws—covering everything from property disputes to criminal penalties—offered a rare window into how an ancient empire actually governed itself, making it one of the oldest written legal documents to survive intact.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg/1280px-Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Hittite cuneiform"
importance: 77
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Approximate Date
  value: 1400 BCE
- label: Geographic Location
  value: Boğazköy (ancient Hattusa), modern-day Turkey
- label: Writing System
  value: Cuneiform on clay tablets
- label: Estimated Number of Laws
  value: 200+ individual legal provisions
- label: Primary Language
  value: Hittite (Indo-European)
- label: Tablet Fragments Recovered
  value: Multiple sets, most fragmentary
timeline:
- date: 1200-01-01
  title: Hittite Empire Collapse
  description: The Hittite empire fragments during the Late Bronze Age collapse, but clay tablets containing the laws survive in the ruins of Hattusa.
- date: 1300-01-01
  title: Code Preserved Through Reigns
  description: The legal code remains in use and is recopied during the reigns of later Hittite kings, ensuring its survival through the empire's height.
- date: 1400-01-01
  title: Hittite Code Compiled
  description: Legal scribes at Hattusa compile and inscribe comprehensive laws on clay tablets using cuneiform, creating one of antiquity's most systematic legal documents.
- date: 1906-01-01
  title: Archaeological Rediscovery
  description: German archaeologist Hugo Winckler excavates Boğazköy and uncovers the Hittite royal archives, including fragmented copies of the legal code.
- date: 1920-01-01
  title: Scholarly Translation Begins
  description: Scholars begin systematically translating and publishing the Hittite legal texts, revealing the code's structure and contents to the modern world.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_cuneiform"
  title: Hittite cuneiform
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times of London
  publisherSlug: the-times-of-london
  headline: Hittite Princes Order New Code of Laws - Royal Decree Inscribed Upon Clay
  publishedAt: 1400-06-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The Hittite throne has commissioned a comprehensive legal codex, etched in cuneiform upon clay tablets for permanent record. Scholars note the systematic organization rivals that of Babylonian precedent.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Egyptian Royal Gazette
  publisherSlug: egyptian-royal-gazette
  headline: Hatti Neighbors Issue Binding Legal Statutes - Northern Powers Strengthen Governance
  publishedAt: 1400-07-22
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Intelligence from Hittite territories confirms King Telepinu's administration has consolidated laws governing commerce, property, and criminal redress. The move signals stabilization of their northern kingdom.
  significance: 72
  type: newspaper
  region: Egypt
- publisher: Mesopotamian Chronicle
  publisherSlug: mesopotamian-chronicle
  headline: Hittites Adopt Cuneiform Legal Corpus - Distant Kingdom Mirrors Akkadian Precedent
  publishedAt: 1400-08-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The Hittite realm has formalized its legal structures through cuneiform inscription, borrowing administrative technique from established Mesopotamian tradition. Merchants report the codification may streamline cross-border agreements.
  significance: 68
  type: newspaper
  region: Mesopotamia
- publisher: Tyre Merchant Dispatch
  publisherSlug: tyre-merchant-dispatch
  headline: Hittite Law Tablets Promise Clarity for Trade - Northern Kingdom Publishes Commercial Statutes
  publishedAt: 1400-09-03
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Phoenician traders welcome news of standardized Hittite legal codes inscribed on clay, offering predictable frameworks for contracts and dispute resolution across the eastern Mediterranean routes.
  significance: 55
  type: newspaper
  region: Phoenicia
peoplesVoice:
- source: Suppiluliuma I, Hittite King
  voiceType: official
  context: The Hittite monarch commissioned the code to consolidate legal authority across his expanding empire around 1400 BC.
  excerpt: By recording the laws of our fathers in clay, we bind the kingdom in justice. Let all who read these tablets know the price of transgression and the reward of obedience.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 92
  attribution: Royal decree, Hattusa palace archives
  publishedAt: 1400-01-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Telipinu, Hittite Scribe and Legal Expert
  voiceType: expert
  context: A leading cuneiform scholar assessed the practical implications of codifying Hittite legal precedent in permanent form.
  excerpt: These laws inscribed in clay will outlast stone. By the stylus and the tablet, we create a memory that cannot be forgotten or corrupted by memory alone.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - temple scribal records
  publishedAt: 1400-03-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A Hittite merchant from Kanesh
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Trade and commerce depended on predictable legal frameworks; a merchant's perspective on uniform code benefits.
  excerpt: Now I know exactly what debts I owe and what I may claim. The king's law written for all to see - this is worth more than ten caravans of tin.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 62
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - merchant correspondence on clay tablets
  publishedAt: 1400-06-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: A Hittite nobleman from the old guard
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Entrenched aristocrats feared the standardization of law would diminish their customary privileges and judicial autonomy.
  excerpt: The king writes laws in clay as if custom carved in our ancestors' bones means nothing. Will his tablets judge the disputes that custom has long settled?
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 71
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - private correspondence
  publishedAt: 1400-05-05
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Mursili II, Hittite Prince and Heir
  voiceType: analyst
  context: The crown prince reflected on how codified law would strengthen succession and administrative continuity for future rulers.
  excerpt: When I inherit this throne, I inherit not merely power, but a written covenant between king and people. Laws in clay will strengthen my hand and bind my realm together.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - royal household chronicles
  publishedAt: 1400-08-22
  originalLanguage: en
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg/1280px-Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg/800px-Hittite_Cuneiform_Tablet-_Legal_Deposition%28%3F%29.jpg"
  caption: Hittite cuneiform
  credit: Wikipedia · "Hittite cuneiform"
  width: 330
  height: 412
impactStatement: The Hittite Code stands as one of humanity's earliest systematic attempts to codify justice in writing. Its preservation on clay tablets gives historians concrete evidence of how Bronze Age societies structured punishment, property rights, and social hierarchy—and reveals a legal system far more nuanced than simple retribution.
categories:
- award
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- constitutional_reform
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- creation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Ancient Hittite legal code from 1400 BCE preserved on clay tablets. One of the oldest written legal documents.
wikidataQid: Q1035956
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260511060250/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_cuneiform"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-11
  label: Hittite cuneiform
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_cuneiform"
