Citatio: G. Torri, A. Carnevale & L. Warbinek, hethiter.net/: CHiL (18-12-2024)

Introduction to the Corpus of Hittite Laws (CHiL)

Introduction | Previous Editions | The Project

The objective of this project is to provide a new, fully annotated digital edition of the different manuscripts composing the corpus of Hittite Laws (CTH 291 and CTH 292), dating back in its early versions to at least the 16th century BCE.

The corpus of Hittite Laws is divided into two series, distinguished in their respective colophons by the titles takku LÚ-aš (“if a man,” CTH 291) and takku ^GIŠGEŠTIN-aš (“if a vine,” CTH 292), corresponding to the opening line of each of the two original tablets that form this collection. However, these two tablets should be regarded as parts of the same compilation, with the second serving as the continuation of the first. The two series are composed of 50 and 66 fragments respectively, mostly late Hittite copies, listing a total of more than 200 laws. In general, each case-law is preserved within a specific paragraph of the cuneiform tablets, but there are exceptions.

The Hittite collection of legal cases is structured by conditional sentences one after the other, where for each situation or case, introduced by “takku” (protasis), is provided with a specific fine or punishment (apodosis). The if-clause structure is widely attested in the Ancient Near East, from the Code of Hammurabi to Deuteronomy. The legal purpose of this formulation is clearly to cover all possible cases, resulting in an increasingly long sequence of if-clauses.

Nonetheless, the Hittite code seems to put down in words ancient social conventions for which Hittites tried to homologize the instructions, punishments, and compensations.

The tablets date from the Old Hittite to the Late Hittite periods, thus recording different variations and modifications. From a legal perspective, the modifications (or even “reforms”) are directly emphasized by the Hittites through the formulas karū “formerly” and kinuna “but now”. On the one hand the monetary penalties (expressed in measures of metal weight) are reduced, while on the other the capital or severe punishments (e.g., serious crimes against religion) are gradually replaced by (heavy) compensations and fines. It has been argued that these changes reflected not only a desire by the institutions to show mercy, but above all the need to not deprive the community of its workforce (by killing or maiming the perpetrators).

Notably, this collection of laws lacks both a prologue and an explicit authority responsible for their promulgation. While some sections attribute judicial authority to the king, it appears that, in most instances, the administration of justice was likely carried out by local authorities.

From a social perspective, the Hittite code provides interesting insights, starting with the difference between unfree man/woman (Sum. ARAD/GÉME) and free person (hitt. arawanni-) designated with the Akkadian term ELLU(M)/ELLETU basically meaning “pure” in Mesopotamian context and almost exclusively in Hittite documentation with this specific meaning (AHW I 204, 205; CAD E, 102-105). Although this differentiation emerges clearly, it seems not to be monolithic: there could be class changes, mostly downwards, thus raising the question of whether the “unfree” people were literally “slaves” or simply belonged to a lower social station than the fully free people. Finally, the laws regulated in a rather modern way what we would call marriage, divorce, and separation of property, including children. Although a certain degree of superiority to the male gender seems to have been achieved, women could boast a whole series of guarantees and rights.

Previous Editions

The editio princeps of the Hittite Laws is more than a century old (B. Hrozný, Code Hittite provenant de l'Asie Mineure (vers 1350 av.J.-C.) 1re partie: transcription, traduction française, Paris 1922) and subsequent editions appeared only years later. E. Neufeld (The Hittite Laws, London 1951) provided an annotated translation in both English and Hebrew, while the first critical edition in German is owed to J. Friedrich (Die hethitischen Gesetze. Transkription, Übersetzung, sprachliche Erläuterungen und vollständinges Wörterverzeichnis, DMOA 7, Leiden 1959). A few years later, F. Imparati (Le leggi ittite. Con prefazione di Pugliese Carratelli G., Roma 1964) published an Italian edition of the Hittite laws, whereas R. Haase (Die Fragmente der hethitischen Gesetze. Transkribiert und nach Paragraphen geordnet, Wiesbaden 1968) attempted a reorganization of the newly discovered fragments. Between the 1970s and 1990s, a significant number of contributions related to individual aspects of the Hittite Laws appeared, focusing on social, economic, or linguistic issues. Finally, in 1997, H. A. Hoffner Jr.’s The Laws of the Hittites appeared, a substantial critical edition in English that updated and completed Friedrich’s work with the most recent epigraphic discoveries and advances in research.

The Project

The Corpus of Hittite Laws (CHiL) project seeks to produce a new critical edition of the Hittite Laws (CTHs 291 and 292). This will be complemented by philological commentary and cultural-historical analysis, with the results made available through the Hethitologie-Portal Mainz (HPM). A primary objective is to produce a detailed digital edition of the manuscripts, utilizing the tool of comparatio to bring greater clarity to the textual tradition of these significant compositions. Another key goal is to provide a robust foundation for lexical and thematic studies of the Hittite Laws. Despite the value of previous contributions, many questions remain unsolved, particularly regarding the meanings of certain technical terms that reflect the roles and obligations of various social categories within Middle and Late Bronze Age Hittite society. Such uncertainties are mirrored in the technical vocabulary, which often lacks precise parallels in the corpus of Hittite texts.

Finally, we decided to provide an Italian translation of the laws for the CHiL project. This difficult choice was made for several reasons: first, the awareness that the translation of many legal cases as well as punishments requires a deep technical lexical knowledge to emphasize different shades of meaning; second, the agility and speed that only the native language could provide in translation work; and third, the pleasure to carry on the tradition of Fiorella Imparati exactly 60 years after her Florentine edition.

Principal Investigator

Giulia Torri

Staff members

Livio Warbinek
Antonio Carnevale

Collaborators

Thesaurus Linguarum Hethaeorum digitalis (TLH^dig)
The Corpus of Hittite Festival Rituals (technical support and website development)
Marta Pallavidini (Frei Universität Berlin)
Students of Hittitology (University of Florence, academic years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025)

This edition is a spin-off of the SoRMHA project “Supply of Resources and their Management in Hittite Anatolia” (PRIN 2022 PNRR) based at the University of Florence and led by Giulia Torri, Livio Warbinek and Antonio Carnevale.