There were a few motivations for this. First, part of the background of the story I'm writing is that the first emperor united the people and instilled a strict system of laws. Thus, reading and translating the code of Hammurabi gives me a bit more insight into what kind of things an ancient law-giver would have been thinking about. Second, especially by attempting to translate, I'm adding vocabulary to the language in a specific domain: the legal domain. I've had to coin words such as 'accuse', 'verdict', 'sign', 'witness' (although I had already coined that one), and so on.
Thus, while I certainly use this blog (on the rare occasions when I post) to share my own work, I hope that it will also be helpful for other conlangers. Attempting to translate documents in different domains and on different subjects will certainly help you think through what vocabulary you might need, and how grammatical structures might differ between different specific domains. I'd encourage you to take a look at the Code of Hammurabi, and think about what something similar might look like in your con-languages and con-cultures. What's important to them? What is considered justice? What is considered wrongdoing? What is considered corruption?
If this idea intrigues you, you can find some translations at several places online:
http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm
http://www.constitution.org/ime/hammurabi.pdf
For those of you (which is probably most who are interested in anything on this blog at all) who'd like to see the original text in the original language, I'd recommend the following google book (which also appears to be a better, less literal translation than the others, which is helpful for understanding what the text really means, especially if you don't know much ancient Babylonian): https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=jeLz_BYUoeQC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false
As an example, here's my first attempt at translating the first five of Hammurabi's laws.
Valoð Hammurabilía
The Laws of
Hammurabi
a. Nomoté rim van ó
íasem léartiué, tim errim morainuí, ai nomottodd aşcalisía.
1.
If someone accuses
another, charging him with a crime, but this one cannot prove it,
then the accuser shall be put to death.
e.
Leartiué
rim van sabía tim errim
morainuí, ai ée sem tiunía sopía yesorir ó suérir simxunduc ó
stemozemé yesor sem, ai simvermrí íasem nomottodd íasem ruæbb.
Aié yesor assem şituí
ó sem æxiĵeusé
tamuí, sem arrim leartiu
sabía, arrim aşcalisía. Simxunduc assem yesorir, simvermrí sem
ruæbb nomottotía.
2.
If a man charge another
with sorcery and cannot prove it, he who is charged with sorcery
shall go down to the river and into the river he shall throw himself,
and if the river overcome him, his accuser shall take to himself his
house. If the river show that man to be innocent and he come forth
unharmed, he who charged him with sorcery shall be put to death. He
who threw himself into the river shall take to himself the house of
his accuser.
i.
Wemmosé rim van hizía þanadé, u aié wemmos morainuí, ó þanoté
senan siepía, ai arrim aşcalisía.
3.
If a man testifies falsely against another during a case, or if his
testimony cannot be proven, and if it is a case regarding life, then
that man shall be put to death.
þ.
Wemmosé rim camía u ebnería ai mrí sem léol alisía þanoté.
4.
If a man bear witness for money or grain, then he shall bear the
judgment given in that case.
b.
Téscemé léollodd matodd, u alisé sem valodd, u admréé
léareodd valéotía
ó valainía mulşeþía,
tim amurizé léarmolé sem, ai
léoladan
æsem éxis ai yomalis sem léarmollimía, ó yi þou cecigía
léolía þanoté sem ca, ó
ærineq̂é
sem æsem ðimte
aq̂ellimía léolí, ó onuí sem æxiĵée u léolaðía þanadé
sam sem mríuí.
5.
If a judge pronounces a judgment, gives a decision, or delivers a
verdict duly signed and sealed, and afterward alters his judgment,
they shall call that judge to give an account of his altered
judgment, and he shall pay twelve times the judgment in the case, and
in the assembly they shall expel him from his position as judge, and
he shall never return, nor take his seat with the other judges in a
case.
