# Hammurabi ## Overview Hammurabi (~1792–1750 BCE) was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty who transformed Babylon from a minor city-state into the dominant power in Mesopotamia. He is best known for the Code of Hammurabi. ## Key Facts - Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE - Title: King of Babylon - Capital: Babylon - Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite) - Father: Sin-Muballit (predecessor, abdicated due to failing health) ## Achievements - Inherited a small kingdom (Babylon, Kish, Sippar, Borsippa) and expanded it through military campaigns and diplomacy [^3] - Conquered city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari; ousted Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria [^3] - Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a diorite stele [^1] - Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure - Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon ## The Code of Hammurabi - The longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East [^3] - Written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian cuneiform - Structured as: poetic prologue, 282 case laws, and epilogue (~4,130 lines total) [^3] - The stele's relief depicts Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the sun god of justice, symbolizing divine authority [^3] - 282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters - Principle of *lex talionis* ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions - Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre [^2] - Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete --- [^1]: Roth, M.T. *Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor* (1997) [^2]: Harper, R.F. *The Code of Hammurabi* (1904) [^3]: World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (accessed 2026) --- ## Review Queue - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE" - when was this true? > 1750 BCE event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a basalt stel..." - when was this true? > 1754 BCE event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Principle of *lex talionis* ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre [^2]" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - when was this true? > Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) [^1]; Harper (1904) [^2]; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) [^3]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Principle of *lex talionis* ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - what is the source? > Roth (1997) [^1] and Harper (1904) [^2]. - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 17: "Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a basalt stel..." - Roth source from 1997 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Still accurate. Roth (1997) remains a standard reference. - [x] `@q[stale]` Line 24: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre [^2]" - Harper source from 1904 may be outdated, is this still accurate? > Still accurate. Harper (1904) remains a standard reference.