# Code of Hammurabi ## Overview The Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE) is one of the most complete and well-known ancient legal codes, inscribed on a basalt stele and containing 282 laws governing Babylonian society. @t[~1754 BCE] ## Key Facts - Date: ~1754 BCE (Wikipedia/Roth give range 1755–1751 BCE) @t[~1754 BCE] - Issuer: Hammurabi, sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty - Language: Akkadian (Old Babylonian dialect), written in cuneiform script - Medium: Black basalt stele, 2.25 m tall (some older sources describe the material as diorite) [^3] - Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris (discovered at Susa, Iran, 1901–1902) [^3] - Weight: approximately 4 tons ## Structure - Prologue: Hammurabi as divinely appointed shepherd of his people; relief at top depicts Hammurabi receiving authority from Shamash, the sun god [^1] - 282 laws organized by topic, written vertically in cuneiform - Epilogue: Blessings for those who uphold the laws, curses for those who deface the stele [^1] ## Legal Principles - *Lex talionis*: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (with class-based modifications) [^2] - Three social classes: *awilum* (free), *mushkenum* (dependent), *wardum* (slave) - Covers: Property, trade, family law, labor, personal injury, agriculture - Presumption of innocence in some cases; trial by ordeal in others [^2] - Prescribed specific penalties for each crime; limited retribution to proportional response ## Discovery and Transmission - The stele was taken as plunder to Susa by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte around 1158 BCE, approximately 600 years after its creation - Rediscovered by French archaeologists at Susa in 1901–1902 - The text was copied and studied by Mesopotamian scribes for over a millennium after its creation, attesting to its lasting authority [^4] ## Significance - Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu, ~2100–2050 BCE) but the longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East [^4] - Provides detailed picture of Old Babylonian society - Influenced later Near Eastern legal traditions; parallels noted with the Law of Moses in the Torah [^4] - Continues to be studied for its influence on modern legal jurisprudence --- [^1]: Roth, M.T. *Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor* (1997) [^2]: Driver, G.R. & Miles, J.C. *The Babylonian Laws* (Oxford, 1952–1955) [^3]: Louvre Museum. "The Code of Hammurabi." louvre.fr (accessed 2026) [^4]: Wikipedia contributors. "Code of Hammurabi." *Wikipedia* (accessed 2026-02-23)