daniel/factbase-ancient-history
1
0
Fork 0
Code Issues Pull Requests Actions Packages Projects Releases Wiki Activity
Files
main
factbase-ancient-history/rulers/hammurabi.md

7.3 KiB
Raw Permalink Blame History

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. @t[1792 BCE..1750 BCE]

Key Facts

  • Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE @t[1792 BCE..1750 BCE]
  • Title: King of Babylon; also styled "King of the Four Corners of the World" @t[1792 BCE..1750 BCE]
  • Capital: Babylon
  • Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)
  • Father: Sin-Muballit (predecessor, abdicated due to failing health)
  • Successor: Samsu-iluna (r. ~1750–1712 BCE) @t[~1750 BCE..~1712 BCE]

Achievements

  • Inherited a small kingdom (Babylon, Kish, Sippar, Borsippa) and expanded it through military campaigns and diplomacy 1
  • Formed a temporary alliance with Larsa to repel an Elamite invasion, then turned against Larsa and absorbed its territories 1
  • Conquered city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari; ousted Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria, forcing his son Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute 1
  • Was the first ruler to successfully govern all of Mesopotamia without revolt following his initial conquests 1
  • Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a diorite stele @t[~1754 BCE] 2
  • Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure; control of canal flow also served as a strategic tool against rival city-states 1
  • Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon
  • Over 200 surviving royal letters document his direct administrative oversight of conquered territories, including correspondence with officials in Larsa 1

The Code of Hammurabi

  • The longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East 1
  • Written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian cuneiform
  • Structured as: poetic prologue, 282 case laws, and epilogue (~4,130 lines total) 1
  • The stele's relief depicts Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the sun god of justice, symbolizing divine authority 1
  • 282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters
  • Among the first legal codes to establish the presumption of innocence 3
  • Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions
  • Influenced later legal traditions, including Mosaic Law in the Hebrew Bible 1
  • Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 4
  • Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete

Review Queue

  • @q[temporal] Line 10: "Capital: Babylon" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 11: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 12: "Father: Sin-Muballit (predecessor, abdicated due to failing health)" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 16: "Inherited a small kingdom (Babylon, Kish, Sippar, Borsippa) and expanded it t..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 17: "Formed a temporary alliance with Larsa to repel an Elamite invasion, then tur..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 18: "Conquered city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari; ousted Ishme-Dagan I of A..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 19: "Was the first ruler to successfully govern all of Mesopotamia without revolt ..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 21: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure; control of canal flow also se..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 22: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 23: "Over 200 surviving royal letters document his direct administrative oversight..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 26: "The longest, best-organized, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient N..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 27: "Written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian cuneiform" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 28: "Structured as: poetic prologue, 282 case laws, and epilogue (~4,130 lines tot..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 29: "The stele's relief depicts Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the sun..." - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 30: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 31: "Among the first legal codes to establish the presumption of innocence 3 " - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 32: "Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 33: "Influenced later legal traditions, including Mosaic Law in the Hebrew Bible 1 " - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 34: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 4 " - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 35: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - when was this true?

  • @q[temporal] Line 13: Malformed temporal tag @t[-1750..-1712] — see docs for valid syntax

  • @q[conflict] Line 8: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE @t[1792 BCE..1750 BCE]" @t[-1792..-1750] overlaps with "Title: King of Babylon; also styled "King of the Four Corners of the World" @..." @t[-1792..-1750] - were both true simultaneously? (line:9) [pattern:parallel_overlap]

  • @q[missing] Line 8: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE @t[1792 BCE..1750 BCE]" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 9: "Title: King of Babylon; also styled "King of the Four Corners of the World" @..." - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 10: "Capital: Babylon" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 11: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 12: "Father: Sin-Muballit (predecessor, abdicated due to failing health)" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 13: "Successor: Samsu-iluna (r. ~1750–1712 BCE) @t[~1750 BCE..~1712 BCE]" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 22: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 27: "Written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian cuneiform" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 30: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 32: "Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - what is the source?

  • @q[missing] Line 35: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - what is the source?

  • @q[stale] Line 20: "Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a diorite ste..." - Roth source from 1997 may be outdated, is this still accurate?

  • @q[stale] Line 34: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 4 " - Harper source from 1904 may be outdated, is this still accurate?

  1. World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (accessed 2026) ↩︎

  2. Roth, M.T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (1997) ↩︎

  3. Wikipedia. "Hammurabi." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammurabi (accessed 2026) ↩︎

  4. Harper, R.F. The Code of Hammurabi (1904) ↩︎

Reference in New Issue View Git Blame Copy Permalink