5.7 KiB
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 1
- Conquered city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari; ousted Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria 1
- Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a diorite stele 2
- 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 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
- Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions
- Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 3
- Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete
Review Queue
@q[temporal]Line 10: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 17: "Issued the Code of Hammurabi (~1754 BCE): 282 laws inscribed on a basalt stel..." - when was this true?
Static historical fact. c. 1754 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1792-1750 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. c. 1754 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 23: "Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. c. 1754 BCE. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 24: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 3 " - when was this true?
Static historical fact. 1901 CE discovery. No temporal tag needed.
@q[temporal]Line 25: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - when was this true?
Static historical fact. Comparative analysis. No temporal tag needed.
@q[missing]Line 10: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 23: "Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - what is the source?
@q[missing]Line 25: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - what is the source?
@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.
@q[stale]Line 24: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 3 " - Harper source from 1904 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
Still accurate. Harper (1904) remains a standard reference.
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World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (accessed 2026) ↩︎
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Roth, M.T. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor (1997) ↩︎
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Harper, R.F. The Code of Hammurabi (1904) ↩︎