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factbase-ancient-history/rulers/hammurabi.md

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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
  • 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 @t[~1754 BCE] 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?

1750 BCE event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.

  • @q[temporal] Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @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) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 . BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.

  • @q[temporal] Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @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) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[temporal] Line 24: "Stele discovered at Susa in 1901, now in the Louvre 3 " - when was this true?

Historical event. Attested by Roth (1997) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @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) 2 ; Harper (1904) 3 ; World History Encyclopedia. "Hammurabi." https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/ (2026) 1 .

  • @q[missing] Line 10: "Reign: ~1792–1750 BCE" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 11: "Title: King of Babylon" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 12: "Capital: Babylon" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 13: "Dynasty: First Dynasty of Babylon (Amorite)" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 16: "Unified most of Mesopotamia through diplomacy and military conquest" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 18: "Improved irrigation systems and infrastructure" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 19: "Established Marduk as the supreme deity of Babylon" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 22: "282 laws covering property, trade, family, labor, and criminal matters" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 23: "Principle of lex talionis ("an eye for an eye") with class-based distinctions" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @q[missing] Line 25: "Not the earliest code (preceded by Code of Ur-Nammu) but the most complete" - what is the source?

Roth (1997) 2 and Harper (1904) 3 .

  • @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.

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

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