Code of Hammurabi inscribed on the basalt stele
- Date
- c. 1755 BCE
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Mesopotamia (Iraq)
- Era
- Ancient Civilizations
- Significance
Near the end of his reign, the Babylonian king Hammurabi had a collection of some 282 legal judgements engraved on a 2.25-metre basalt stele, topped by a relief showing the king receiving the rod and ring of authority from the sun-god Shamash, patron of justice.
Written in Akkadian and arranged casuistically by subject—commerce, debt, property, marriage and family, agriculture, wages and personal injury—the laws applied graded penalties scaled to the social class of victim and offender, including the lex talionis ('an eye for an eye') for offences among the free elite. Though closer to a compilation of royal jurisprudence and ideology than a binding statute book, it is the longest, best-organised and most complete law collection surviving from the ancient Near East. Looted to Susa around 1158 BCE and rediscovered there in 1901, the stele is a foundational document for the study of Old Babylonian law, society and economy.
One piece of history in your inbox, weekly
New empires, events and features as they land — one good email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Empires active in c. 1755 BCE
- Old Babylonian Empire1894 BCE – 1595 BCE
- Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (Oxus Civilization)2250 BCE – 1700 BCE
- Elamite Kingdom2700 BCE – 539 BCE
- Xia Dynasty2070 BCE – 1600 BCE
Related politics & governance events
- Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest surviving law codec. 2100 BCE
- Sargon of Akkad founds the world's first empirec. 2334 BCE
- Senusret III's Nubian campaigns and administrative centralisationc. 1850 BCE
- Building of the First Palace at Knossosc. 1900 BCE
- Ahmose I expels the Hyksos and founds the New Kingdomc. 1550 BCE
- Mentuhotep II reunifies Egypt and founds the Middle Kingdomc. 2040 BCE
Further reading
The wider story
King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography
Accessible life of the great lawgiver-king.
Get it on Amazon →As an Amazon Associate, Human Saga earns from qualifying purchases.