Code of Hammurabi

E37686

The Code of Hammurabi is one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes, issued by the Babylonian king Hammurabi to regulate civil, criminal, and economic life in ancient Mesopotamia.


Statements (51)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Babylonian law code
ancient legal code
cuneiform inscription
alsoKnownAs Hammurabi’s Code
author Hammurabi
civilization Ancient Mesopotamia
containsEpilogue yes
containsPrologue yes
countryOfOrigin Babylonia
creator Hammurabi
currentCity Paris
currentLocation Louvre Museum
dateOfCreation circa 1754 BCE
depicts Hammurabi before the sun god Shamash
discoveredAt Susa
discoveredBy French archaeological expedition
discoveredInCountry Iran
discoveryDate 1901
hasPart epilogue
laws
prologue
influenced subsequent Near Eastern legal traditions
language Akkadian
legalDomain civil law
criminal law
economic regulation
legalPrinciple lex talionis
presumption of innocence
proportional punishment
social status–based penalties
length approximately 2.25 meters
material diorite
medium diorite stele
numberOfLaws 282
placeOfOrigin Babylon
purpose to establish justice in the land
to protect the weak from the strong
reignOf Hammurabi
religiousContext Mesopotamian religion
subjectMatter agriculture
contracts
criminal penalties
family law
inheritance
liability
property rights
slavery
trade
wages
timePeriod Old Babylonian period
writingSystem cuneiform


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