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The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian legal text composed c. 1755–1750 BC. It is the longest, best-organised, and best-preserved legal text from the ancient Near East. It is
written in the Old Babylonian dialect of Akkadian, purportedly by Hammurabi, sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon. The primary copy of the text is inscribed on
a basalt or diorite stele 2.25 m (7 ft 4+1⁄2 in) tall. The stele was discovered in 1901, at the site of Susa in present-day Iran, where it had been taken as plunder six hundred years
after its creation. The text itself was copied and studied by Mesopotamian scribes for over a millennium. The stele now resides in the Louvre Museum.
The top of the stele features an image in relief of Hammurabi with Shamash, the Babylonian sun god and god of justice. Below the relief are about 4,130 lines of cuneiform text:
one fifth contains a prologue and epilogue in poetic style, while the remaining four fifths contain what are generally called the laws. In the prologue, Hammurabi claims to have
been granted his rule by the gods "to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak". The laws are casuistic, expressed as "if ... then" conditional sentences. Their scope is
broad, including, for example, criminal law, family law, property law, and commercial law.
Modern scholars responded to the Code with admiration, at its perceived fairness and respect for the rule of law, and at the complexity of Old Babylonian society. There was
also much discussion of its influence on the Mosaic Law. Scholars quickly identified lex talionis, the "eye for an eye" principle, as underlying the two collections. Debate
among Assyriologists has since centred around several aspects of the Code: its purpose, its underlying principles, its language, and its relation to earlier and later law
collections.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding these issues, Hammurabi is regarded outside Assyriology as an important figure in the history of law, and the document as a true legal
code. The U.S. Capitol has a relief portrait of Hammurabi alongside those of other lawgivers, and there are replicas of the stele in numerous institutions, including
the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
Contents
 1Background
o 1.1Hammurabi
o 1.2Earlier law collections
 2Copies
o 2.1Louvre stele
o 2.2Other copies
 3Early scholarship
 4"Frame"
o 4.1Relief
o 4.2Prologue
o 4.3Epilogue
 5Laws
 6Theories of purpose
o 6.1Legislation
o 6.2Law report
o 6.3Jurisprudence
 7Underlying principles
 8Language
 9Relation to other law collections
o 9.1Other Mesopotamian
o 9.2Mosaic, Graeco-Roman, and modern
 10Reception outside Assyriology
 11See also
 12Notes
 13References
o 13.1Citations
o 13.2Sources
 13.2.1Books and journals
 13.2.2Web
 14External links
Background[edit]
Hammurabi[edit]
Babylonian territory before (red) and after (orange) Hammurabi's reign
Hammurabi (or Hammurapi), the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, ruled from 1792 to 1750 BC (middle chronology). He secured Babylonian dominance over
the Mesopotamian plain through military prowess, diplomacy, and treachery. When Hammurabi inherited his father Sin-Muballit's throne,[1] Babylon held little local sway; the local
hegemon was Rim-Sin of Larsa. Hammurabi waited until Rim-Sin grew old, then conquered his territory in one swift campaign, leaving his organisation intact.[2] Later,
Hammurabi betrayed allies in Eshnunna, Elam, and Mari to gain their territories.[3]
Hammurabi had an aggressive foreign policy, but his letters suggest he was concerned with the welfare of his many subjects and was interested in law and justice.[4] He
commissioned extensive construction works, and in his letters, he frequently presents himself as his people's shepherd.[5] Justice is also a theme of the prologue to the Code,
[6]
and "the word translated 'justice' [ešērum]... is one whose root runs through both prologue and epilogue".[7]
Earlier law collections[edit]

Main article: Cuneiform law
Although Hammurabi's Code was the first Mesopotamian law collection discovered, it was not the first written; several earlier collections survive. These collections were written
in Sumerian and Akkadian. They also purport to have been written by rulers. There were almost certainly more such collections, as statements of other rulers suggest the
custom was widespread.[8] The similarities between these law collections make it tempting to assume a consistent underlying legal system.[8] As with the Code of Hammurabi,
however, it is difficult to interpret the purpose and underlying legal systems of these earlier collections, prompting numerous scholars to question whether this should be
attempted.[9] Extant collections include:
 The Code of Ur-Nammu of Ur.
 The Code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin.
 The Laws of Eshnunna (written by Bilalama or by Dadusha).
 Another collection, which Martha Roth calls the "Laws of X",[10] but which may simply be the end of the Code of Ur-Nammu.[11]
There are additionally thousands of documents from the practice of law, from bef

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o 1.2Earlier law collections

 9Relation to other law collections

o 9.2Mosaic, Graeco-Roman, and modern

 10Reception outside Assyriology

 13.2.1Books and journals

Babylonian territory before (red) and after (orange) Hammurabi's reign

Earlier law collections[edit]

 The Code of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin.

 The Laws of Eshnunna (written by Bilalama or by Dadusha).

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