The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest major collections of written laws in world history. It was created in ancient Babylon around 1754 BCE under King Hammurabi, who ruled a large empire in Mesopotamia. The laws were carved onto a tall black stone stele so people could see that justice came from the king and the gods.
This made law more public, organized, and connected to royal authority.
Key Facts
- The Code of Hammurabi was created around 1754 BCE in ancient Babylon.
- It included about 282 laws covering trade, property, family, labor, injury, and punishment.
- The laws were written in cuneiform script on a tall black stone stele.
- The top relief shows Hammurabi receiving authority from Shamash, the sun god of justice.
- Many punishments followed the idea of retaliation, often summarized as eye for eye.
- The code treated social classes differently, so nobles, commoners, and enslaved people did not always receive the same justice.
Vocabulary
- Stele
- A tall stone slab or pillar with writing or images carved into it for public display.
- Cuneiform
- A wedge-shaped writing system used in ancient Mesopotamia on clay tablets and stone.
- Hammurabi
- The king of Babylon who ruled from about 1792 to 1750 BCE and issued the famous written law code.
- Shamash
- The Mesopotamian sun god associated with truth, justice, and divine authority.
- Social hierarchy
- A system in which people are ranked by status, wealth, freedom, or power.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Calling it the first law code ever is too absolute because earlier legal texts existed in Mesopotamia. It is better to describe it as one of the earliest and most famous written law codes.
- Assuming the laws treated everyone equally is incorrect because penalties often depended on social class and gender. The code organized justice, but it did not create equal rights in the modern sense.
- Thinking the stele was only decoration misses its purpose as public law and royal propaganda. Its placement and imagery showed that Hammurabi’s rule was backed by divine authority.
- Reading eye for eye as the entire code is misleading because the laws covered many everyday issues. They included wages, farming, debt, marriage, inheritance, theft, and building safety.
Practice Questions
- 1 Hammurabi ruled from about 1792 BCE to 1750 BCE. How many years did his reign last?
- 2 If the code had about 282 laws and a classroom display highlights 6 categories of laws equally, about how many laws would be in each category if divided evenly?
- 3 Explain how carving laws on a public stele could strengthen both justice and the king’s authority in Babylon.