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The Code of Hammurabi is an ancient legal code created by Babylonian King Hammurabi around 17th century BC. It includes 282 laws and has influenced modern legal systems. The surviving copy is on display at the Louvre in Paris.
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the few extant examples of an ancient legal code. While not the oldest example of a set of laws, it is one of the best-known documents of the ancient world, and many of the principles enunciated in the document appear in modern legal codes. Many copies once existed, but only one has survived to the present day. For those wishing to see the Code of Hammurabi in person, it is on display at the Louvre in Paris.
This document was created by King Hammurabi, a Babylonian king who inevitably became famous because of his legal code. It was copied by his order around the 17th century BC on a series of stelae, large rock slabs in which the codex was engraved. The surviving copy also includes a decorative statue, and presumably this ornament was also present on other copies of the codex, which would have been distributed to Babylonian temples to make them accessible to the population.
The text of the Code of Hammurabi includes an introduction and an epilogue encompassing 282 laws. Some of the writing has been obscured over time, but many of the laws remain legible. Many modern readers would probably be shocked by the severity of some laws, such as one that prescribes death for thieves, but the code also created a precedent for presuming innocence and for presenting evidence in legal processes.
It is highly probable that Hammurabi’s Code influenced other legal codes in the region, and since many of these codes in turn developed into legal systems that influenced European law, the widely used common law system owes some credit to the code . The extant example was discovered, incidentally, in 1901, at an archaeological site that included an assortment of looted objects.
Hammurabi undoubtedly set his code in stone with the expectation that it would last for centuries and be considered immutable. His descendants were unable to control the kingdom, legal code or otherwise, and the region descended into chaos, with numerous kingdoms vying for supremacy. However, the code survived and was adopted by the people who conquered the region. Hammurabi himself is depicted in numerous courtrooms around the world, thanks to his fame as a lawmaker.
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