Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, reigning circa 1792 to 1750 BC, who expanded Babylon rule across Mesopotamia through conquest and alliance and is best remembered for the code of laws promulgated in his name, one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes to survive, inscribed on a basalt stele discovered at Susa in 1901 and now held in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Facts
Disputed
Birth YearHammurabi own birth date is not directly recorded; circa 1810 BC is inferred from his reign dates, circa 1792 to 1750 BC, which are themselves subject to the wider unresolved dispute among historians over Mesopotamian chronology. Death Year1750 BC is the conventional end date of Hammurabi reign under the widely used Middle Chronology. Other Mesopotamian chronological schemes shift this and every other Old Babylonian date by up to several decades, a dispute that remains genuinely unresolved among historians. Open Questions
BirthplaceNot recorded by any surviving source 1 No inscription or record from Hammurabi's reign, or from later Babylonian tradition, states where he was born. Reference works commonly default to Babylon, his dynastic capital, but this is inference from his reign rather than an attested fact. Death PlaceNot recorded by any surviving source 1 No inscription or record states where Hammurabi died. Babylon, his dynastic capital where his reign continued until its end, is the common assumption in secondary literature, but no primary source states it directly. Role
Role (category) RoleKing of Babylon; promulgated the Code of Hammurabi. 2 FAQs
Is the Code of Hammurabi a complete legal code?
The Encyclopedia.com biography of Hammurabi states: The code of laws published by Hammurabi's order in every city of his realm has survived in several copies, the most complete being a stele of polished black diorite 8 feet high found at Susa, whither it had been carried by a later conqueror. The laws, originally 282 in number, do not form a complete code in the modern sense but are rather a series of enactments dealing with specific cases in which reform or clarification was needed.
Connections
In Era
Open Questions
Ruled
As the dynasty's sixth king and the ruler under whom it reached its greatest extent.
Source The Cambridge Ancient History
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Law Atlas: the same subject.
Influenced
Also in Law Atlas: which this subject influenced.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Wikidata: Hammurabi
Sources
1. Wikipedia
WikipediaHammurabi
Hammurabi was the sixth Amorite king of Babylon, reigning from c. 1792 BC to c. 1750 BC.
Hammurabi: Code of laws
The Code of Hammurabi was a collection of 282 laws dealing with a wide range of issues.
Hammurabi: Gender
Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, reigning circa 1792 to 1750 BC, who expanded Babylon rule across Mesopotamia through conquest and alliance and is best remembered for the code of laws promulgated in his name, one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes to survive, inscribed on a basalt stele discovered at Susa in 1901 and now held in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
View the Source 2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Wikidata: Hammurabi
The Cambridge Ancient History
Cambridge University PressRuled: The Old Babylonian Empire, The First Dynasty of Babylon
Open Questions (1 open question)
Where was Hammurabi born, and where did he die?
No inscription or record from Hammurabi's reign, or from later Babylonian tradition, states where he was born or where he died. Reference works commonly default to Babylon, his dynastic capital, but this is inference from his reign rather than an attested fact.
What would resolve this A royal inscription or administrative record naming Hammurabi's birthplace or place of death; none survives from his reign or from the centuries after it.
Old Babylonian history and epigraphyWikipedia
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