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History glossary

Hammurabi's Code

the famous Babylonian law collection issued by King Hammurabi in the eighteenth century BCE.

Category
Legal text
Region
Babylon, Mesopotamia
Date range
c. 1754 BCE

What it means

Hammurabi's Code was a collection of laws and royal statements carved on a stone stele under the Babylonian king Hammurabi. It covered issues such as property, debt, family, labor, injury, and social status, and presented law as public royal justice under divine authority.

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