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.
