Biography on hammurabi

"In an age that featured aggressive militarism and shaky thrones, Hammurabi of Babylon forged clever alliances and practiced patient strategies. In these accessible and well-turned pages, Marc Van De Mieroop explains how Hammurabi created an empire through martial and administrative talents. But he also details another of Hammurabi's major achievements: sponsoring a law code that places him, along with Moses, as one of antiquity's greatest lawgivers. I recommend this book to one and all." Jack M. Sasson, Vanderbilt University

"Marc Van De Mieroop brings to history a flair for a story....Mieroop has delivered a readable history of a time strangely familiar as we watch modern Iraqis working towards hopefully, a similarly benign relationship." Insights

"This is an excellent book, also easily accessible for the uninitiated. It provides authoritative information on a ruler who was a conqueror, the ancient lawgiver ... One can only look forward to the future volumes in the series on the lives of great men and women of ancient times." Scholia Reviews

"Insofar as it is possible to write Hammurabi's story, Van De Mieroop has done so. Based as it is on a thorough knowledge of both long-known and recently published evidence, a solid acquaintance with the most up-to-date scholarship, and a historian's awareness of the varying reliability of the ancient sources, this book is an excellent account of a fascinating ruler, and as near to biography as one is going to get." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

(C. 1810 BC-1750 BC)

Who Was Hammurabi?

Hammurabi was born circa 1810 BCE, in Babylon, now modern-day Iraq. He transformed an unstable collection of city-states into a strong empire that spanned ancient Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s lasting contribution to western society was his set of laws written on twelve stones and displayed publicly for all to see, the most common being, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth." The laws are generally known as the Code of Hammurabi.

Code of Hammurabi Summary

In approximately 1771, BCE, Hammurabi, king of the Babylonian Empire, decreed a set of laws to every city-state to better govern his bourgeoning empire. Known today as the Code of Hammurabi, the 282 laws are one of the earliest and more complete written legal codes from ancient times. The codes have served as a model for establishing justice in other cultures and are believed to have influenced laws established by Hebrew scribes, including those in the Book of Exodus. The codes were originally carved into a massive monolith of black diorite, eight feet high. Lost for centuries after the fall of Babylon in 1595 BCE, the pillar was rediscovered in ruins of the Elamite city of Susa in 1901.

The Hammurabi Code is not a complete set of laws, but more a series of enactments addressing specific cases and subjects such as slavery, debt, commercial regulations, marriage and inheritance. There are many codes that prescribe varying degrees of punishment for crimes, compensation for specific injuries, fees for surgeons, barbers and veterinarians. Below are a few examples.

Hammurabi Laws

• # 18. If the slave will not give the name of the master, the finder shall bring him to the palace; a further investigation must follow, and the slave shall be returned to his master.
• # 48. If anyone owe a debt for a loan, and a storm prostrates the grain, or the harvest fail, or the grain does not grow for lack of water; in that year he need not give his creditor a

Sixth king of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC)

For other uses, see Hammurabi (disambiguation)."Hamurabi" redirects here. For the video game, see Hamurabi (video game).

Hammurabi (; Old Babylonian Akkadian: 𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉, romanized: Ḫâmmurapi;c. 1810 – c. 1750 BC), also spelled Hammurapi, was the sixth Amorite king of the Old Babylonian Empire, reigning from c. 1792 to c. 1750 BC. He was preceded by his father, Sin-Muballit, who abdicated due to failing health. During his reign, he conquered the city-states of Larsa, Eshnunna, and Mari. He ousted Ishme-Dagan I, the king of Assyria, and forced his son Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute, bringing almost all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule.

Hammurabi is best known for having issued the Code of Hammurabi, which he claimed to have received from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice. Unlike earlier Sumerian law codes, such as the Code of Ur-Nammu, which had focused on compensating the victim of the crime, the Law of Hammurabi was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment of the perpetrator. It prescribed specific penalties for each crime and is among the first codes to establish the presumption of innocence. They were intended to limit what a wronged person was permitted to do in retribution. The Code of Hammurabi and the Law of Moses in the Torah contain numerous similarities.

Hammurabi was seen by many as a god within his own lifetime. After his death, Hammurabi was revered as a great conqueror who spread civilization and forced all peoples to pay obeisance to Marduk, the national god of the Babylonians. Later, his military accomplishments became de-emphasized and his role as the ideal lawgiver became the primary aspect of his legacy. For later Mesopotamians, Hammurabi's reign became the frame of reference for all events occurring in the distant past. Even after the empire he built collapsed, he was still