Hammurabi
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| Hammurabi | |
|---|---|
| Birthplace | Babylon |
| Known for | Code of Hammurabi |
Hammurabi
Hammurabi (hämo͝oräˈbē), fl. 1792–1750 B.C., king of Babylonia. He founded an empire that was eventually destroyed by raids from Asia Minor. Hammurabi may have begun building the tower of Babel (Gen. 11.4), which can now be identified with the temple-tower in Babylon called Etemenanki. His code of laws is one of the greatest of ancient codes. It is carved on a diorite column, in 3,600 lines of cuneiform; it was found (1902) at Susa and is now at Paris. The code, which addresses such issues as business and family relations, labor, private property, and personal injuries, is generally humanitarian. One severe feature, however, is the retributive nature of the punishment, which follows “an eye for an eye” literally. Much of the code is drawn from earlier Sumerian and Semitic laws, which seem to provide the basis for its harshly punitive nature.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Hammurabi
King of Babylonia (1792–1750 B.C.). The ascendancy of Babylonia is associated with his name.
An Amorite in origin, Hammurabi was a skillful politician and military leader. Within 35 years he succeeded, by military force and diplomacy, in bringing Assyria and the southern and middle regions of Mesopotamia under Babylonian Tule. His codification of the law, known as the Code of Hammurabi, reflected various significant developments under his reign—specifically, the expansion of commodity-money relations, the growth of private slaveholding, the increasing centralization of the state, and the consolidation of the king’s power.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hammurabi
Babylonian king (c. 1800 B.C.); established first systematic legal code. [Classical Hist.: EB, 8: 598–599]
See: Lawgiving
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Hammurabi
, Hammurapi ?18th century bc, king of Babylonia; promulgator of one of the earliest known codes of law
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005