The Code of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved ancient law code, created circa 1760 BC in ancient Babylon.

 

It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi. The stele containing the Code of Hammurabi was discovered in 1901 by the Egyptologist Gustav Jequier, a member of the expedition headed by Jacques de Morgan.

 

The stele was discovered in what is now Khuzestan, Iran (ancient Susa, Elam), where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC.

 

It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.