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[[File:Hamm-code.jpg|thumb|250px|Hammurabi receives the code from Shamash, a Babylonian god; from the top of the stele]]
The '''Code of Hammurabi''' was an elaborate [[code (law)|code of law]] established by [[Hammurabi]], king of [[Babylon]], around 1750 BC. It is the earliest known code of law. The Code imposed harsh retributive punishment akin to the [[Bible]]'s "an eye for an eye" and punished members of lower classes more severely than those of higher classes. It mandated death for bearing false witness in court. The Code of Hammurabi was used for many hundreds of years.
The '''Code of Hammurabi''' was an elaborate [[code (law)|code of law]] established by [[Hammurabi]], king of [[Babylon]], around 1750 BC. It is the earliest known code of law. The Code imposed harsh retributive punishment akin to the [[Bible]]'s "an eye for an eye" and punished members of lower classes more severely than those of higher classes. It mandated death for bearing false witness in court. The Code of Hammurabi was used for many hundreds of years.
The [[Louvre]] museum in Paris houses a copy of the Code engraved on a conical, black basalt stele, seven feet in height. It was discovered in 1901.
The [[Louvre]] museum in Paris houses an ancient copy of the Code engraved on a conical, black basalt stele, a tower seven feet in height. It was discovered in 1901.
==External links==
* [http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=633 "Hammurabi’s Code: What Does It Tell Us About Old Babylonia"] lesson plan
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* Van De Mieroop, Marc. ''King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/King-Hammurabi-Babylon-Biography-Blackwell/dp/1405126604/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260599211&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]
* Van De Mieroop, Marc. ''King Hammurabi of Babylon: A Biography'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/King-Hammurabi-Babylon-Biography-Blackwell/dp/1405126604/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260599211&sr=1-8 excerpt and text search]