The Code of Hammurabi
Babylonian legal code attributed to King Hammurabi (r. c. 1792-1750 BCE) — 282 sections inscribed on a black diorite stele unearthed at Susa in 1901. The earliest surviving comprehensive law code, predating the Mosaic code by some five centuries; many of its lex talionis provisions ('eye for an eye') and slave-property statutes share a common ancient-Near-Eastern legal vocabulary with later Hebrew law. Translated by C.H.W. Johns (Cambridge), 1903 — public domain via Project Gutenberg.
The Code of Hammurabi is a Babylonian law stele from 1754 BCE that codifies lex talionis and influences later Near Eastern jurisprudence.
Discovered in Susa in 1901 and first published by C.H.W. Johns in 1903, the stele contains 248 surviving laws inscribed on diorite to regulate social order under the Babylonian king. The code frequently employs lex talionis, or the law of retaliation, as seen in section 196 regarding the loss of an eye, establishing a principle of proportional justice. While scholars note thematic parallels with Mosaic law, such as the prohibition of sorcery in section 1, the Code remains distinct as a foundational text for ancient Near Eastern legal history.
Read this if — You wish to examine the evolution of retributive justice in ancient Mesopotamia.