Volta
Person1750 BC

Hammurabi

Also called: Hammurapi

Sixth king of the First Dynasty of Babylon (r. 1792–1750 BC), who united Mesopotamia and issued the Code of Hammurabi

Inheriting a small Amorite kingdom at Babylon, he long alternated alliance and war before overthrowing rivals such as Larsa and Mari late in his reign. He oversaw the realm closely, digging canals and building temples, and many of his letters to local officials survive. By raising Babylon’s god Marduk to the head of the pantheon, he laid the foundation for Babylon’s place as the leading city of Mesopotamia. After his death the kingdom gradually shrank.

Show on the map

Where they went

Open the full map

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

1 related event

  1. 1
    1754 BCCode of Hammurabimonarch

    King Hammurabi of Old Babylonia, who reunited Mesopotamia, had 282 laws carved on a stone stele, including the retaliation principle known as “an eye for an eye”.

Themes this person appears in

  • Early Civilizations and Empires3500 BC – 486 BC

    From the first civilizations in the great river valleys to the first empires of the Near East, India and China — comparing their writing, law, religion and rule