Hammurabi and the Code of Laws Reading Comprehension Lesson

Reading Passage

Hammurabi and the Code of Laws

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Empire, who ruled from approximately 1792 to 1750 BC. He is one of the most important rulers in ancient history, best known for creating one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes in the ancient world: the Code of Hammurabi. He rose to power in the city of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia — the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iraq — and through military conquest and diplomacy, he united much of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule, creating the most powerful empire the ancient world had yet seen.

Before Hammurabi, earlier rulers had created written laws, but Hammurabi’s code was far more comprehensive and systematic. It contained 282 laws covering a wide range of topics: criminal justice, property rights, trade, family law, wages, and the rights of slaves. The laws were inscribed in the Akkadian language on a large black stone stele (a carved pillar) nearly eight feet tall. At the top of the stele was a relief carving showing Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice and the sun — symbolizing that the laws had divine approval. The stele was discovered by French archaeologists in 1901 and is now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The Code of Hammurabi is famous for its principle of proportional justice, often summarized as ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.’ This meant that punishment should fit the crime — someone who caused harm to another should receive similar harm in return. This was actually a significant advance over earlier practices, where punishment could be wildly disproportionate. The code also applied to different social classes differently: punishments for injuring a free person were more severe than for injuring a slave, and the social status of both the offender and the victim affected the penalty. This reflected the rigid class structure of ancient Babylonian society.

The laws covered many aspects of daily life. They regulated contracts, including sales, loans, and deposits. Several laws dealt with building standards: a builder whose house collapsed and killed the owner could be put to death. Doctors who harmed patients faced penalties. Merchants who cheated customers faced fines or other punishments. Family laws addressed marriage, divorce, inheritance, and the adoption of children. Wages were set for various types of workers. The code also included provisions protecting certain vulnerable people — for example, a widow who remarried was entitled to keep her dowry.

The Code of Hammurabi’s significance extends far beyond ancient Babylon. It represents a crucial step in the development of the concept that law should be written, public, and consistently applied — rather than depending entirely on the personal will of a ruler or judge. The idea that everyone, including the king himself, was subject to the law was a profound one, even if the code itself was far from equal in practice. The Code of Hammurabi influenced later law codes throughout the ancient world, and its concepts echo in legal systems to this day. It remains one of the most remarkable achievements of ancient civilization and a foundational document in the history of law.

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