The Code of Hammurabi: Babylonian, Not Assyrian

No. The Code of Hammurabi (c. 1754 BCE) is Old Babylonian—from the First Dynasty of Babylon, nearly a millennium before the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

Key Facts

• King: Hammurabi, 6th ruler of Babylon (Amorite dynasty).
• Language/Script: Akkadian in cuneiform.
• Stele: Diorite, 2.25 m tall — found at Susa (Elam carried it off c. 1158 BCE). Now Louvre.
• 282 laws: Property, trade, family, injury, slavery, professional fees. Lex talionis ("eye for eye") for equals; fines for class differences.
• Prologue/Epilogue: Hammurabi as "king of justice," chosen by Marduk/Shamash.

Assyrian Law (Later, Distinct)

• Middle Assyrian Laws (c. 1076 BCE) — from Assur. Harsher on women (veiling, abortion), property, sexual offenses. More patriarchal.
• Neo-Assyrian edicts — royal decrees, not a code.

Why the Confusion?

• Both Mesopotamian, both cuneiform, both "law codes."
• Assyria conquered Babylon (multiple times); cultural overlap.
• Popular history compresses 1,500 years into "ancient Iraq."

Significance

Hammurabi's Code = earliest near-complete law collection. Not first (Ur-Nammu, Lipit-Ishtar earlier), but most intact. Influenced biblical law (Covenant Code). Assyrian law shows divergent evolution—same root, different branches.