Hammurabi (1810-1750 BC) was the sixth monarch of the Babylonian Kingdom established by the Amorites. He succeeded to the throne in 1792 BC and later defeated neighboring countries in a series of wars, expanding Babylonian rule throughout Mesopotamia. As a result, the powerful Babylonian Empire was created, and during its reign, the kingdom reached its peak. Although his Babylonian kingdom controlled the entire southern region of Mesopotamia, by around 1755 BC, Hammurabi was already old and sickly, and eventually passed away in 1750 BC. His successors were unable to maintain his great achievements, and the empire eventually declined.

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the Amorid dynasty (known as the Kingdom of Babylon), who inherited the power of his father, Sin Mubalit, around 1792 BC. Babylon was one of the many ancient city states in the Mesopotamian plain, which often fought against each other for abundant agricultural land. Although there were many civilizations coexisting in the ancient Mesopotamia, the Babylonian civilization held a prominent position in the minds of people with reading and writing abilities in the Middle East. The Babylonian kings before Hammurabi had already begun to unify the central part of the Mesopotamian region, conquering city states such as Borsipa, Kish, and Sipar, and establishing Babylonian hegemony in the region. But before Hammurabi, Babylon was still a negligible small city state, so when Hammurabi ascended to the throne, Babylon's geopolitical situation was very complex: the powerful Kingdom of Eshnuna controlled the upper reaches of the Tigris River, Larsa controlled the delta of the two river basins, there was the Kingdom of Elam in the east, and Assyrian King Shamhi Adad I was eyeing in the north. It was only due to his untimely death that his newly built Semitic Empire collapsed, and Assyrian threats to Babylon were eliminated.

During the first twenty years of Hammurabi's reign, the region was relatively peaceful. He started construction on a large scale, such as building high city walls to defend against external enemies and expanding temples. Around 1766 BC, the powerful Elam Kingdom invaded the Mesopotamian Plain to control an important trade route that crossed the Zagros Mountains. Elan allied with other city states on the plain and attacked and destroyed Eshnuna and many other city states, thus expanding its influence to the region for the first time. In order to consolidate his rule in the region, Elan attempted to provoke a war between the Babylonian and Larsa kingdoms under the rule of Hammurabi in order to profit from it. King Hammurabi and King Larsa formed an alliance after learning of Elam's conspiracy to sow discord, crushing the Elam's attack, but Larsa did not exert much force in the battle. Hammurabi was angry that Larsa did not help him and instead went south to conquer Larsa in 1763 BC, thus unifying the lower reaches of the two river basins.
When Hammurabi fought in the south with the help of his northern allies, the lack of soldiers plunged the north into turmoil. Hammurabi took the opportunity to lead his troops northward, quelling the unrest in the north and occupying Eshnuna. Subsequently, the Babylonian army conquered other city states in the north, including its old ally Mali, who was also brutally captured. After several years of conquest, Hammurabi unified most of the two river basins (1758 BC). Among the important city states in the region, only Aleppo and Katna in western Syria remain independent. Judging from the stone tablets found, Hammurabi's ruling territory is even North Dadyarbakir (now the Republic of Türkiye), where he calls himself "the king of the Amorites".

A large number of clay tablets documenting the reign of Hammurabi and his successors, as well as Hammurabi's own letters, have been discovered. The daily affairs that Hammurabi had to deal with in order to deal with floods, improve the calendar, and take care of large herds of livestock during his rule of an empire can be seen from these letters. Hammurabi passed away in 1750 BC, and the throne was inherited by his son Samusuiruna.

code
Hammurabi advocated the divine right of monarchy, established a centralized system of power, and established a large and relatively complete bureaucratic system to serve it, as well as a standing army to ensure all of this, all of which were firmly held in his hands. He gave his soldiers a share of land, elevated their status, and firmly held the monarchy in his own hands. He attached great importance to the construction of water conservancy, dug canals connecting Kish and the Persian Gulf, and turned large areas of wasteland into fertile land. These measures were implemented by his predecessors Sargon and Urnam, but Hammurabi did it even better, and his country was considered a mature centralized state of slavery. Similarly, his unification was more stable than the previous two, and the reign of the Kingdom of Babylon was longer than that of the Ackadian Kingdom and the Third Dynasty of Ur. However, what truly made Hammurabi famous for more than three thousand years is still well-known as the Hammurabi Code. This code is not the oldest known code in the world. Prior to him, there was already an Ulnam Code, but the completeness of the Hammurabi Code far exceeded that of the latter. It is said that because Hammurabi had to deal with a large number of cases every day, he had to collect all the legal provisions, compile them into a code, and engrave them on stone pillars to inform the world.
The full text of this code is engraved in cuneiform script, with a total of 282 articles except for the preface and conclusion. Including litigation procedures, compensation for damages, tenant relationships, creditor and debtor rights, property inheritance, punishment for slaves, etc., it is closer to a civil law and criminal law, and is the earliest existing written code in the world.

characteristic
It is not difficult to find the following characteristics in all the articles:
1. Follow the principle of "tooth for tooth, eye for eye" (i.e. homomorphic revenge). Blinding someone else's eyes is a punishment; If someone breaks their leg, they can compensate by breaking their leg; Even if someone else's son is killed, his own son will also be executed.
2. The scope of application of the above terms is limited to individuals of equal status. The code divides people into several levels: slave owners, free citizens, and slaves. People of higher levels have more rights and fewer obligations compared to those of lower levels, and the punishment for committing the same crime is also lighter. For example, if a slave owner blinds a free citizen's eyes, they only need to pay a certain amount of compensation, but if a doctor treats a slave owner and the slave owner dies, the doctor will have his hands chopped off.

3. Emphasize the strict control of the state over its subjects. Anyone who evades military service shall be executed; Slaves who flee and those who protect them shall be executed; Those who damage bridges and water conservancy will be severely punished until they are executed.
Of course, there are also some more "humanitarian" provisions in this code, such as stipulating that a debt slave who works for his master for three years can be restored as a free citizen. But overall, this code has a clear hierarchy and treats people from all walks of life differently, exuding a sense of authoritarianism. [4]
influence
The Code of Hammurabi was also briefly forgotten in history. The laws of most modern countries are mainly influenced by Roman law and the legal system developed by Britain itself. However, from the perspective of specific provisions and basic spirit, the influence of the Code of Hammurabi on Roman law is not significant. Perhaps it is not appropriate to overestimate the impact of the Code of Hammurabi on human history. In the two river basins that are easy to attack but difficult to defend, the power of division and disintegration is always greater than the power of cohesion. The kingdom established by Hammurabi can achieve a lifespan of nearly 200 years. In addition to being maintained by a strong standing army, it also relies on the soul of the Hammurabi Code. The brilliance of Hammurabi lies in fixing the thinking patterns of the entire nation in writing in a form that is conducive to his own rule. After the death of Hammurabi, the Kingdom of Babylon he established also collapsed, and the laws he formulated were gradually forgotten. It was not until 1901, when a French archaeological team excavated basalt pillars engraved with this code in the ancient capital of Iran, Susa, that they were rediscovered.

Pragmatic diplomacy
Starting from 1787 BC, Hammurabi embarked on the path of unifying the two river basins, adopting flexible and pragmatic diplomacy, and concentrating efforts to attack and annihilate a country for a period of time. In the early days of Hammurabi's reign, there were not many wars, and Assyria in the north split after the death of its king Shamhi Adad I, making Babylon relatively stronger. Hammurabi utilized this period to carry out a series of public works, including raising the city walls. In 1766 BC, Elam invaded the Mesopotamian plain and was defeated by the alliance of Babylon and Larsa. Hammurabi was dissatisfied that Larsa did not contribute much in the war and sent troops to conquer the latter. Fully controlled the Mesopotamian plain in 1763 BC. Afterwards, they marched northward and occupied the city states of Eshnuna, Ishin, Larsa, Mali, and ultimately gained control of the entire Mesopotamia. The conquest activity lasted for about 35 years, exhausting the life of Hammurabi. Except for the strong and warrior Assyria in the north and its sheltered Eshnen, the two river basins were basically unified under the iron wrist of Hammurabi. Later, Babylon was equated with the southern part of the Mesopotamia, and its civilization was also known as the "Babylonian civilization.".

Power reform
After Hammurabi ascended the throne, he established a relatively solid centralized state, with the king monopolizing the country's military and political power, legislative power, and judicial trial power, as well as a large and relatively complete bureaucratic system serving this purpose. Hammurabi vigorously promoted the divine bestowal of royal power, saying, "Anu (the Heavenly God) and Enlil, for the welfare of humanity, commanded me, the ruler of glory and fear of God. Hammurabi promoted justice in the world, eliminated lawless and evil people, made the strong not bully the weak, and made me like Shamash (the God of Justice, Taiyang), shining on the head of Guizhou and shining on the earth.". Hammurabi also claimed to be a descendant of the Moon God, and the authoritarian monarchy and divine power tended to be unified. Hanmurabi established five large bureaucratic institutions, with only a central government agency and a governor appointed to manage larger areas, while the city and distant areas were managed by an administrative officer. From many letters written by Hammurabi to his subordinates, it is reflected that he directly controls all important affairs of the country. It has been proven that Hammurabi closely controls and supervises central and local governments, and even appoints low-level officials. He can arrest government officials at will. Hammurabi wanted to establish a standing army as the pillar of authoritarian rule. Soldiers in the army have hereditary land rights, and he gives them land rights, elevates their status, and stipulates their duty to serve. He strictly prohibits officers from embezzling soldiers' property, and violators will be sentenced to death. Hammurabi ensured the status of soldiers economically, enabling the country to have an army that could be called up at any time. He directly oversees the mobilization of the army and monopolizes military power. When necessary, farmers in village communities are also called up to form armies, and officials at all levels of the local administrative system are appointed by King Hammurabi, who firmly holds the monarchy in his own hands. Hammurabi's authoritarian rule was also manifested in his control over the economy. The state levies various taxes on local areas and places the water conservancy system under unified management. Hammurabi also personally handled economic cases submitted by the local authorities. During the construction of public works in the country, Hammurabi often recruited labor from various places. Hammurabi also frequently reviewed the accounts of local temples, and he controlled the economy of local temples. In short, during the reign of Hammurabi, absolute monarchy had already been established. Hammurabi was dedicated to the prosperity of the empire, personally researching irrigation techniques and trade rules, and pushing the kingdom towards unprecedented prosperity. He reigned for 8, 9, 24, and 33 years, all of which were the years of digging rivers and canals. These measures have been implemented by his predecessors Sargon and Urnamu. But Hammurabi did it even more perfectly, and his country was considered a mature centralized state of slavery. Similarly, his unity was more stable than the previous two, and the Kingdom of Babylon was longer than the Ackadian Kingdom and the Third Dynasty of Ur, with a more prosperous culture. Astronomy, calendar, architecture, art, and other aspects reached rare heights in ancient civilization. The two river basins were once again unified in the hands of an emperor in the 18th century BC, which is considered the heyday of ancient civilization in the two river basins.

Out of reverence for God and a display of his nobility, Hammurabi was determined to "bring just laws to this land, to eliminate the wicked and wicked, so that the strong would not harm the weak." He firmly believed that the only way to "bring long-term welfare to his subjects" was to eliminate the rule of man and "rule the country by law.". In this way, the first written law in human history, the Code of Hammurabi, was born. The Code of Hammurabi eliminated the legislation of various city states and unified the national laws. Its formulation and promulgation are also manifestations of the strong centralization of slavery in the Kingdom of Babylon. Hammurabi created the first legal state in history and brought glory to future generations for nearly 300 years.

Hammurabi is famous for formulating the Hammurabi Code and is hailed as an ancient legislator in modern times. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the first written civil codes in history, engraved on a stone tablet over 2.4 meters (8 feet) high and unearthed in 1901. In terms of the achievements in unifying the two river basins and establishing the Kingdom of Babylon, Hammurabi is enough to be among the most influential emperors. However, the more influential one was the Code of Hammurabi, which undoubtedly deeply influenced the legal system of the ancient Middle East. However, as the Babylonian civilization lost its luster, the Code of Hammurabi also briefly disappeared in history. Although the Urumqi Code was the earliest written code of law for humanity (earlier than the Hammurabi Code), the Hammurabi Code embodies a noble spirit of justice and ethics, with rich content and a wide range of adjustments. It had an important impact on the later Assyrian Code, Hittite Code, Jewish Code seen in the Old Testament, and even the legislation of ancient Greece and Rome. Later scholars generally praised Hammurabi as an outstanding legislator, and his image can be found in some US government buildings. Hammurabi is one of the 23 legislators carved on marble bas relief in the House of Representatives living room of the United States Capitol. On the horizontal sash of the southern wall of the Supreme Court building in the United States, there is an image of Hammurabi receiving the Code of Hammurabi from the Babylonian sun god Shamash.