The Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the ancient Near East.[8] The code of laws was arranged in orderly groups, so that everyone who read the laws would know what was required of them.[9] Earlier collections of laws include the Code of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (c. 2050 BC), the Laws of Eshnunna (c. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (c. 1870 BC), while later ones include the Hittite laws, the Assyrian laws, and Mosaic Law.[10] These codes come from similar cultures in a relatively small geographical area, and they have passages which resemble each other.[11]
Figures at top of stele "fingernail" above Hammurabi's code of laws.
The Code of Hammurabi is the longest surviving text from the Old Babylonian period.[12] The code has been seen as an early example of a fundamental law regulating a government — i.e., a primitive constitution.[13][14] The code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of presumption of innocence, and it also suggests that both the accused and accuser have the opportunity to provide evidence.[15] The occasional nature of many provisions suggests that the Code may be better understood as a codification of Hammurabi's supplementary judicial decisions, and that, by memorializing his wisdom and justice, its purpose may have been the self-glorification of Hammurabi rather than a modern legal code or constitution. However, its copying in subsequent generations indicates that it was used as a model of legal and judicial reasoning.[16]