Topic summary
Law code
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Code of law.
History
The legal code was a common feature of the legal systems of the ancient Middle East. Tablets discovered in the ancient city of Ebla (Tell Mardikh in modern-day Syria) provide the earliest known evidence of a law code, dating back to 2400 BC. In addition, The UrukAgina Law Code (2380–2360 BC), the SumerianCode of Ur-Nammu (c. 2100–2050 BC), the Code of Eshnunna (approximately 100 years before Lipit-Ishtar), the Code of Lipit-Ishtar (1934–1924 BC), and the BabylonianCode of Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC), are among the earliest and best preserved legal codes, originating from Sumer, Mesopotamia (now Iraq).