Dating back to about 1772 BC, The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Iraq, formerly Mesopotamia. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man.

 

The Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the ancient Near East. The code of laws was arranged in orderly groups, so that everyone who read the laws would know what was required of them.