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The Code of Hammurabi (also known as Codex Hammurabi) is one of the earliest and best preserved law codes from ancient Babylon, created ca.&_160;1760 BC (middle chronology). It was enacted by the sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi.[1] Earlier collections of laws include the codex of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Codex of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC).[2] At the top of the stele is an image of a Babylonian god (thought to be either Marduk, or Shamash), with the king of Babylon presenting himself to the god, with his right hand raised to his mouth as a mark of respect.[1] The image on the stele is done in bas-relief on basalt, and the text completely covers the bottom portion with the laws written in cuneiform script. The text contains a list of crimes and their various punishments, as well as settlements for common disputes and guidelines for citizens' conduct. The Code does not provide opportunity for explanation or excuses, though it does imply one's right to present evidence. The stele was openly displayed for all to see; thus, no man could plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. Scholars, however, presume that few people could read in that era, as literacy was primarily the domain of scribes. For a comprehensive summary of the laws, see Babylonian law. The laws are numbered from 1 to 282 (numbers 13 and 66-99 are missing) and are inscribed in Old Babylonian cuneiform script on the eight-foot tall stela.[4][5] It was discovered in December 1901 in Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan, Iran, where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC.[6] It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.[1]
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