King of Babylon, promulgator of the earliest written code
King of the First Dynasty of Babylon, reigning around the eighteenth century BC. The Code of Hammurabi he promulgated is one of the earliest and most complete written codes of law in human history — over two hundred laws carved on a black stone stele nearly two meters tall and set up in public. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," a phrase current to this day, comes from here. It declared something epoch-making: power would no longer rest entirely on a king’s momentary whim, but must answer to a set of written, public, checkable rules.
Hammurabi had the code carved on a stele of black basalt and set it up in a temple for all to see. Atop the stele a relief shows the sun god handing the king a scepter — meaning this law carried a divine authority. From then on, an ordinary person could for the first time "look up" how he ought to be treated, rather than depend wholly on an official’s word. Written, public, and checkable — this is the most ancient seed of the rule of law.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.