Hammurabi (reigned 1792-1750 B.C.) was a Babylonian king. One of the outstanding rulers of early antiquity, he is especially known as a lawgiver, the author of the code which bears his name.

Nothing is known of the early life of Hammurabi. His name, sometimes written Khammurapikh, is West Semitic, and he was the sixth ruler of the Amorite dynasty founded by Shumu-Abum in 1894 B.C. On his accession Hammurabi inherited a kingdom of moderate size, one of a number of Mesopotamian city-states.

The first years of Hammurabi's reign were spent in consolidating his rule and in diplomatic maneuvers which strengthened his position; in alliance with Rim-Sin, king of neighboring Larsa, he repelled the Elamites from the eastern frontier, but in his thirtieth year he turned against his former ally; Rim-Sin capitulated, and Hammurabi became master of the south. He then conquered the kingdom of Mari, and in...