Paleo-Babylonian · first dynasty of Babylon

Stele of Hammurabi

Hammurabi and justice written in stone

Specific cases of justice accompany the image of the king before Shamash.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

**PHOTOGRAPH OF THE ORIGINAL · Musée du Louvre, Oriental Antiquités · CC BY-SA 2.0**
Documentary original · Exact correspondence
Photograph of the original stele of Hammurabi. The base is out of the frame.
Quique Olaso · Musée du Louvre, Oriental Antiquities · Inventory: SB 8 · AS 6064 · CC BY-SA 2.0
Source and provenance ↗Terms of use ↗

History and context

At the top, Hammurabi appears before Shamash. Below is an extensive inscription on conflicts and justice decisions. The relationship between image and text explains how the monarch wanted to link his authority with the protection of order.

The fame of this stele does not make it the first written law: previous traditions already appear in the museum, such as those linked to Ur-Namma. Nor does it establish universal equality. The social condition of people changes the responses proposed by their cases.

Evidence and interpretation

Collection of Paleo-Babylonian jurisprudence; not modern code or uniform application testing. It is not a Sumerian piece. Its height is 2,25 m.

Catalogue facts

Date of piece: Towards 1750 BCE
Culture and period: Paleo-Babylonian · first dynasty of Babylon
Provenance: Created in Mesopotamia; found in Susa, Iran
Material: Basalt, according to the Louvre catalog
Inventory: SB 8 AS 6064

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

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Towards 1750 BCE

Stele of Hammurabi

Sumer

Approximate dating according to the record.

Current record

Basalt4 dated objects

2 / 4In the centre: Stele of Hammurabi

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Inscriptions

Naqada labels · ca. 3300–3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Bassetki Statue · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Indus seals · ca. 2600–1900 BCE · Indus civilisation
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Phaistos Disc · ≈1700–1650 BCE · Greek worlds
Linear A · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
The Cascajal Block · Proposed c. 1000–900 BCE · Maya worlds
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Phoenicians
Astarte from El Carambolo · 8th century BCE · Iberians
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
Ivory with names · End of the 7th century–first half of the 6th century BCE · Phoenicians
Shabti of Psamtek · 570–526 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Uni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
Twenty-six voiceless signs · 5th–4th centuries BCE · Scythians and Saka
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Yan knife-money in the Gojoseon sphere · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Ancient China
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
A coin with the memory of a blade · 323–222 BCE · Gojoseon and early Korea
A sky over the liver · End of the second–beginning of the first century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Hand of Irulegui · First third of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Betatun altar · 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Kilwa coin · 1482–1493 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Oracle bones · from ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Writing with gaps · Diverse chronologies · Garamantes

Writing

Naqada labels · ca. 3300–3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Ivory tablets · c. 3100–2900 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Jemdet Nasr · c. 3100–2900 BCE · Sumer
Account of malt and barley · c. 3100–2900 BCE · Sumer
Before the Hittites · c. 19th century BCE · Hittites
Plimpton 322 · Paleo-Babylonian period · around 1800 BCE · Sumer
Sumerian King List · Towards 1800 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Love song to Shu-Sin · Paleo-Babylonian copy, around 1900–1600 BCE according to CDLI · Sumer
Si.427 tablet · Towards 1900–1600 BCE · paleobabylonian; uncertain chronological attribution in CDLI · Sumer
Phaistos Disc · ≈1700–1650 BCE · Greek worlds
Sumerian Flood of Nippur · Towards 1650 BCE · Sumer
Linear A · c. 1700–1500 BCE · Greek worlds
Boğazköy Archive · Above all 17th–13th centuries BCE · Hittites
Linear B · c. 1375 BCE · Greek worlds
Alaksandu of Wilusa · c. 1300 BCE · Hittites
Treaty with Egypt · c. 1259 BCE, year 21 of Ramesses II · Hittites
The voice of Ahiram · c. 11th–10th century BCE · Phoenicians
Flood Tablet · 7th century BCE · Sumer
Babylonian map of the world · Towards 700–500 BCE · Sumer
Uni was also Astarte · Towards 510 BCE · Etruscans and Rome
Rations for women and children · Towards 509–493 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Ezerovo Ring · 5th century BCE · chronology discussed in the bibliography · Thracians
The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Derveni Papyrus · copy conserved towards 340–320 BCE; comments on a previous text. · Thracians
Lead tablet · 4th–3rd centuries BCE · Iberians
Hand of Irulegui · First third of the 1st century BCE · Iberians
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians
Betatun altar · 1st century BCE–1st century CE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Venus in the codex · Preserved manuscript: Postclassic, probably 13th–14th centuries; earlier knowledge · Maya worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Bamum document · 28 April 1922 · Bantu-speaking worlds
Eleven articles · Adopted April–May 2022; public portal 2025 · Batwa / Twa histories

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

49 Classical Voices · Authors and traditions between the 6th century BCE and 4th century CE · Iberians
Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Indian Ocean Kiswahili · from the first millennium CE; major development in medieval and modern times · Bantu-speaking worlds
Oracle bones · from ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
The cost of transcription · 19th century–current digital edition · San histories
Translating faith · 16th–18th centuries · Bantu-speaking worlds
Voices from outside · Fifth century BCE–Late Antiquity · Garamantes
Writing with gaps · Diverse chronologies · Garamantes
Zalmoxis · testimony of Herodotus, 5th century BCE; no biographical date of the divinity. · Thracians

Law and agreements

Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Alaksandu of Wilusa · c. 1300 BCE · Hittites
Treaty with Egypt · c. 1259 BCE, year 21 of Ramesses II · Hittites
The inscription of Pistiros · 4th century BCE · Thracians
Eleven articles · Adopted April–May 2022; public portal 2025 · Batwa / Twa histories

Kingship and power

Narmer Palette · ca. 3100 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Puabi headdress · ca. 2600–2450 BCE · Sumer
Ur-Nanshe relief · Mid-3rd millennium BCE · reign of Ur-Nanshe · Sumer
Stele of the Vultures · Towards 2450–2425 BCE · Sumer
Akkadian sovereign head · Akkadian period · 23rd century BCE · Sumer
Naram-Sin Stele · Reign of Naram-Sin, 2254–2218 BCE · Sumer
Sumerian King List · Towards 1800 BCE · Sumer
Stele of Hammurabi · Towards 1750 BCE · Sumer — You are viewing
Grave Circle A and Chrysolakkos · 18th–16th centuries BCE · Greek worlds
Burial at K IV · circa 1750–1550 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Tutankhamun's grave goods · death towards 1323 BCE · Ancient Egypt
Fu Hao’s burial goods · ca. 1200 BCE · Ancient China
Tribute to Assyria · c. 848 BCE · Phoenicians
Black Obelisk · 825 BCE · Sumer
Lamassu of Khorsabad · Reign of Sargon II · 721–705 BCE · Sumer
Kushite king · c. 721–664 BCE · Nubia, Kerma and Kush
Stele of Esarhaddon · 7th century BC C. · 671 campaign BCE · Sumer
Ashurbanipal Hunt · 645–635 BCE · Sumer
Ishtar Gate · 7th–6th centuries BCE · work of Nebuchadnezzar II · Sumer
Twenty-three delegations · 6th–5th centuries BCE, mainly under Darius and Xerxes · Achaemenid Persia
Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar · first quarter of the 5th century BCE · Phoenicians
The archer in gold · Type introduced from the late 6th century; specimen from the 4th century BCE. · Achaemenid Persia
Susa grave goods · c. 350 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Golyamata Kosmatka · End of the 4th century – beginning of the 3rd century BCE; ritual burial at the beginning of the III according to Iskra. · Thracians
Denarius of Carisius · ≈25–23 BCE · Iberians
The date of 292 · 292 CE · Maya worlds
Pakal’s grave goods · sealed on 28 August 683 CE · Maya worlds
Catalan Atlas · after 1375 and before November 1380 · Mande Worlds
Kuba ndop · ca. 1760 · Bantu-speaking worlds

Without a comparable date (not part of the chronological order):

Before Persia · Central core c. seventeenth century BCE; Neo-Elamite additions between the ninth and sixth centuries BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Cyrus speaks as king of Babylon · After the conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE · Achaemenid Persia
Rome learns in terracotta · End of the sixth century BCE · Etruscans and Rome
The Banquet of Seuthes II · Towards 400 BCE. Anabasis episode · Thracians

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: September 14, 2026.

An old law is not a current code

Reading these cases requires attending to social categories and legal relationships typical of their time. The monument also presents an image of good governance. Its preservation does not demonstrate that each real controversy was resolved by literally applying a phrase from the stele: norm, propaganda and judicial practice are related, but different issues.

Museum · Louvre · The Code of HammurabiAccess recorded: September 14, 2026.

Location and territory

LOCATED SITE

Sousse IranAchaemenid city and palace marker.

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre, Paris

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

Institution that preserves the piece; Check with the museum about its availability to visit.

Musee du Louvre

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Louvre stela SB 8
Louvre · The Code of Hammurabi

Consult the part documentation

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Stele of Hammurabi

History and context

Evidence and interpretation

Catalogue facts

Objects connected through time

Stele of Hammurabi

Grinding stone from Çakmaktepe

Stele of Hammurabi

Head 2

Stele of Esarhaddon

A closer look

An old law is not a current code

Location and territory

Where it is held

Musee du Louvre, Paris

Musee du Louvre

Sources and references

Did you enjoy this exhibit?