Hammurabi, Code of Ancient laws compiled under Hammurabi. A copy of the code is in the Louvre, Paris. It is composed of 282 provisions with harsh penalties for offenders and includes the maxim, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. Covering family life, property, and trade, it provides information on social and economic conditions in ancient Babylonia.

CODE OF HAMMURABI

The Code of Hammurabi was a comprehensive set of laws, considered by many scholars to be the oldest laws established; they were handed down four thousand years ago by King Hammurabi of Babylon.

Although the Code of Hammurabi was essentially humanitarian in its intent and orientation, it contained the "eye for an eye" theory of punishment, which is a barbarian application of the concept of making the punishment fit the crime. The Code of Hammurabi recognized such modern concepts as that of corporate personality.