1700 BC

The first text of civil and commercial law in Babylon (Mesopotamia)

The Code of Hammurabi, a tall black basalt stele engraved with text and surmounted by a bas relief, discovered in 1901, is one of the earliest proofs of the legislative abilities of human societies. It was erected during the reign of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, in Mesopotamia. It contains 282 laws, which cover almost all fields of everyday life of Babylonian society at the time. This legal treaty, of civil and commercial law, became a reference for schools of scribes, which copied it out for over a thousand years.