Hammurabi , fl. 1792–1750 B.C., king of Babylonia. He founded an empire that was eventually destroyed by raids from Asia Minor. Hammurabi may have begun building the tower of Babel (Gen. 11.4), which can now be identified with the temple-tower in Babylon called Etemenanki. His code of laws is one of the greatest of ancient codes. It is carved on a diorite column, in 3,600 lines of cuneiform; it was found (1902) at Susa and is now at Paris. The code, which addresses such issues as business and family relations, labor, private property, and personal injuries, is generally humanitarian. One severe feature, however, is the retributive nature of the punishment, which follows “an eye for an eye” literally. Much of the code is drawn from earlier Sumerian and Semitic laws, which seem to provide the basis for its harshly punitive nature.

Ancient Babylon was a region occupying Southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. (Modern Southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). The term Babylon comes from the fact that the town of Babylon was the capitol of this region. Before it was a political superpower Babylon was split into two countries Sumer and Akkad both were cities that were in constant warfare with one another. Babylon also had a lot in common both directly and indirectly with its neighbor, Egypt.

Because both Egypt and Babylon were located in similar geographic regions, many of their day-to-day belongings were similar. Both Egyptian and Babylon farmers used similar tools. Basic tools were used to help them cultivate their fields of vegetables and grains. Hoes for digging and tools similar to rakes were used in fields. Livestock would have been similar also. Goats and sheep would have been used for their own use and as a form of payment to the government.

The Babylonian king, Hammurabi, developed the code of Hammurabi in 1800 BC. These rules are similar to what we have today and are considered the foundation for our laws today. These sets of rules were also similar to those of Egyptian times. This was one of the first and most complete compilations of Babylonian law. Hummurabi’s laws dealt with things such as fines, exile and other laws that many cultures still use as a basis for their own, including ours. Egypt also used a similar type of law system set forth to try and deal with problems as fairly as they could at the time.

Because Babylon and Egypt were so close geographically the differences we see in both are not that different. The types of warfare both would use are closely related. Their hierarchal systems of the ranks in their armies are closely related. Both broke down similar to what we use today, only different wording. Soldiers were lead by their commanding officers and also had leaders what we would consider to be the enlisted members of our army today.

Along with the similarities with their military organization, their governmental organization was similar also. Egypt had Pharaohs and kings. Both were intertwined and in charge of the people below them. Babylon had a similar organization where a king was in charge of the people he protected. People were taxed, heavily compared to our times, in both Egypt and Babylon. Patriotism was a common link for both the Egyptian and Babylon citizen. Propaganda was a strong political tool used in both great empires.

Similar to Egypt Babylon was under seemingly constant warfare with neighboring countries. In 539 BC Alexander the Great overtook Babylon planning on making the city the capitol of his empire. After Alexander’s death the Seleucids eventually abadonened Babylon and brought an end to one of the greatest empires in history

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