Photo: A Journey Through Time / The Moment the Code of Hammurabi Column Was Discovered in Susa; A Glimpse at the History of Lawmaking from the Heart of Iran!

Saturday, October 04, 2025

SAEDNEWS: In 1901, Jacques de Morgan’s team discovered the Code of Hammurabi in Susa, Khuzestan. This 282-law stone pillar, the world’s first written legal code, was later taken to Elam and is now in the Louvre, Paris.

Photo: A Journey Through Time / The Moment the Code of Hammurabi Column Was Discovered in Susa; A Glimpse at the History of Lawmaking from the Heart of Iran!

According to the History and Culture Service of Saed News, citing Entekhab, the Code of Hammurabi, written by order of Hammurabi, king of Babylon, comprises 282 articles covering criminal law, civil law, and commercial law. The stele on which Hammurabi’s laws are inscribed is made of basalt and stands approximately 2.5 meters tall. The text of the laws is written in cuneiform in 34 horizontal lines surrounding the stele.

This stele containing Hammurabi’s Code was discovered in early 1901 by the archaeological team of Jacques de Morgan in Susa, Khuzestan. Shuturuk Nahhunte, king of Elam, in the 12th century BCE, brought this stele to his country from the city of Sippar after conquering Babylon. The stele is currently preserved at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

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