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Hammurabi....
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Hammurabi (also transliterated Hammu-rapi or Khammurabi) was the sixth
king of Babylon. Achieving the conquest of
Sumer and Akkad, and ending the
last Sumerian dynasty of Isin, he was the first king of the
Babylonian
Empire.
Hammurabi reigned over the
Babylonian Empire from 1728 BC until his death
in 1686 BC (short chronology; dates highly uncertain). It was he who first
gave the city of Babylon hegemony over Mesopotamia.
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The first decades of his reign were relatively peaceful.
In the 30th year of his reign, Hammurabi crushed an invading army consisting
of Elamite and other forces in a decisive battle, and drove them out of
Babylonia. The next two years were occupied in adding Larsa and Yamutbal to
his dominion, and in forming Babylonia into a single monarchy centred on
Babylon. A great literary revival followed the recovery of Babylonian
independence, and the rule of Babylon was obeyed as far as the shores of the
Mediterranean.
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Vast numbers of contract tablets, dated in the reigns of Hammurabi
and his successors, have been discovered, as well as their
autographed letters. Among them is one ordering the dispatch of 240 soldiers
from Assyria and Situllum, a proof that
Assyria was at the time a Babylonian
dependency.
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A few religious scholars relate Hammurabi
to Nimrod,
who had similar military exploits. In addition, the name Hammurabi or
Khammurabi could be interpreted as 'Ham the great'. According to
Biblical legend, Nimrod was the grandson of Ham, son of Noah. |
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