Hammurabi the Magnificent

The only perspective that we are able to see of King Hammurabi is that he was absolutely amazing. The records from letters and inscriptions that were written about him or by him only reveal to us select things about his character and his reign. Of course this was done on purpose; he only wanted people to see a certain side of him, and he wanted his legacy to be as good as possible. However, there are certain aspects presented of him that show the other side of the great Hammurabi. He cancelled all the debt when he "became" king and during his reigns occasionally, he conquered a lot of territory and united all of Babylon to change the political structure forever, and he set up temples for each area's specific cult. He also made it seem that he rightfully succeeded King Rim-Sin, and that all of his success was due to the god's help and his own great strength.

It appears that King Hammurabi focused on gaining people’s support so that order and favor would be kept with him. This was a good strategy to having a successful reign, which he definitely had. He kept order within his own direct kingdom, had a powerful and successful army, and kept the citizens happy. Every few years he would cancel the debts and take the hit on his own wealth in order to benefit those struggling with debt, and he was able to skillfully handle alliances and quarrels with other powers. His legacy is focused on two main things; on the law code that showed the genius that he had with running his land so long ago, and the development of Babylon to “a large territorial state with a single capital city whose rulers had varying degrees of control over the countryside” (Van De Mieroop 39).

The text alludes to different aspects of his power that he doesn’t seem to acknowledge in the records. He documented his rule in Larsa as if he was the natural successor of Rim-Sin, and seems to have some trouble with his alliances to other nations (Van De Mieroop 39). Although he cancelled the debt for people, they still seemed to dislike him based on the records of a letter than was excavated, and his ambition could have extended beyond what was acceptable at the time. Hammurabi’s records of himself make him seem like the greatest being ever created, but from reading between the lines, it is obvious that not everything that happened during his reign was so perfect.

Laney Homet


Van De Mieroop, Marc. King Hammurabi of Babylon. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 1-40. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.