The Hammurabi: The King Of Babylon

Hammurabi is often referred to as the most influential king Babylonia ever had. While Hammurabi is well known, his influence on the people of Babylonia is often overlooked. During his rule, Hammurabi made many changes to improve the lives of those who lived in Babylonia. Overall, as the king of Babylonia, Hammurabi made an everlasting impact on Mesopotamia. In 1792 B.C. Hammurabi inherited the throne and became king of Babylonia, a Mesopotamian city state. Hammurabi was the sixth ruler of the Amorite dynasty which was founded in 1894 B.C.("Hammurabi."). He remained King of Babylonia until around 1750 B.C. Although not much is known about Hammurabi’s life before becoming King of Babylon, the name of his succesor is Samsuilna (Renger). Hammurabi

During his first few years as king, Hammurabi attempted to gain power and respect from the people under his realm ("Hammurabi."). One of Hammurabi’s main goals as King was to gain control of the Euphrates river. Controlling the Euphrates would be an advantage in Babylonia because the area depended on irrigation agriculture to survive (Renger). In his attempts, Hammurabi formed an alliance with Rim- Sin, King of Larsa to repel natives off of the frontier. Hammurabi won and controlled trade routes beyond on the Euphrates river. This made the people of Mesopotamia realize that Hammurabi was a powerful king, therefore the citizens began paying close attention to his actions. After several years as King, Hammurabi conquered the kingdom of Mari in 1759 B.C and he eventually turned against Rin-Sin ("Hammurabi."). During his reign, Hammurabi encouraged many changes throughout Babylonia. Hammurabi established his own set of laws for every citizen in his realm to obey and named them after himself. Hammurabi’s code dealt with many specific cases and provided clarification to the citizens of Babylonia. Hammurabi declared the code of law to establish justice throughout the city state. In his code, Hammurabi included information about the severity of punishment one would face if a crime was committed, as well as fees for different services, compensation for specific injuries and charges for hiring boats, livestock and more ("Hammurabi."

Hammurabi transformed the small city state of Babylonia into a large territorial state by the end of his reign, leaving a lasting impact of Mesopotamia. He expanded the empire, conquered key areas of Mesopotamia and strengthened the military ("Hammurabi."). Hammurabi is also well known for his code of laws even though he was not the first king to establish a set of rules for citizens under his realm to obey, he was the first to ever write them down which makes him a very notable king in history ("Hammurabi."). Whether it is because of his unification of Mesopotamia or his written code of laws, Hammurabi is well known figure throughout history and will forever remain a reputable figure in