Hammurabi

Perhaps the most remarkable and influential creation of its time, Hammurabi's code is the oldest set of laws known to exist. Hammurabi, king and chief priest of Babylonia from 1792-1750 BC, expanded his empire greatly before focusing his energies toward wealth and justice for his people. Hammurabi created a code protecting all classes of Babylonian society, including women and slaves. This great leader sought protection of the weak from the powerful and the poor from …

…toward the peaceful and just societies still pursued today. In the words of Hammurabi as carved on the stone, "Let any oppressed man who has a cause come into the presence of my statue as king of justice, and have the inscription on my stele read out, and hear my precious words, that my stele may make the case clear to him; may he understand his cause, and may his heart be set at ease!"