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Babylon was the capital of the Mesopotamian empire during Hammurabi's rein from 1792-1750 bce. He created a system of laws written on a crazy tablet. This is it. Finely carved stone, shows the king standing before the supreme judge a sun god Shamash. The figures are smooth and rounded with little surface detail. He holds a rod and rope ring that symbolizes justice and power. The writing reads, "Hammurabi will cause justice to prevail in the the land and destroy the wicked and evil, that the strong may not oppress the weak not the weak the strong." The punishments depended on the gender and social standing of the offender. This was removed by Elamite invaders.
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