历史小径·世界史英语30篇（7）

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人类首部成文法典：古巴比伦的汉谟拉比法典

Around 1754 BCE, King Hammurabi of Babylon ordered his laws to be carved on a tall stone pillar.
This code contained nearly 282 rules covering crime, trade, family life, and workers’ rights.
Many laws followed the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’, meaning punishment matched the harm done.
Scribes copied the text onto clay tablets so more people could read or study it.
Unlike earlier oral traditions, this code made justice visible, predictable, and publicly accessible.
It did not treat all citizens equally—nobles, commoners, and slaves faced different penalties.
Still, it showed early efforts to limit rulers’ power through written standards.
Modern legal systems still echo its idea that laws should be clear and known to everyone.