Around 2100 BC, Ur-Nammu, the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia, or his son Shulgi, promulgated the oldest surviving law code, about three centuries before Hammurabi. Written in Sumerian on clay tablets, it lists penalties in silver instead of the principle of 'an eye for an eye', for offences such as murder, rape, false accusation and injuries. Its prologue claims that the king acted to establish justice and protect widows and orphans from the powerful. The tablets were found at Nippur and Ur and published in 1952.
Before and after
- from c. 2,160 BCE to 2,050 BCENinth Dynasty of Egypt
- from c. 2,150 BCE to 1,991 BCEEleventh Dynasty of Egypt
- 22nd century BCEConstruction of Ziggurat of Ur
- c. 2,100s BCEEpic of Gilgamesh
- c. 2,101 BCEThe Code of Ur-Nammu is issued
- from c. 2,050 BCE to 2,000 BCETenth Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 2,050 BCECode of Ur-Nammu
- from c. 2,040 BCE to 1,782 BCEMiddle Kingdom of Egypt
- c. 2,040 BCEEruption of Long Island
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- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
- 293 CEDiocletian establishes the Tetrarchy
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 22nd century BCE.