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Summary
Date: 2100 B.C.E.
The Code of Ur-Nammu (2100-2050 BCE) is the oldest extant law code in the world. It was written by the Sumerian king Ur-Nammu or his son Shulgi of Ur centuries before the famous Code of Hammurabi was inscribed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi. Presenting himself as the father of his people, Ur-Nammu encouraged his subjects to think of themselves as one family and of his laws as the rules of a home. Punishments, except for capital offenses, took the form of fines.
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