c. 2100 BCE · Early law

Code of Ur-Nammu

Ur (Sumer)

A collection of laws in Sumerian, issued under King Ur-Nammu, that sets out fines for injuries and rules on marriage, slaves and false accusations.

Why it matters

It is the oldest surviving law code, written about three centuries before Hammurabi's. It already prefers payment of compensation to harsh physical punishment in many cases.

Built on

No earlier text on this timeline is a documented model for it.

Went on to shape

c. 1750 BCE

Code of Hammurabi

Babylon

continued a long Mesopotamian tradition of written law collections

Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.