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Secondary sourceDocumentc. 6th century BCE copy

Chronicle of Early Kings

Babylonian scribes · c. 6th century BCE copy

A later Babylonian chronicle that records Hammurabi mustering his army against Rim-Sin of Larsa.

A later chronicle that preserves the memory of Hammurabi's military campaign against Rim-Sin of Larsa.

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Five groups of black cuneiform wedge signs on a white background, rendered in a row. The signs are angular, made of wedge-shaped strokes arranged in clusters, and appear to be a short inscription.
Name of Hammurabi in Akkadian cuneiform, Chronicle of Early Kings, c. 6th century BCE copy. British Museum.

About this source

What it is

The Chronicle of Early Kings is a Babylonian historical text surviving in later copies, including one from around the 6th century BCE, now held in the British Museum. It was written by Babylonian scribes long after Hammurabi's time.

Why it matters

This chronicle shows how later generations of Mesopotamians remembered Hammurabi, recording his mustering of troops against his rival Rim-Sin of Larsa. As a later account rather than a document from Hammurabi's own reign, it reveals how his conquests became part of Babylonian historical memory for centuries afterward.

Look closer

  • Why might scribes centuries later still be copying stories about Hammurabi's wars?
  • How might a chronicle written long after events differ from a document made during Hammurabi's reign?
  • What does the survival of his name in cuneiform centuries later suggest about his reputation?

This document is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Hammurabi on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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