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Secondary sourceSculpture

Statue of Hammurabi near Babylon

Hamody al-iraqi

A modern statue of Hammurabi standing near the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq.

This modern statue near ancient Babylon reflects how Hammurabi is remembered in Iraqi national memory.

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A tall light-colored statue of a robed, bearded figure wearing a cap stands on a tall brick pedestal in an open dusty field. Palm trees, a few streetlights, and a white car lie in the background under a pale sky.
Statue of Hammurabi, near al-Hillah, Iraq. Photograph by Hamody al-iraqi.

About this source

What it is

This photograph shows a tall statue of a robed, bearded, capped figure standing on a brick pedestal near the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq. The statue depicts Hammurabi and stands in an open area with palm trees nearby.

Why it matters

The statue shows how Hammurabi is remembered today in Iraq, close to the site of the city he once ruled. It reflects his lasting place in national memory as one of Babylon's most famous kings, thousands of years after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might a statue of Hammurabi be placed near the ruins of ancient Babylon?
  • What choices did the sculptor make about Hammurabi's clothing, pose and expression, and why?
  • How might a modern statue differ from how Hammurabi actually looked or was remembered in his own time?

This sculpture 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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Photo of the black basalt Code of Hammurabi stele on a dark background. The tall, tapering stone has a rounded top carved in relief with a standing figure facing a seated figure on a throne, and below are rows of carved cuneiform text.Document

Primary source

Code of Hammurabi

Hammurabi · c. 1753 BCE

Photo of a tall black basalt stele with a rounded top. Carved relief at the top shows a standing figure at left facing a seated figure with a horned crown at right. Below, the stone is covered in rows of cuneiform script.Sculpture

Primary source

Stele with the Code of Hammurabi

Hammurabi · c. 1792 BCE

Photograph of a clay cuneiform tablet, pale beige and roughly rectangular with a chipped upper-left corner, covered in wedge-shaped impressed signs in horizontal lines. It rests on a black stand against a dark background.Letter

Primary source

Letter from Hammurabi to Sîn-iddinam

Hammurabi · c. 1792-1750 BCE

Photograph of a cuneiform clay tablet on a display stand against a dark background. The tablet is pale beige, with a broken upper edge, and is covered in rows of wedge-shaped cuneiform signs. A museum label with a catalogue number is visible at the bottom.Document

Primary source

List of the year-names of Hammurabi's reign

Old Babylonian period, reign of Hammurabi (c. 1792-1750 BCE)

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.Document

Secondary source

Chronicle of Early Kings

Babylonian scribes · c. 6th century BCE copy

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