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Primary sourceBook1898

The Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, King of Babylon

Hammurabi · 1898

An 1898 scholarly edition presenting Hammurabi's own letters and inscriptions in English translation, drawn from cuneiform tablets.

This volume preserves Hammurabi's own letters, giving direct evidence of his rule and communications as king.

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The Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, King of BabylonPDF · 388 pages
L. W. King (ed.), The Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, 1898. Scanned book, Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a printed scholarly volume from 1898 that collects letters and inscriptions attributed to Hammurabi, king of Babylon, along with letters from other kings of the First Dynasty of Babylon. The editor translated the original Babylonian cuneiform texts, kept in the British Museum, into English.

Why it matters

These letters are primary evidence surviving from Hammurabi's own time, giving historians direct access to how he communicated and governed. Because the texts were copied from clay tablets rather than written on paper, they survived thousands of years, offering rare first-hand material about one of the earliest known rulers of Babylon.

Look closer

  • Why do you think these letters were preserved on clay rather than other materials?
  • What does it mean that this book is a translation rather than the original language?
  • What kinds of topics might a king's letters cover?

This book 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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