Why is it said that Hammurabi did something no one had done before?

        Hammurabi was an ancient Babylonian king. He was the sixth king of Babylon, but expanded it by uniting cities. He therefore became the first king of the empire. He first conquered cities towards the south, and then his conquest expanded. He respected all the religions in his empire, and did many things in order to make Babylon a better place.

          Hammurabi is best remembered because he did something that no one had ever done before. Using a form of written language known as cuneiform, Hammurabi created the first written set of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. In Hammurabi’s court, it did not matter if you were rich or poor. If you broke the law, and were found guilty, you would be punished. Since the laws were clearly written down, everyone was expected to obey them.

             Under Hammurabi, the Babylonian Empire was very strong, but under his children and grandchildren, the empire got weaker, until eventually it collapsed like other West Asian empires.