This principle, known as lex talionis, meant punishments directly mirrored the crime, such as breaking the bone of a man who broke another's bone.

Crimes committed against wealthy nobles carried much harsher penalties, including death, than the exact same offenses committed against commoners or enslaved people.

The seven-foot diorite stele features a carving of Hammurabi standing before Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice, emphasizing that the laws had divine authority.

The accused was forced to jump into a fast-flowing river. If they survived, the law declared them innocent and their accuser was executed for making a false claim.