Hammurabi was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty, best known for the 'Code of Hammurabi.' This was one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes in human history. Carved onto a massive diorite stele, the code consisted of 282 laws that established standards for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. It famously introduced the principle of 'lex talionis' (the law of retaliation), often summarized as 'an eye for an eye.' Hammurabi's code was revolutionary because it shifted the authority of law from the king's whim to a written, public record, providing a sense of justice and stability in Mesopotamian society. His laws covered everything from property rights and trade to family law and professional malpractice, profoundly influencing the development of legal systems throughout the Near East and later Western civilizations.