Top 10 Oldest Legal Codes in Human History

Topping the list, the Code of Urukagina (c. 2380 BCE) is not only the oldest known legal code but also a historical milestone: it contains the first recorded use of the word 'freedom' (amagi). In striking contrast to the later, brutal Code of Hammurabi, Urukagina’s reforms were surprisingly compassionate—limiting bureaucratic overreach and explicitly protecting widows and orphans from exploitation. While Hammurabi’s code is defined by the harsh 'eye for an eye' doctrine, the Code of Urukagina acts as a proto-constitutional restraint on power, predating modern human rights concepts by over 4,000 years.