First legal code established

c.1754 BCE, Babylon, Mesopotamia

It may have only been discovered a little over 100 years ago, but the stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi is no less important for how recently we’ve come to know about it. As the earliest known example of codified law that applied to all citizens, it marks the beginning of justice being determined through predetermined rules rather than the whims of a local ruler or magistrate.