The Laws of Eshnunna (abrv. LE) are inscribed on two cuneiform tablets discovered in Tell Abū Harmal, Baghdad, Iraq. The Iraqi Directorate of Antiquities headed by Taha Baqir unearthed two parallel sets of tablets in 1945 and 1947.[1] The two tablets are separate copies of an older source and date back to ca. 1930 BC. An additional fragment was later found at Me-Turan.[2] The differences between the Code of Hammurabi and the Laws of Eshnunna significantly contributed to illuminating the development of ancient and cuneiform law.
In distinction from the other Mesopotamian collections of law, this one got its name after the city where it had originated – Eshnunna, located on the bank of the Diyala River, tributary to the Tigris, north of Ur. Eshnunna became politically important after the fall of the third dynasty of Ur, founded by Ur-Nammu.