What was Hammurabi’s rule based on

Hammurabi is remembered for having produced the first written law in history, the Code of Hammurabi. But his rule was not based on the famous code, that was just an interested detail about how he chose to rule. His rule, like that of all ancient rulers, was based on force. He had assembled a group of armed men who agreed to support him, and he was then in a position to kill anybody who did not accept him as the ruler of Babylon, and since no one else managed to assemble a superior force with which to defeat him, he therefore ruled Babylon.