In approximately 1700 B.C.E., the Code of Hammurabi, discovered in 1902, laid out a set of rules for investing. Babylon, an ancient city in what is now Iraq, was ruled by various kings; the sixth king, Hammurabi, ruled for nearly 43 years. Under Hammurabi, a set of codes were enacted that helped the king rule his people. Although many of the codes described basic laws and governance, some codes described rules involving investing, loans, and financial transactions. Some copies of the original codes predate the main codes, which were etched upon a large stone, by several decades.