Code Of Hammurabi Essay

During the second millennium, Babylon was ruled under Hammurabi. He was a powerful king who reestablished a central government throughout his kingdom. In 1780 BCE Hammurabi created approximately 282 laws to govern and rule over the Babylonians. Two earlier Sumerian codes of conduct existed in parts; however, this was the first complete set in history. Thanks to the tall black basalt stele artwork that displays Hammurabi’s laws we know of his ruling in elaborate detail. These rules became known as “The Code of Hammurabi”. These guidelines were written in Akkadian, a popular language in the region at the time. Hammurabi claimed that a very prominent god wrote the code and instructed him to rule under his name. This is a large component when

The structure is made of diorite and stands at 7.4 feet. One could say the heaviness of the material used to create the stele emphasizes the dense laws. Three-fourths of the monument displays The Code of Hammurabi. The top however, is a portrayal of Shamash and Hammurabi. Both are the same size, which suggests that they are equals even though Shamash is seated with thunderbolts of lightning surrounding him suggesting that he has more power. This suggests that the laws themselves came from a higher power and were given to Hammurabi to enforce. This monument is very important because it’s the reason why people know extensive laws that Hammurabi

The term “an eye for an eye” was coined from these laws. The law that states if a criminal removed the eye of another individual and was caught they would also have their own eye taken away can support this. Criminals were often killed for committing a crime. Another instance in which both the victim and criminal were given equal punishment is in the circumstance when a builder builds a poorly constructed building which causes the death of the owner or his son the builder will also be put to death. If the building kills a slave he must replace that slave with another for the owner. This shows the extreme manner of Hammurabi’s ruling and the level of strictness in governing