As most of the classmates mentioned, it was very surprising to read about the code of Hammurabi that shows the sternness of the code. While I was reading the lecture, I found one contradiction in the code of Hammurabi (at least I think). It is understandable that king Hammurabi made the code extremely stern so that people fear it and would not commit crimes. With his attempting on severe punishments for equality between an assailant and a victim, like an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth, the code called right to be called the first punishment that fit the crime among equals. However, punishments depended on people’s social position. If a royal killed a slave, then the royal would not be executed but paying proper compensation to an owner
Ancient laws were brutal. Babylonian laws, like Hammurabi's Code, included physical torture and death as punishments. The rule behind these punishments was "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."Hammurabi was the name of the king in the city-state of Babylon who ruled for nearly 4,000 years ago.This code was a set of 282 laws that maintained order. Hammurabi's Code was unjust because accidents were punished, punishments for intentional damage was extreme, and it focused on revenge instead of preventing future crime.
I think Hammurabi’s Code was just because, one of his laws was. If a free man was to know out the other man’s eye was to be knocked out as well. Therefore, it’s protecting the victim’s eye. That was law 196. In my opinion, I don’t think this law was bad, it’s protecting the free man but if a slave’s eye was to be knocked out. The other person would have to pay have of the slave’s owner ship to his master.
Hammurabi’s Code and the US Constitution contrast because they have different punishments for the same crimes, they get their power from different sources, and because men, women and slaves are treated differently. Hammurabi's Code and the US Constitution contrast because they have different punishments for the same crimes. For example, petty (low value) theft in the US can result in charges from $500 to $1000, whereas it resulted in death according to Hammurabi’s Code. Another transgression that has very different punishments is abducting “stealing” a minor. In America, the punishment is serving a term in prison for up to five years.
The Code of Hammurabi has a slightly different way of describing the way a society should maintain stability and avoid chaos. In this code of conduct it is more on the lines of something similar to the Bill of Rights where each idea is stated in form of a law. For example, in the 15th amendment of The Code it staes “15: If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates [to escape], he shall be put to death.” It is a listed set of laws followed by a consequence whether it is minor or as harsh as the death penalty. If such harsh punishments were informed, I believe the law makers or theorists saw it as a type of scare which would prevent people from committing the crime. There are those people who do break the law and make stupid decisions, but it would keep the amount of people making stupid decisions and breaking the law to a
Hammurabi’s Code provides evidence for early documents that signify law and order. For instance, Hammurabi’s says in his code if a man wrongs another with his false accusations, he shall be subjected to death (1, 3). His laws illustrate a judicial system in which someone has to pay someone that they wronged in either the same way that they wronged him or through money depending on the person’s social status. It is also said in his code of law that there were penalties for those who disobeyed his laws. For example, Hammurabi says, “If that man do not pay attention to my words…may the great god, the father of the gods, ...
The code of Hammurabi was the first set of written laws to have been created. There were a collection of 282 laws which were recorded. Hammurabi states in his codes the reason for his laws. As stated in The Making of the West by Hunt, "to show Shamash that he had fulfilled the social responsibility imposed on him as a divinely installed monarch" (p.16). This meant that Hammurabi clearly felt that he was accountable for the justice and morals of his people, and that they should abide by them. One of the major points of the moral code included equal punishment under the same class. Code 196 states "If a noble man puts out the eye of another noble man, his eyes shall be put out." This clearly implies that the equal punishment law was severely followed by the Babylonians. Another important point was how woman were of lesser importance compared to men. Code 132 states how if a woman is not caught sleeping with another man she should jump in the water for the sake of her husband. This shows how woman were expected to be faithful and follow by their husbands side. While, if a man was to create adultery with his daughter he would only be exiled. The making of the West by Hunt states "A wife could divorce her husband for cruelty; a husband could divorce his wife for any reason" (p.16). This evidently shows how indisputably biased Hammurabi was towards woman in that society. Slaves' conducts and rules were also listed in the codes. They had absolutely no rights at all, even if they were to be killed by another being.
The Hammurabi Code of Law allowed swift, cut and dry justice. It was created to help keep everyone in line as well as give a quick judgment in cases of dispute or wrongful doing. Hammurabi took every common issue, wrote it down to specific details and listed the consequences for each action. It was a simple system that achieved positive and negative results. Either everyone conformed to this law or they would be executed.
The formers of the Hammurabi’s Code of Laws surely created strict rules with severe punishments for their violation. In fact, these laws played a big role in organization of Mesopotamian society. Reading these laws, reader may learn about ideals people of Mesopotamia had about crimes, their attitude to the lower and higher social classes, and legal rights between men and women. Reading the laws I noticed that many crimes were punished by death penalty. Many laws tell that guilty person has to pay the same price for the physical harm one did to another person or one’s relative. For instance: law 196 states (encyclopedia.com): “ If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” In addition, at that time, people were penalized to death for many crimes or wrongdoings that almost never would be penalized with capital punishment at a modern time. Among such felony and misdemeanors are stealing, robbery, accusation, adultery, and desertion. Hammurabi’s Code also, reveals inequality between social classes. Slaves were not treated by the laws the same as free-born people. According to the Code of Hammurabi, women had some legal rights, but these rights were not equal to men’s. Married women had a right to divorce as well as men. In fact, in order to acquire the right for divorce, a woman has to find a reasonable explanation for her desire, and only than the divorce could be possible.
The author of the Code also makes some key assumptions while writing his laws. Hammurabi must assume that the members of his kingdom have the same values and morals that he does. He writes as if everyone will agree with each law written, and makes no provision for members of society to disagree with him. Hammurabi also assumes that the punishment he prescribes will be enough to deter crime and prevent repeat offenders. When prescribing the incentives given to doctors, Hammurabi made assumptions about how much money it would take to encourage doctors to practice medicine and shipbuilders to build ships.
One of the most important aspects of any society is the ruling system. A society simply could not function without any sort of rules or regulations. With the tremendous growth of Babylonian society came the need for law systems. Perhaps one of the most well known law systems was Babylonian ruler Hammurabi’s compilation of Mesopotamian laws known as Hammurabi 's Code. Hammurabi 's Code contained laws pertaining to trade, marriage, property, crime, social class, and more (Judge and Langdon, 25). So much can be learned about early societies through this famous artifact. Although these laws may have been accepted by the Babylonian citizens at the time, it is now clear to see that the code was extremely unjust. Hammurabi 's Code uncovers the social
The Hammurabi Code is the oldest and most comprehensive set of laws in the world. The 282 laws set the structure for the civilization of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi, who was the sixth king of Mesopotamia, created these laws for a sense of order and peace. However, when investigating these laws further, they seem unfair and unjust for many reasons. People would be punished differently based on their class status. The punishments were harsher towards the freemen, rather than slaves. Although the Hammurabi Code worked to keep order and justice, discrimination existed between slaves and freemen, men and women, and adults and children.
The Hammurabi Code of Law was the original father of our “penal and civil laws” of today. It provided guidance on creating a general code that sought to be just and applicable to all classes of citizens. Hammurabi can be considered as the forefather of the modern justice system; we should be very thankful to past societies and rulers for their contributions.
The laws that Hammurabi created show that he valued family life very much. His laws did not tolerate adultery at all. One example of this is Hammurabi’s law number 129. It states, “If a man’s wife be surprised with another man, both shall be tied and thrown in the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.” This tells us Hammurabi will show no mercy to those that do not honor family values and cheat on their spouses. However, the husband can save his wife’s life if he knew that the man had forced himself on her and she had not given her consent. This shows us Hammurabi was a reasonable man by not punishing the man’s wife if she was innocent. He just wanted a man and a wife to have a pure and healthy relationship.
The Hammurabi Code and Mosaic Law were used to lead their people during two different era. They were similarities and differences, between the two. For example, they were both discovered by their leaders in similar ways, but differed in their approach to justice and morality. Hammurabi Code respects women, but has distinct social class and penalties based on the class you belonged to, while the Mosaic Law had no distinction between people and gave everybody even fairness.
The Code of Hammurabi played a significant role in how women were treated, as well as their rights during Old Babylonian civilization. The Code of Hammurabi was created in 1780 B.C.E. and represents as the oldest written document in the development of human legislation. The “eye for an eye” principle comes from this code and states that if someone injures another person, then the person penalized to the same degree with the same action. Hammurabi’s code reflected three different classes which were; the