Hammurabi was the king of the ancient civilization, Babylon, from 1792 BC to 1750 BC. However he had extremely harsh laws, his set of laws was called Hammurabi’s code. A popular example of Hammurabi’s code, is “Eye for Eye”; that law stated that if something bad happened to you, then the person who committed the “crime” would be punished equally. Though, some laws were much worse; if a son hit his father, his hands would be cut off, I know… Harsh!
In my opinion, most of Hammurabi’s laws were extremely unfair, and if you were a woman it was even worse! 5 year old boys had more power than 40 year old women. A law in hammurabi’s code, states that if a woman is killed, then the person who did it, would pay 10 gold pieces, however if a man was
Is Hammurabi’s Code just or unjust? Hammurabi ruled for 42 years. By his 38th year, he already had 282 laws. He ruled over most of Mesopotamia. He became king of a small city-state called Babylon. He wasn’t the first king to write in cuneiform for his laws.
Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of its harsh punishments. In document (A) it shows that Shamash a god gave Hammurabi the set of laws so we don’t know if Shamash hated Babylon, and wanted to see everybody die. So Shamash might of made the laws have harsh punishments. In document (D) Law 23 and 48 have harsh punishments. Law 23 states that a mayor and the city have to repay of what he has lost. That is unfair because that mayor and city shouldn’t have to lose product because someone got robbed. In Law 48 it states that if a man borrows money to plant his crops and his crops are flooded by a storm the creditor
His law code provides us with a rare insight into the daily life of ancient urban society. The Code has 282 specific legal codes. A few of the subjects carried out in the code are property and theft, economics and contracts, family and marriage, assault and personal injury, and responsibility and liability. Hammurabi’s code tells us a lot about early Mesopotamian law and culture. The code reveals a strict punishment, typically resulting in death, for individuals committing theft. Keeping to one’s own material possessions was extremely important. Furthermore, when a man alters the economic success of another individual, he must repay that person for their lost. Equality was extremely important when it came to following the law, so that others would not suffer financially as a result. For example, if a man cuts down a tree in another man’s orchard without the permission of the owner of the orchard, he shall weigh and deliver 30 shekels of silver. Surprisingly, Hammurabi’s Law also protected the right of woman more than I had anticipated when it pertained to marriage and family. Men were not favored more than their female counterparts. As well, assaulting another individual meant even more physical harm to the individual performing the act. These assault and personal injury reflected the philosophy, treat others the way you want to be treated. Finally, individuals
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 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.
Hammurabi is best known for his succession in writing down the first complete set of laws, titled Hammurabi’s Code. He strived as a king to bring protection, fairness, and justice to the weak of society using laws from the God of justice, Shamash. Hammurabi’s Code was written on a large stone pillar called a stele. In addition to writing a set of 282 laws, he expanded the territory of Babylon northward and westward, encouraged agriculture, and oversaw the erection of many buildings and temples. One may argue that since Hammurabi changed and eliminated some of the laws before he published the complete set, he was changed by the times. However, revising some of the laws was necessary to ensure the best protection and fairness for the people. Overall, King Hammurabi laid the foundation for the laws that we have today and his legacy continues on in our justice
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.
Hammurabi’s code has an overall simple concept. This concept is similar to the well-known phrase, “an eye for an eye” (“The Law of Retaliation” philosophy, invented by Lex Talionis). If someone has stolen something, the robber's hand shall be cut off or they will be punished in a manner consequent to the action (Hammurabi). But, if someone in a lower social class harmed a person in the higher class, they would be put to death. Although, if a person in a higher social class harmed a person in a lower class then they would most likely be fined (Hammurabi).
In the Code of Hammurabi, there are a few laws protecting unique rights of women, while some also giving them fewer rights than that of a man. One example
The Code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, who began ruling the Babylonian Empire in about 1800 BC. Hammurabi came to power using his strengths as a military leader, conquering many smaller city-states to create his Empire. Hammurabi believed that the gods appointed him to bring justice and order to his people, and he took this duty very seriously. Not long after his ascent to power, he created his Code, 282 laws written to define all relationships and aspects of life in the kingdom. The laws were displayed in a public place so that all the people could have the opportunity to study them. The laws applied to everyone, though application of the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were swift and harsh, further encouraging compliance.
To conclude my speech today, Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon (Hammurabi). He was a successful military leader and ruler that concentrated on building defensive protection, establishing a basis of law and order, and specializing irrigation. Hammurabi is arguably most remembered for his code of the laws governing Babylonian life. The Code of Hammurabi consists of 282 laws ranging from divorce, property and inheritance, and fairness in commercial exchanges (Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws). Punishment and severity varied within social structure. “It symbolizes not only the rise of justice in the minds of men, but also man’s rise above ignorance and barbarism toward the peaceful and just societies that we still pursue today” (EAWC Anthology: Hammurabi's Code of Laws).
Hammurabi spent a great deal of time deciding what rules where necessary to impose order and remain in line with his religion. These laws were a form of protection to the citizens as well as the governing authority. The code of law provided consistent justice and covered many aspects of daily life.
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 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.
No doubt the concept “an eye for an eye” was a big part of the Code of Hammurabi. Although, when it came to women, this principle does not apply equally as it did with men of the Babylonian civilization. For example, if a man were to practice adultery while he was married, he would get a very minor punishment for whatever good reason he came up with. If a woman were to practice adultery on her husband, she and the other man she was having an affair with were both thrown into a river while being tied up to one another. Basically women were constantly addressed as a piece of property just as slaves were treated. Hammurabi’s Code demonstrated how the rights of women individually were not acknowledged as men’s rights were taken. King Hammurabi was the sixth Babylonian king and he gave all of the power to the men in the civilization. It can be proven that a woman, in Hammurabi time didn’t have as many rights, even right to defend herself. There are three major issues that were taken place during the Babylonian civilization. The first issue, was about a woman’s family wealth being controlled by her husband or her father. The second issue was about women’s sexuality being sacrificed to ensure legitimacy. The last issue talked about a woman needing society’s help if she was divorced. The Hammurabi Code describes all of women’s rights and