Hammurabi Code Essay

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Running Head: HAMMURABI’S CODE

Hammurabi’s Code: Laws of Mesopotamia

Grace Lasarsky

Lincoln Charter School

October 21, 2014

Mr. Thomas

Honors World History

Hammurabi’s Code 2

Hammurabi was the king of Babylon from 1792 BC until his death in 1750 B.C. Hammurabi’s Code was the first set of laws that all of Mesopotamia obeyed, that were established by Hammurabi. There was two hundred and two laws influenced all of Mesopotamia in many ways. Hammurabi’s Code was one of the most influential creations of the Middle East. Hammurabi had a good life and was taught by many people around him, including his father. He was was born in 1810 B.C. To explain, He became the first king of the Babylonian Empire following the

Most would say the most well-known of these is Hammurabi’s Code. Even though everyone knows about these rules, no one actually follows them. People see Hammurabi’s Code more as a piece of art than a set of codes. The laws have been decoded and it was obvious that people obeyed the rules and it was an important part of politics. One of the stone structures of Hammurabi’s Code was discovered in 1901. French archaeologists were the ones who made this unique discovery. They saw that the cuneiform was written very clearly and it was easy to understand. When people first saw his statues being put up they did not know what to think. The Akkadian’s were very surprised and unsure of what was going to happen. Many people got punished because they went against some of the rules set by Hammurabi. No excuses could have been used because everyone was required to know the rules since they were the same everywhere, and they were in the middle of every area. Hammurabi’s system was unfair, and everyone knew that. The laws favored males and the rich his can still be found in todays systems and

If you broke a rule that was more strict, for instance killed someone, then you would most likely be killed. Men and the rich could get out of punishments more easily. The rich could bribe someone or pay heavy fines and nothing would happen to them. Men were just favored, so they got paid more and had less harsh punishments. This also meant there were more men in the world during this time. There was also mostly rich people. The poor people and the women ended up dieing younger because they did not have enough to sustain them, or they were severely punished.

Hammurabi’s Code is 282 laws. These laws were very specific and important. Some of laws could not be implemented into everyday life in 2014, but back then these were very well