Hammurabi and Alexander the Great

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Hammurabi and Alexander the Great

Hammurabi, Zhou, Asoka the Great, and Alexander the Great had various means by which they justified their authority and their rule. Each had a very unique style of thoughts and actions. History was changed due to the actions of these rulers.

The Zhou was a coalition of several groups that existed during the Shang dynasty. Zhou believed that the Shang failed to uphold religious duties, therefore they attributed their victory over Shang to the Mandate of Heaven. This empire was the longest empire in Chinese civilization. Iron made its first appearance during this period. Enormous armies of foot soldiers armed with iron swords and shields replaced old chariot style warfare. Commerce expanded and population grew. The Zhou believed that to retain loyalty of nobility, they must grant the nobility a certain amount of land.

Hammarubi justified authority by his code of laws. He was king of Babylon during the first Babylonian Empire. This Empire extended from the Tigris and Euphrates and westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Hammarubi supervised irrigation, agriculture, tax collection, and construction of many buildings. He was best known for his codification of Babylonian law. The codes of Hammurabi are the earliest legal code known. The laws seek to protect the poor, women, children, and slaves. It is from this code of laws that we get the punishment idea of "an eye for an eye."

Asoka the Great was the son of a Mauryan King. At age eighteen he became vice-roy. In the year 273 he inherited his fathers thrown. During the Kalinga revolt, he realized that the bloodshed was far too great for him to handle. He hung up his sword and converted to Buddhism. Asoka's power allowed him to promote his principle as the law of the land. Asoka scraped codes into rock pillars that talked about conforming to Dharma. Asoka the Great did not allow capital punishment. He was most responsible for the exploration of Buddhism to areas such as China and Asia Minor.

Alexander the Great was one of the greatest military minds of all times. He was King of Macedonia and conqueror of the Persian Empire. Aristotle taught Alexander about the Iliad and other classic novels. In a single week Alexander crushed Illyrians and Thebes, which had revolted. He took the cities by storm and spared only the temples of gods and the house of a poet.

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