Do you think the laws we have now are unfair? If you do date back to the 18th century BCE and focus on Hammurabi and his code. Hammurabi was the king of a small city state named Babylon. He ruled about 1,000,000 people for 42 years. He created a code with 282 laws that were carved on a stone called a stele. The code of Hammurabi was used by all different people including the Assyrians. Was Hammurabis code just? Hammurabis code was not just because of its family laws, property laws, and personal injury laws.
In Hammurabis code he had included many family laws. Hammurabis family laws were unjust which is seen through severe punishments. Family life was a major part of the Babylonian society and was one reason why it was included in Hammurabis Code. In law 29 about adultery, “ If a married lady is caught in adultery with another man they shall bind them and cast them into the water” ( Doc C). This shows that if a wife is caught cheating than she and the cheater will be severely punished by being drowned. This is unfair because a person should not be put to death for loving somebody and disliking somebody else. In law 195 about striking a father, “ If a son strikes his father, his hands shall be cut off” ( Doc C). This shows that if a son hits his dad he will lose his hands. It also shows that men were more respected back then than women which is unjust because they are both humans and they both have to do work to support a family, the husband isn't the only one. To conclude Hammurabis consequences for each crime were very unfair to people and were too harsh.
Hammurabi had made many property laws in his code. Hammurabi had made the consequences for crimes very harsh and also very unfair to the victim. Property laws were put into t...
... middle of paper ...
...lose a body part for making a mistake. It is also harsh because they don't give the surgeon a second chance. To conclude, Hammurabi was very unfair to all people in all different aspects when it comes to personal injuries.
Hammurabis code was unjust because of its family laws, property laws, and personal injury laws. The most unjust laws in Hammurabis code are the family laws. They are the most unfair because most of the consequences involve death or a loss of a body part. Family laws are unfair because of the harsh consequences that are faced after committing a crime. Property laws are unfair because the victim is also faced with unfair consquences, and personal injury laws are unfair because the bad treatment to women. In conclusion, when Hammurabi made his code to make Babylonia civil they were very unfair and unjust in many ways.
Works Cited
Hammurabis code
Hammurabi’s code was a just law system that used the influence of gods and harsh punishments to scare people away from crime to maintain the order of his society. Hammurabi was an 18th century BCE king in Babylonia, in addition to his big title he was famous for the creation of a 282 law code. His laws were very exact in that there was a law for any situation. These laws are famous for the harsh punishments Hammurabi allotted for crimes committed by people living under his rule. The question asked when looking at his laws are were they just? But if you look at the categories of family, property and injury it is clear that they are.
Personal Injury laws are an example of evidence that support the fact that The Code Of Hammurabi is not just. Law 209 states that if a man hits the daughter of a free man and kills her unborn baby he has to pay 10 shekels (Document E.) In Law 213 it says that if a man has hit a slave girl and also causes her to lose her unborn baby he should pay only 2 shekels (Document E). Both punishments of these laws still do not solve the problem of the loss of a baby. Although getting paid in shekels is helpful, the real problem is the loss of the baby and money cannot fix that. It is also unfair because the slave girl and a normal girl should at least get the same amount
Hammurabi’s code was based on the saying ‘an eye for an eye’. This means that the retribution for the crime would roughly fit the severity of the crime. For example, if someone poked someone’s eye out, someone would poke that someone’s eye out. I think this is fair because it doesn’t make sense any other way. For instance, if one was jailed ten years for a minor theft (a purse, a bike, etc.) and someone else was jailed ten years for a major theft (robbing the bank, stealing a valuable painting, etc.), that wouldn’t be reasonable. In Hammurabi’s ‘an eye for an eye’ theory, all the punishments are equal to the crime, which is very practical. Most of his laws are based on this.
Before he died, Hammurabi was a person who created many laws. He created a code of 282 fair laws (BGE). He created his law on a stone seal. He made the laws to control the city-state of Babylonia. He was a ruler of a huge city-state in Mesopotamia for 42 years. He made laws for 1,000,000 people that each person had to follow or they would be punished on what they did. The way they were punished depended on what they did. There were 3 categories Family law, Property law, and Personal-Injury law. Was Hammurabi’s code just? Hammurabi’s laws were just because of 3 categories, Family Laws, Property Laws, and Personal-Injury Laws.
When Hammurabi generated his ideas of Code and leadership he generated what he believed was best for the Mesopotamian people. What wasn’t clear to us, is what influenced his thinking. According to history channel the name "Hammu” means family, while rapi, means “great.” Taking that into context we can understand how some of the laws were created by the 6th king of the Babylonian empire. Family, truth, and “equality” was implemented to create the world’s first set of written moral. However by creating “morality” and civilized manner
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
There is a lot about Babylonian society that can be learned through reading the Code of Hammurabi. In the very least, the document itself and the materials used to produce it tell a lot about how advanced the empire was. In some cases, punishment was left to the gods to determine. The code is interpreted by beginning and ending addressing the gods . Law codes were regarded as a subject for prayer. However, to truly gain an understanding of Mesopotamia in the 17th Century BC, we should take a closer look at the penalties rather than the laws themselves.
In the section of family laws in Hammurabi's Code of Laws there are clear examples that the laws were just. Laws 129, 148, 168, and 195 all support the idea that Hammurabi's Code was fair to the Babylonians. In Document C, which is all four of the laws I just mentioned; it says in Law 129 that if an espoused woman is caught having an affair with another man, they both will be tied together and thrown into the sea. I think this law is fair because doing adultery with someone is a very bad thing and deserves a harsh punishment like death. In Law 148 it states that if a man has married a woman but a disease has reached her and he wants to marry another woman, the man is allowed to marry the second woman. He is not allowed to divorce the diseased woman. The woman with the disease can live in the man's house and he has to take care of her until the woman passes away. I This law is fair because it protects the woman with the disease by making her husband take care of h...
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.
Hammurabi’s code gives an insight on the strict and unjust lives many Babylonian’s lived. Women were an item to men, and the wealthy overpowered the slaves. Despite the fact that there was no rightfulness within the laws, Hammurabi’s code indicates the presence of a stable family structure, a system of trading, as well as a development into the medical field. Many of the laws that were established in ancient Babylon, can be seen dealt today in modern America. Being one of the earliest pieces of text, Hammurabi’s considers thoughts of punishment towards the criminals, which is a system we have adapted
The justice of Hammurabi's laws can be justified in several ways.In the family laws, law 129 it states “If a married lady is caught [in adultery] with another man, they shall bind them and cast them into the water.” , And in law 148 It talks about how “ if a man has a married wife and a disease has seized her….he shall not divorce the wife …. She shall dwell in the house they have built together,and he shall maintain her as long as she shall live.”, as you can see Hammurabi is fair he doesn't think that neither the husband nor the wife shall use one another, simply because that wouldn't be
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
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
After the Commercial Law came the Penal Law. This had to do with the issue of crime. The laws were unusually harsh do to their ineducation. Despite this the wealthy class usually enjoyed more freedom from the law than the lower classes. There was no jury in the court back in the times of Babylon. The code of Hammurabi was like an eye for an eye punishment. If you killed someone than you would be killed.
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, ...