The Code of Hammurabi the King of Babylon

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Code of Hammurabi was established by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, in order to create and maintain social order. Judging by these laws, I would say that the society defined by these laws consists of rather rigid structures and rules in the aspects of family, economics and justice system. It seems that the various social roles are very clearly defined in terms of what is expected of them, as well as the punishments they will receive as a result of not fulfilling their duties/responsibilities. For example, in the domestic realm, the father has the highest power in the family. This can be illustrated by the fact that he can sell off his wife and children as slaves if he could provide tangible evidence that this is fully warranted. Also, he could exile or even physically mutilate his children if such punishments are justified as a result of the children’s excessive rebellion. The father being the dominant figure in the family thus denotes a highly patriarchal society under these laws. On the other hand, women are not completely deprived of their rights. However, it seems that the co...

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