The Code Of Hammurabi Analysis

The significance of knowing how western civilization developed is an important key to understanding how many elements from this time has impacted how we live today. The history of western civilization, as well as any other area of history, serves as lessons. We learn from past situations by analyzing their success and failures to promote success in the future. Because history is so important for us to understand, many things we commonly do and hear actually have a strong correlation with the past, even if we don’t always realize it. An example of this is the saying, “an eye for eye,” which relates to “The Code of Hammurabi” written by King Hammurabi in the early Eighteenth Century B.C.E. This saying has been around for centuries and its purpose

The Code of Hammurabi is an important document in the development of western civilization because it provides information about the social hierarchy during this time, the establishment of property rights, and because it was the first written form of a justice system. By analyzing The Code of Hammurabi, it can be seen that the roles of godly figures, kings, landowners, women, children and slaves all differ substantially during this time period. Because of this, life during this time was based on a social hierarchy. Above all the citizens, and King Hammurabi himself, the Gods were seen as the all-knowing and most powerful figures. They were there to guide them religiously in the right direction, but only one individual was thought to be able to communicate with these Gods and that was King Hammurabi himself. He was seen as the “messenger of the divine” which put him at the top of the social hierarchy as well. In the Code of Hammurabi, he refers to himself as “the perfect king,” stating that, “the

These laws promote the welfare of his people, their land and property, much like many governmental structures around the world today. Hammurabi states that he created these laws to maintain an equal balance to insure “that the strong might not oppress the weak.” King Hammurabi strongly believed that he was chosen to by the gods to bring “justice to the oppressed.” This is much like the role of Moses in The Book of Exodus, who was also summoned to provide justice and protection. By creating these laws in a way he tried combat violence with fear. If the individuals know what will happen if they break these rules, they will become hesitant to commit the crime. While his consequences may seem inhumane and cruel today, this historic document allows us to view what life might have been like in the city-state of Babylon during this time and made way for varies other types of governmental structures that formed in the following