Hammurabi Code Of Laws Essay

After thirty years of small feuds with other kings, Hammurabi wanted to settle down and keep Babylonia peaceful. Hammurabi ruled forty-two years about forty centuries ago. He was the King of Babylonia, the approximate length of Babylonia from Mari in the North to Larsa in the South was no more than fifty miles. The estimated population of Babylonia was about 1 million, out of that million each person belonged in one of the three social classes which were, landowners, free people who didn’t own land, and slaves. Hammurabi created a set of 282 laws carved on stele for the people of Babylonia called the Hammurabi’s Code, but were those laws fair to everyone in the Babylonian society.

Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon around 1792-1750 BCE, and was the ruler of an estimated population of 1,000,000 individuals. He is known for being the first to make complete written laws. Hammurabi considered himself a righteous king and called his laws "precious." He made 282 laws, and aimed to create a society of fairness and justice, although his laws were unjust and ended in violence,. Hammurabi's laws were unjust because they were violent and inhumane.

There are many interpretations of the Law Code of Hammurabi. L.W. King stated that "Hammurabi's code was not really the earliest. The preceding sets of laws have disappeared, but we have found several traces of them, and Hammurabi's own code clearly implies their existence. He is but reorganizing a legal system long established" (http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm). Whatever the case may be, I believe that the Hammurabi Law Code set the stage for future law makers. It was also a means by which a society could maintain good order and discipline. The Bible states in Hosea 4:6 that my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge (NIV). In the case of the Babylonian people there was no excuse. The Laws were displayed publicly for all to see. It was there responsibility to read and take heed. The Hammurabi Law Code will remain one of the

In Mesopotamia, Hammurabi equated accomplishments and prosperities to the gods’ intentions. Around 1755 B.C.E., Hammurabi created a law code that dealt with social, economic, and judicial conventions. According to Hammurabi,

Have you ever heard the saying “spare the rod, spoil the child” or “An eye for an eye”? King Hammurabi of Sin-Muballit was the 6th king of babylon and he did not like all of the chaos in his society. To fix this, he wrote a code of 282 laws that formed the order that he was looking for. In all the unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The code of Hammurabi is not just.

Babylon was one of the many city-states that formed in ancient Mesopotamia. Hammurabi was Babylon’s sixth ruler back in 1754 B.C.E. In an attempt to bring law and order, Hammurabi set a collection of laws engraved in stone on a 7 foot high stele. There were a total of 282 clauses that helped changed the legal system. They were placed for everyone to see. This became one of the most famous ancient legal document. It was also the first time laws were written down. Prior to Hammurabi’s Law Code the laws continuously changed, it was difficult to get a fair trial and there was no stability in justice. This was a way for everyone to see that there will be consequences. Hammurabi believed that the punishment should fit the crime, but not for all

The Law Code of Hammurabi is a native Babylonian text that served as the basic law code of society. The way of life was of the former Babylonians culture is totally different than what we are used to today. The text gives readers a vision of how ancient societies lived in these times. This law code gave society a diverse arrangement for citizens to follow. The social structure isn’t about wealth, they are judged by different standards (such as trial by ordeal). The husband is the dominant role of the house. The family structure is a patriarchal household and the power of the father is absolute. The Law Code of Hammurabi gives readers a clear thought of how unfair the earlier civilization of Babylonians existed through class structures, gender relations, and family structures.

During his reign, his kingdom conquered all of ancient Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s law code served a purpose of unifying groups of the ancient Babylonian empire. Its purpose was to create justice in the land and to prevent oppression of its citizens, especially oppression from the strong to the weak people. His believes were targeted towards punishing the unlawful and dishonest citizens. Even though some of the punishment seemed very sever, most of it was seen to be fit for the crimes committed.

The code of Hammurabi is the most remarkable and complete code of ancient law that we have. The code can be found on a stele, a stone slab usually to commemorate military victories in the ancient world. His code, a collection of 282 laws and standards, stipulated rules for commercial interactions and set fines and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Most punishments resulting of death or loss of limb if a law was broken. The edicts ranged from family law to professional contracts and administrative law, often outlining different standards of justice for the three classes of Babylonian society. The Hammurabi Code was issued on the three classes of Babylonian Society, property owners, freemen and slaves. It was important as it organized the most civilized empire at that times , and Hammurabi made many copies of it and distributed them in the most important cities of the empire , so it represented a great progress to the human

These laws were just one part of an effort to create an organized nation-state by Hammurabi. After conquering various city-states to secure his rule, he created a new power center in Babylon to keep the supporters of previous power centers at

In creating thiscode of laws, Hammurabi sought to protect the interests of Babylon from internal strife, toappease and find favor with the gods, and to increase the wealth and well being of the population. The

In 1754 BCE, Mesopotamia was a chaotic city with no order at all until Hammurabi’s law code came through. Even though some may not agree with him, Hammurabi’s laws were necessary in order for them to have reached a civilized society. Hammurabi’s Code established a fair law code because it created order across the violent region of Mesopotamia, it administered harsh punishments preventing chaos and violence, and it supported the development of religious ideas and concepts.

Hammurabi improved on the measures implemented by Sargon through his idea of “centralization”. Instead of controlling trade routes and resources like Sargon, Hammurabi institutionalized regular taxation for all the territories. Hammurabi also ruled from within Babylon while extending his authority to other territories through the use of deputies placed in each territory. (Bentley and Zeigler, p. 29)

Hammurabi’s code included some gruesome punishments, some that might be believed as unruly, but is still just. Hammurabi’s code was just in many ways pertaining to their time. These laws are not the oldest set, but they were possibly the most strict from the ancient world. The punishments for breaking some laws are different for the multiple classes on the social structure and genders. Also, during his time, Hammurabi was known more as a builder and conqueror than a law-giver. All in all, the laws abiding in Hammurabi’s code are just because of its personal injury and family laws.

The Hammurabi Code of Laws is a set of rules enacted by the Babylonian King whose name was Hammurabi. The Babylonian King created a total of two-hundred eighty-two punishments that the citizens will receive if they do not abide by the laws that were given to them. The king ruled from 1792 BC to 1750 BC. The Hammurabi Code of Laws is very violent in terms of punishments. For example, one of the laws are “If anyone breaks into a house to steal, he will be put to death before that point of entry and be buried there (walled into the house)”. This is a clear example of how violent and inhumane the punishments of the Babylonians were, to us at least. This essay will be explaining a set of laws from the Hammurabi’s Code of Laws.