Hammurabi Code Analysis

King Hammurabi ruled Babylonia from 1792-1750 BC. Believed to receive laws from the sun god, Shamash, Hammurabi set an order of 282 laws known as Hammurabi's Code. These laws deal with phases of everyday life for all civilians. The laws and orders described the offenses and their punishments and was applied to every person who resided from Babylonia to Mesopotamia. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the first written order of laws in history that was made to be followed equally by every civilian. The laws were made to create equality through social classes, establish fairness between gender roles, create awareness of moral values and bring about the rule of religion.

King Hammurabi used the code of laws to gain authority over Babylonia and Mesopotamia. The Babylonian God, Marduk, gave the king the power to rule and enforce the laws. The code also set a standard for values, religion, class, and relationships throughout the civilization. The code gave people social classes, and equality.

For example, in the code of Hammurabi it states, " If a patrician has knocked out the tooth of a man that is his equal, his tooth shall be knocked out,” and also stating "If he has knocked out the tooth of a plebeian, he shall pay one-third of a mina of silver." This law creates the law that if a higher class civilian wrongs a man of equal stature, he shall be equally wronged. However, if a higher class individual wrongs a plebeian, he shall only pay a small fine. If a plebeian wrongs a higher class civilian, he will be severely punished or put to death.

By having different punishments for different types of civilians, social classes were created. The code made it to where there is an uneven balance in power among the civilization to establish tho...

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... religion has on the world. Hammurabi was prosperous at not only enforcing his rules but acting as a role model for other civilizations that used a related styles of ruling.

The Code of Hammurabi creating a lasting impression on the world. The high level of organization and order of law that was produced was used in many civilizations which, most of the time, has led to a flourishing, orderly civilization. The Code of Hammurabi is also the basis of religious laws and considered the base of Jewish and Christian legal systems. Although the code sometimes left the punishing to the Gods, by flinging the accused in water or fire seeing if the individual would survive , today’s countries have enough police and governmental power to enforce the laws. Overall, the Code of Hammurabi played a necessary role in shaping today’s morals of civilians and laws of the government.