Hammurabi

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The powerful Hammurabi, greatly known for constructing the first set of written laws, was the sixth king of the Amonte dynasty of ancient Babylon (Hammurabi). The name Hammurabi means “the kinsmen is a healer” which comes from the Amorite language (Hammurabi). He was born in 1805 BC and died around 1750 BC. His power was inherited from his father, Sin-Muballit at a very young age (Hammurabi). Hammurabi was 13 years old when he succeeded the throne. He reigned for 42 years from 1792 BC to 1750 BC (Hammurabi).
A few years into Hammurabi’s reign over Babylon he decided to compose the first written set of law in order to make the ancient people aware of the consequences of their unlawful acts (Hammurabi). This promulgation of a new code of Babylonian law was written on a stele, which is a large stone monument in the center of town. It consists of 282 laws (Hammurabi). The repercussions of the laws varied depending on one’s social status, but they were still very harsh based on modern standards. Hammurabi’s code has an overall simple concept. This concept is similar to the well-known phrase, “an eye for an eye” (“The Law of Retaliation” philosophy, invented by Lex Talionis). If someone has stolen something the robbers hand shall be cut off or they would be punished in a manner consequent to the action (Hammurabi). But, if someone in a lower social class harmed a person in the higher class than they would be put to death. Although, if a person in a higher social class harmed a person in a lower class then they would most likely be fined (Hammurabi). The Code of Hammurabi was written dominantly in the precursor writing to Hieroglyphics, known as Cuneiform. Cuneiform is a wedge-shaped writing that was common to the people of Babylon (Hamm...

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...me believe that there wasn’t any conflict and it was just a surrender (Hammurabi).
The only kingdom that survived after the wars was the Assyrian kingdom, but they were forced to pay tribute. Hammurabi succeeded in putting all of Mesopotamia under his control in only a couple of years (Hammurabi). And that, is why he is the the great king of Babylon.

Works Cited

“Hammurabi” ancient.eu.com 12 Nov 2011, N.d. Web. 10 Dec 2013 http://www.ancient.eu.com/hammurabi King, L.W. “Hammurabi’s Code of Laws” EAWC N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec 2013 http://eawc.evansville.edu/anthology/hammurabi.htm “Law Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon” Louvre N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan 2014 http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/law-code-hammurabi-king-babylon “Louvre Thought Exercise” MiParadox 7 Jun 2008, N.d. Web. 12 Jan 2014
http://miparadox.blogspot.com/2008/06/louvre-thought-exercise.html

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