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The Code of Hammurabi laws for women
The code of hammurabi
Code of hammurabi
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The Hammurabi Code is the oldest and most comprehensive set of laws in the world. The 282 laws set the structure for the civilization of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi, who was the sixth king of Mesopotamia, created these laws for a sense of order and peace. However, when investigating these laws further, they seem unfair and unjust for many reasons. People would be punished differently based on their class status. The punishments were harsher towards the freemen, rather than slaves. Although the Hammurabi Code worked to keep order and justice, discrimination existed between slaves and freemen, men and women, and adults and children. To start off, major discrimination existed between the slaves and freemen under these laws. First, if a doctor killed …show more content…
The laws gave men more freedom over their lives, unlike women. Lastly, if a woman killed another woman, her daughter would be put to death! However, if a man killed another man, he would be killed. The person who killed someone should have been put to death, because the kids were innocent. Overall, women were considered their “husband’s property,” and they were not considered a true wife until they had kids. The Hammurabi Code allowed more freedom for men. Lastly, the Hammurabi Code allowed parents to “rule” over their children and allowed adults to be more important than their kids. First off, children would be put into slavery if they disrespected their parents! Children had to be cautious of their actions, because whatever they did could result in punishment. Secondly, if a parent committed a crime, their child could be killed. The child could be completely innocent but still be put to death. Lastly, parents were in charge of the estate issues in the house. If parents were divorced, the kids would have no say in where they wished to go. Overall, children were considered property of their parents and did not get as much freedom as adults. In conclusion, the world’s oldest and most structured set of laws were created to protect all
Hammurabi’s Code communicates the barbaric nature of Babylonian society to historians today. The Babylonians had a lack of jails and had excessive punishments. The punishment for an illegal act could be death, slavery, or amputation. Being jailed was not a punishment in Babylonia. An example of this injustice is the law that states, “If a man has broken into a house he shall be killed before the breach and buried there” (Hammurabi’s 21). If a man has stolen bread, he has no trial he is simply put to death. In today’s sophisticated world, we have jails to punish felons, so they have hope for redemption.
Hammurabi, the Babylonian king 3700 years ago, set down the very first code of written laws; Hammurabi’s code of law was one of very first set of written laws that he wanted everyone to follow. It did not matter if you were rich or poor; if you had violated the law, you were to be punished. The laws that Hammurabi created were not just for criminal cases but there were also some laws on property law, family law, marriage law and more. Hammurabi’s code of law changed the way how most people lived in Mesopotamia, because they would have to obey the law and follow it at all time. Hammurabi’s law had outlined everyone's roles in society: slaves, women, men, and nobles. The law marked a turning point for Babylonians of all classes, who now knew what to expect from their king and government in all areas of life.
It protects people with Family Laws (Doc C), Property Laws (Doc D), which is what protected you in the beginning, and Personal Injury Laws (Doc E). Family Laws protect you in situations that involve a family, usually your own. This includes family fights and divorces. It can help prevent a son from getting disowned by his father for no absolute reason, other than that you father doesn’t like you. (Law 168, Doc C) This may mean that you don’t get your inheritance, which is really bad for your future life. Hammurabi’s Code also punishes men and women who are caught in adultery (Law 148, Doc C). The punishment is for the man and woman who are caught in adultery to be binded together, and for them to be thrown into a river, which makes them drown to death. Some people may think that this punishment was way too hardcore, but think about it. At that time, adultery was one of the worst crimes you can do. You break two families apart, and causes massive amounts of heartbreak. Also, at that time, the people under Hammurabi‘s rule was very religious, and to them, this act was unholy. This punishment also prevents other people to commit
Hammurabi’s Code was unjust because of it’s family law. For example law 129 says “if a married lady is caught ( in adultery) with another man, they shall blind them and cast them into the water”( Doc C). That law is unjust because it will scare men and women and make them not want to associate with each other, causing trade to be low and people not wanting to work together. The laws might have been on a steele in the center of the city, but not everyone could read knowing about the laws. In Doc A Hammurabi says that the laws come from the god Shamash. “ They have given them the right to rule.” and in Doc B “ By the command of Shamash the great God and the judge of heaven and earth.” Hammurabi could be lying about getting the laws from the gods,
Hammurabi’s Code was unjust because of the harsh punishments. From the documents provided, there were about three topics of his laws. Those topics included family and marriage laws, property damage laws, and laws about harm to others.
Hammurabi spent a great deal of time deciding what rules where necessary to impose order and remain in line with his religion. These laws were a form of protection to the citizens as well as the governing authority. The code of law provided consistent justice and covered many aspects of daily life.
To begin, Hammurabi's Code threatened families. For example, In Law 129 if a married woman is caught cheating with another man her hand will be tied with rope and thrown into a river. Also, In Law 148 if a wife gets a disease the husband had to take care of her but he can remarry while he is still taking care of his wife. For instance, In law 195 If a son hits his own father the son´s hand shall but cut off. This shows, that
The Hammurabi Code is a set of laws and regulations created by the Babylonian King Hammurabi near the end of his reign in estimatedly 1750 B.C. King Hammurabi saw that with his growing empire there was a need for justice, so he set into place two hundred and eighty two laws and regulations for his people that people can still recognized today. For example, the saying “an eye for an eye” is apart of the Hammurabi Code. This code is one of the most complete forms of written laws from the time period but is not the first documented set of laws as contradictory to popular belief. The first documented set of laws are tablets from the ancient city of Ebla which is in modern day Syria and are estimately six hundred years older than the Hammurabi Code. The “code is also one of the earliest examples of the idea of the accused being considered
From the nobles in the high class to the peasants and slaves, everyone was expected to follow the law put forth by King Hammurabi. In order to make people follow these laws, perhaps even fear them, King Hammurabi needed to include punishments that were cruel. With this in mind, this may have affected how King Hammurabi wrote his laws. By inflicting harsh punishments upon criminals, ranging from bodily mutilation to death, most people would stray away from a life of crime if they knew what they were going to be punished with. If King Hammurabi did not include such gruesome punishments and was more lenient towards criminals, most people would not have taken the code of laws seriously. Instead, Hammurabi made it clear for all of his subjects that their crimes will be punished, and depending on their class and social status, it may even result in their
Can you imagine a world without laws and everyone lived in an uncivilized manner? If this scenario was real, life would be barbaric and the lack of justice would cause chaos. Before the Code of Hammurabi, crime was a personal matter to be dealt with. It was “mano y mano,” but in most cases that phrase meant perpetrator’s village verses victim’s village. Crime was not settled in a sense of organization, nor was correct punishment dealt out in the right way (Bertman). Since there was no organized justice before it, the Code of Hammurabi brought an organized system of justice, even though in recent times, historians consider the laws harsh.
it is not a coherent code of laws but rather a set of decisions and equity rulings that Hammurabi made in response to specific cases and perceived injustices it covers a wide range of topics from the administration of justice to consumer protection its purpose was to keep order in the kingdom during a period of unification and to establish “right and justice ... in the land for the good of the people”it appears to be a document that is biased towards the people who are well off in society because in order to use it you would have to be able to read the stele (stone pillar upon which the code was written) and most peasants in ancient Mesopotamia could neither read nor write. This document does give women some rights in the empire for instance if a husband wants to divorce his wife after she has born him children she is given back her dowry and allowed to use his land to raise the children until they come of age then she takes the sons share and is free to marry the husband of her heart this shows that women were not entirely without protection during
He has developed the set of written law codes in his time called Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s codes are the first greatest single source that was created on the nature of human law and society in Mesopotamia; it is inscribed on a seven-foot stele and enshrined in the temple of murduk. The Hammurabi’s code of laws is about prices, wages, slavery, payments, loans, laws concerning in theft, land tenure and contracts, marriage laws and rights of married persons, concerning violent crime and injury and concerning the regulation of professions. This code was created to provide community with basic source of fairness, their duties and their individual rights as a human. His laws are great, although, punishments are little harsh comparing to today’s
When reading Hammurabi’s code today people might see these codes as harsh compared to today’s laws, but people back in ancient Mesopotamia had a different way of thinking than people today, and some people may not recognize that. Some people who read this could be biased and say how women back then were not treated as fairly as men, and that is true to some extent, but some of Hammurabi’s codes did treat women respectfully. An example would be:
It encompassed a vast amount of subjects, people and classes, and made sure everyone was relatively safe and equal. The code allowed for justice to be promoted throughout Hammurabi’s rule, and although it used many harsh punishments as solutions, it was the ancient equivalent of the justice system we have today. It gave a sense of direction and advocated for people to be more loyal, for example, in law 22 Hammurabi says, “If a man has perpetrated brigandage, and has been caught, that man shall be slain.”[10] Again, while this can seem overly severe to many, in that time, it was the only way to make all citizens cooperate. With rigid laws in place, Hammurabi could be certain that nobody would break them, and if they did, he was able to set an austere example for others. Another concern in Ancient Babylon was keeping a man’s children in his bloodline; making adultery an abominable crime. Law 129 clearly reminds them, and reads, “if the wife of a man is found lying with another male, they shall be bound and thrown into the water…”[11] Nearly every misdemeanor possible came with a relentless punishment, promoting peace throughout all of Babylon. Hammurabi’s Law Code was promoted justice and stability for minorities like women, children, and low classes, to an extent that seems exceptionally prodigious looking back on it from modern times.
The Code of Hammurabi played a significant role in how women were treated, as well as their rights during Old Babylonian civilization. The Code of Hammurabi was created in 1780 B.C.E. and represents as the oldest written document in the development of human legislation. The “eye for an eye” principle comes from this code and states that if someone injures another person, then the person penalized to the same degree with the same action. Hammurabi’s code reflected three different classes which were; the