Hammurabi's Code, The Twelve Tables, And Justinian Code

The History of Laws

In history, there are many different events that happened that includes law. The main three topics that deal with law are Hammurabi's code, the Twelve Tables, and Justinian Code. According, to people and many websites today Hammurabi's code was an important aspect of history. Hammurabi's code placed a great value on life. Twelve Tables is creation of laws so people can have equality and be passed by the government.The Twelve Tables was the earliest code of Roman civil, criminal, and religious law. Justinian Code protected the people that followed this law.The Justinian Code was law throughout the empire. Many of the modern laws can be traced back to the Justinian Code.

First, the Code of Hammurabi was a collection of laws put together by the king Hammurabi. The laws applied equally to everyone in the kingdom and they were placed in public places so everyone would know what they were. The Hammurabi's code was the first legal document of laws and it

also helped make a system of writing which was called cuneiform.The importance of Hammurabi and his Code of Laws is that he was not the first monarch to make such laws but that he was the first to record them for his people and prosperity.The Code of Hammurabi was important because Hammurabi wanted peace and justice in his kingdom, so he created these rules. The code itself tells archeologists a lot about the lives of the people of Babylon. It also contains some important ideas like having people provide evidence of a crime, innocent until proven guilty, and protection for the weak.
Secondly, the earliest attempt by the Romans to create a code of law was the Laws of the Twelve Tables. The Twelve Tables came out because the plebeians wanted to know the laws of Rome. The Tables were finalized in the mid-5th century and were pieces of stone with writing carved into them. The main benefit of having laws written down was that the lawmakers and law-enforcers couldn't change them to suit their desires.Once a law was made public, the law was known to everyone. If a law was made public, then it was everyone's responsibility to know and obey.Since the patricians made up most of the ruling class and made the laws, they tended to make laws to protect their own interests. If the interests of the plebeians got in the way, then the laws came first but at least that's what the patricians thought.The plebeians had other ideas. They wanted certain basic rights, and they were willing to cause civil disturbances to get it.
Thirdly, the Emperor of the Eastern Roman empire, Justinian, looked at his empire and saw that the laws were a mess.

Because they weren't written down, the laws in one part of the empire might be different then the laws in another part of the empire. Justinian wanted all of his people to be treated the same way so Justinian had his judges and lawyers get together and write down all the laws of the land. They also wanted to write down the laws that began in ancient Rome, the laws called the Twelve Tables.Once they had written down all the laws and made sure that laws did not conflict with each other they gave this list of law’s a name. They called it the Justinian Code. Many countries in the world have used the Justinian code as the basis for their own laws.It was important because before the Justinian Code it was hard to enforce the Roman Laws so they made the Justinian Code the basis for the legal systems of most modern European countries. It created a unified code of laws for the

empire.
In conclusion, Hammurabi Code,The Twelve Tables,and Justinian Code are similar because they all establish a behavior code or legal standard for the society. One major reason on why Hammurabi Code,The Twelve Tables,and Justinian Code is important is because without laws no one would be in control and lots of bad stuff would occur in the world. The Code of Hammurabi provided a set of rules that could be used in most aspects of Babylonian life. It ensured that there was a consistent system in place for people to solve problems and understand their place within the society. The Twelve Tables is important because they set the laws in writing so all of the people could know what they were and also that everyone would be treated equally under those laws. They made the Justinian Code the basis for the legal systems of most modern European countries and it created a unified code of laws for the empire.