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The introduction to Hammurabi Code
Short note on code of hammurabi
Short note on code of hammurabi
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Hammurabi's code was was unjust because of its property law. In law 21 if a man has broken a wall to rob he shall be put to death. this is unfair because they should have not such a harsh punishment and Hammurabi should make the criminal give back the stuff he stole. In law 23 if the criminal is not caught the mayor of the district he is in should pay back what was lost, this is unfair to the mayor because he should not have to replace what was stolen and the man who has been robbed should have to make money and replace what was lost in the first place. Law 48 if a man borrowed money to buy crops and a storm washed away the crops then he shall not have to pay the creditor that year this is unfair because the creditor could be put to death or
Before he died, Hammurabi was a person who created many laws. He created a code of 282 fair laws (BGE). He created his law on a stone seal. He made the laws to control the city-state of Babylonia. He was a ruler of a huge city-state in Mesopotamia for 42 years. He made laws for 1,000,000 people that each person had to follow or they would be punished on what they did. The way they were punished depended on what they did. There were 3 categories Family law, Property law, and Personal-Injury law. Was Hammurabi’s code just? Hammurabi’s laws were just because of 3 categories, Family Laws, Property Laws, and Personal-Injury Laws.
... there are clears examples that the laws were legitimate. Laws 196, 199, 215, and 218 all show that Hammurabi’s Code of Law’s were fair. In Law 196, it describes what happens if someone injures a free person: the person who injured the free man will get one of his eyes knocked out while Law 199 it states if someone injures a slave, then that person has to pay half of the slaves value. While Laws 196 and 199 go together, laws 209 and 213 also match up. Law 209 explains that if someone hurts the daughter of a free man and makes her lose her baby, the person who hurt the daughter has to pay 10 shekels of silver while Law 213 states that if a slave-girl is injured by a free man and loses her baby, the person who injured the slave only has to pay 2 shekels of silver which is less money than if someone hurts a daughter that is free who is also the daughter of a free man.
The formers of the Hammurabi’s Code of Laws surely created strict rules with severe punishments for their violation. In fact, these laws played a big role in organization of Mesopotamian society. Reading these laws, reader may learn about ideals people of Mesopotamia had about crimes, their attitude to the lower and higher social classes, and legal rights between men and women. Reading the laws I noticed that many crimes were punished by death penalty. Many laws tell that guilty person has to pay the same price for the physical harm one did to another person or one’s relative. For instance: law 196 states (encyclopedia.com): “ If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” In addition, at that time, people were penalized to death for many crimes or wrongdoings that almost never would be penalized with capital punishment at a modern time. Among such felony and misdemeanors are stealing, robbery, accusation, adultery, and desertion. Hammurabi’s Code also, reveals inequality between social classes. Slaves were not treated by the laws the same as free-born people. According to the Code of Hammurabi, women had some legal rights, but these rights were not equal to men’s. Married women had a right to divorce as well as men. In fact, in order to acquire the right for divorce, a woman has to find a reasonable explanation for her desire, and only than the divorce could be possible.
The Hammurabi Code and Mosaic Law were used to lead their people during two different era. They were similarities and differences, between the two. For example, they were both discovered by their leaders in similar ways, but differed in their approach to justice and morality. Hammurabi Code respects women, but has distinct social class and penalties based on the class you belonged to, while the Mosaic Law had no distinction between people and gave everybody even fairness.
The Code of Hammurabi has a slightly different way of describing the way a society should maintain stability and avoid chaos. In this code of conduct it is more on the lines of something similar to the Bill of Rights where each idea is stated in form of a law. For example, in the 15th amendment of The Code it staes “15: If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates [to escape], he shall be put to death.” It is a listed set of laws followed by a consequence whether it is minor or as harsh as the death penalty. If such harsh punishments were informed, I believe the law makers or theorists saw it as a type of scare which would prevent people from committing the crime. There are those people who do break the law and make stupid decisions, but it would keep the amount of people making stupid decisions and breaking the law to a
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’s code gives an insight on the strict and unjust lives many Babylonian’s lived. Women were an item to men, and the wealthy overpowered the slaves. Despite the fact that there was no rightfulness within the laws, Hammurabi’s code indicates the presence of a stable family structure, a system of trading, as well as a development into the medical field. Many of the laws that were established in ancient Babylon, can be seen dealt today in modern America. Being one of the earliest pieces of text, Hammurabi’s considers thoughts of punishment towards the criminals, which is a system we have adapted
The Code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, who began ruling the Babylonian Empire in about 1800 BC. Hammurabi came to power using his strengths as a military leader, conquering many smaller city-states to create his Empire. Hammurabi believed that the gods appointed him to bring justice and order to his people, and he took this duty very seriously. Not long after his ascent to power, he created his Code, 282 laws written to define all relationships and aspects of life in the kingdom. The laws were displayed in a public place so that all the people could have the opportunity to study them. The laws applied to everyone, though application of the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were swift and harsh, further encouraging compliance.
Hammurabi’s Code provides evidence for early documents that signify law and order. For instance, Hammurabi’s says in his code if a man wrongs another with his false accusations, he shall be subjected to death (1, 3). His laws illustrate a judicial system in which someone has to pay someone that they wronged in either the same way that they wronged him or through money depending on the person’s social status. It is also said in his code of law that there were penalties for those who disobeyed his laws. For example, Hammurabi says, “If that man do not pay attention to my words…may the great god, the father of the gods, ...
In my opinion, most of Hammurabi’s laws were extremely unfair, and if you were a woman it was even worse! 5 year old boys had more power than 40 year old women. A law in hammurabi’s code, states that if a woman is killed, then the person who did it, would pay 10 gold pieces, however if a man was
Hammurabi’s Code was a set of written was to end personal revenge. It was an important accomplishment because The need to unite was to bring justice and fair treatment to the people. The idea of law was to see what the punishment was and justice to the people. The idea of justice for all was fair treatment to the people.
In order for a verdict to be justifiable, one must of put everyone involved in the conflict in mind. Compensations for victims were not unfair to the victim himself, but to other people involved. “If a man has borrowed money to plant his fields and a storm has flooded his field or carried away the crop, … in that year he does not have to pay his creditor,” is stated in Document D. A creditor, or one who lets you borrow their money for a crop, does not have to fund the less wealthy, he chooses to, under the conditions he will be repaid. The funded will gain profit from his crop, and the creditor will be repaid his money with interest. If something happens and the farmer can not repay his debts, the creditor should not be at a loss for this. This law should be modified in a way that the farmer has to still repay the creditor, but have a longer period of time to do so, such as a few years or so. That way, the creditor is still fairly reimbursed, and the farmer is not indebted for the rest of his life for something he could not of predictable or prevented. Compromising like this can heighten the sense of peace Hammurabi sought after, because there will be no cold feelings between people of communities that can hinder his goal. Laws like this between a farmer and his creditor can be improved with direct compromise, but the ultimate flexibility of law is rooted in its ability to be interpreted in a very multifaceted manner.“By the command of Shamash, the great god and judge of heaven and earth… let him read my inscription and understand my precious words.” This excerpt from Document B leads one to infer the most major flaw of Hammurabi’s code: there was no room for interpretation. Hammurabi states that his words are precious and approved by the gods. Meaning, one can not construe them, as they are irrefutable. If some
Can you imagine a scenario where you loan your friend money to buy food, but since the restaurant is closed the friend is allowed to keep the money? Obviously you’re thinking that this is an act of injustice and is in no way fair, and you are correct, although if you lived during Hammurabi’s rule, this situation may have actually occurred and be noted as just. Hammurabi was an ancient king of an early civilization, Babylonia. According to Hammurabi, Shamash, the god of justice, instructed him a law code consisting of 282 laws. He ended up carving these laws on a large stone column known as stele, which was set in the center of the city-state. These laws were perceived and obeyed with no objection, whether
Every society is based off a fundamental structure of moral, values, systems; right from wrong. The code of the Hammurabi has been one of the most important discoveries in history since it was a mere example of how societies are managed in order to maintain control in the community. While the Hammurabi laws were somehow extreme by employing death punishments, it is not so different from what it is today in our modern world.
In the preface, Hammurabi states that his code, along with himself, was given a divine origin, emphasized by the quote, “...then Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak; so that I should rule over the black-headed people like Shamash, and enlighten the land, to further the well-being of mankind,” (Hammurabi’s Code of Laws, translation of L.W. King) which reveals his power that is to be used to unify Mesopotamia. Babylon was given these law codes to produce order and peace among all classes under Hammurabi. The individual punishments in the codes were to be harsh, constituting the phrase “an eye for an eye,” but equal in Babylonian society to the wrongdoing among any gender or social class, which is expressed through code number twenty-two, “If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death,” (L.W. King) and law fourteen, “If any one steal the minor son of another, he shall be put to death,” (L.W. King) which, to ensure order, justly punish kidnappers or