Hammurabi Similarities

Hammurabi’s code is believed to be the first form of written law. It consists of a set of 282 laws written by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon circa 1792 BCE, that established a written social contract amongst the people of Babylonia. It was written on a stone stele that stands more than eight feet tall and weighs over 4 tons (doc A). According to the stele, Hammurabi was instructed to create the code by Shamash, the god of justice (doc B). However, it introduces conflicting ideas about justice that are arguable to this day. Were his rules unethical or his punishments too severe? Hammurabi’s code may be seen as unfair by today’s standards, but in solving matters that involve family, property, and health issues of his time, Hammurabi’s code was just because it utilizes negative reinforcement to implement positive results in society.

During the reign of Hammurabi of Babylon (1795-1750 B.C.E), king Hammurabi enacted the code. This code consisted of 282 that set standards of conduct and harsh justice for his empire in ancient Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s laws also provided evidence about the status and rights of women in Babylonian society. These laws demonstrated scaled punishments, the idea of “an eye for an eye” or “a tooth for a tooth” (lex talionis, the law of retaliation), depending on the social status of that person.

The Hammurabi Code of Laws is a set of rules enacted by the Babylonian King whose name was Hammurabi. The Babylonian King created a total of two-hundred eighty-two punishments that the citizens will receive if they do not abide by the laws that were given to them. The king ruled from 1792 BC to 1750 BC. The Hammurabi Code of Laws is very violent in terms of punishments. For example, one of the laws are “If anyone breaks into a house to steal, he will be put to death before that point of entry and be buried there (walled into the house)”. This is a clear example of how violent and inhumane the punishments of the Babylonians were, to us at least. This essay will be explaining a set of laws from the Hammurabi’s Code of Laws.

Hammurabi’s code included some gruesome punishments, some that might be believed as unruly, but is still just. Hammurabi’s code was just in many ways pertaining to their time. These laws are not the oldest set, but they were possibly the most strict from the ancient world. The punishments for breaking some laws are different for the multiple classes on the social structure and genders. Also, during his time, Hammurabi was known more as a builder and conqueror than a law-giver. All in all, the laws abiding in Hammurabi’s code are just because of its personal injury and family laws.

Dating back to about 1772 BCE the Amorite King Hammurabi issued a set of laws by the name of law codes of Hammurabi(source 2.1). After conquering Mesopotamia he issued the laws. It was to place boundaries and penalties on people due to their choice of action. In source 2.1 of our book it says that, Hammurabi done it in order to “cause justice to prevail in the land” and to “further the welfare of the people which supports that idea. Just like the Magna Carta the Hammurabi law codes were put in place so that people with higher power could not take advantage of the people that was not in a high social rank. An example from the Hammurabi’s code is, “if a man accuse a man, and charge him with murder, but cannot convict him the accuser shall be put to death,”

Around 4,000 years ago Hammurabi’s code was created by Hammurabi the king of Babylonia with the goal of bringing justice to his kingdom. He even claimed that Shamash the god of justice commanded him to make these laws. Then his laws were carved into large stone’s called steles, written in the ancient cuneiform written, and then put up throughout all major communities of Babylonia. However, these ancient laws were not fair for everyone in his kingdom. Hammurabi’s Code was unjust because the laws pertaining to family life, property law, and personal injury were unfair.

As someone who has always had genuine interest to learn about the different legal systems in the world, I was drawn in completely last year when I came across the ‘Hammurabi Code of Law’. Although at first glance, it seemed like a barbaric form of justice, I realized upon further reading that there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

The “Code of Hammurabi” is considered to be one of the most valuable finds of human existence. In fact its very existence created the basis for the justice system we have come to rely on today. The creation of “the Code” was a tremendous achievement for not only Babylonian society but for the entire Mesopotamian region as King Hammurabi was ruler over all of that area. Its conception can be considered to be the first culmination of the laws of different regions into a single, logical text. Hammurabi wanted to be an efficient ruler and realized that this could be achieved through the use of a common set of laws which applied to all territories and all citizens who fell under his rule. This paper will discuss the Hammurabi Code and the

The Law Code of Hammurabi is a native Babylonian text that served as the basic law code of society. The way of life was of the former Babylonians culture is totally different than what we are used to today. The text gives readers a vision of how ancient societies lived in these times. This law code gave society a diverse arrangement for citizens to follow. The social structure isn’t about wealth, they are judged by different standards (such as trial by ordeal). The husband is the dominant role of the house. The family structure is a patriarchal household and the power of the father is absolute. The Law Code of Hammurabi gives readers a clear thought of how unfair the earlier civilization of Babylonians existed through class structures, gender relations, and family structures.

There was a king named Hammurabi. He came to power in 1792. He made a code of laws to bring justice to all. He had many laws. Hammurabi’s code was fair since it protected the weak, in law 148 it talks about a husband’s responsibility to his wife “he shall not divorce his wife whom the disease has seized” also, law 168 says that a judge shall decide what is right “if the son has not committed a grave misdemeanor... the father shall not disinherit his son.”

Hammurabi was a leader that ruled 38 centuries ago. He created “Hammurabi’s Code” which is a set of laws that he claims was given to him by Shamash, the god of justice (Document A). The code was “written in wedge-shaped cuneiform letters that have been carved into the stone” (Document A). The laws on the stone were split into three groups: family law, property law, and personal injury law. For every crime that broke the law, there was a punishment, and some punishments were harsher than the others.

Consider your reward for not breaking the law is not getting punished. In the various documents we have analyzed the punishments, and now it is time to analyze the few rewards in Hammurabi’s code. “If a man has married a wife and a disease has seized her, if he is determined to marry a second wife, he shall marry her. He shalt not divorce the wife whom the disease seized. She shall dwell in the house they have built together, and he shall maintain her as long as she lives,” (doc C, law 148). For the man this is a reward, he gets to marry another women, even thought he is already married. “If the robber is not caught, the man who has been robbed shall formally declare whatever he has lost before a god, and the city and the mayor in whose territory or district the robbery has been committed shall replace for him whatever he has lost,” (doc D, law 23). This is a reward for the man who has been robbed because whatever he has lost in the robbery will be replaced by the mayor. “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,” (doc D, law 48). This is a huge reward for the man because if a flood has carried away his crops then he doesn’t have to pay his creditor for a year. The next law (doc E, law 199) is somewhat of a reward for the man, but not so good on the slaves side. “If a man had knocked out the eye of a slave …

The Hammurabi Code was a set of 282 total laws, which were a set of rules enabled by Hammurabi. “Eye for an eye” is a paraphrase of the code. These codes were imprinted/carved into stone columns so that everyone in the dynasty could read them. One section of the Hammurabi;s code codified criminal law, while the other codified civil law. Criminal law deals with offenses against charges such as robbery, murder, assault, theft, etc. As of today, there is a thing called the death penalty you can be sentenced to death if you have committed any time of murder/killing. Civil laws deal with rights, matters, taxes, marriage, divorce, etc. This law was designed to protect the

Hammurabi’s code is believed to be the first form of written law. It consists of a set of 282 laws written by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon circa 1792 BCE, that established a written social contract amongst the people of Babylonia. It was written on a stone stele that stands more than eight feet tall and weighs over 4 tons (doc A). According to the stele, Hammurabi was instructed to create the code by Shamash, the god of justice (doc B). However, it introduces conflicting ideas about justice that are arguable to this day. Are his rules unethical or his punishments too severe? Hammurabi’s code may be seen as unfair by today’s standards, but in solving matters that involve family, property, and health issues of his time, Hammurabi’s code is just because it utilizes negative reinforcement to implement positive results in society.

The main different between todays laws and Hammurabi’s are how violent they are. For example, rule number 6 of Hammu-rabi’s code is “If a man has stolen goods from a temple, or house, he shall be put to death; and he that has received the stolen property from him shall be put to death”. We have many laws that punish you for stealing. The difference between them is that if you stole under Hammurabi’s code you where put to death. If you steal from someone today you are taken to trial and punished accordingly depending on what item you stole. If it is something small you are given a small punishment of something like community service or a small amount of time in