Hammurabi's Code: Was It Just?

Mesopotamia, “the Land between Rivers,” was one of the greatest and the oldest ancient civilizations of the world. This civilization flourished around 3000 B.C. on the piece of fertile land, now known as Iraq, between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. Before 1792 B.C., the city-states of ancient Mesopotamia were not united and constantly clashed in turmoil and warfare. In 1792 B.C., King Hammurabi conquered and merged the neighboring city states of ancient Mesopotamia, creating a Babylonian empire and becoming the sixth king of its capitol city, Babylon. During his reign, Hammurabi established law and order and funded irrigation, defense, and religious projects. He personally took care of and governed the administration. In

Hammurabi’s code was a set of laws made by Hammurabi. They were the first written set of laws. There is a debate about if Hammurabi’s code was just or unjust. I think Hammurabi’s code was just. The codes were just, because it protected the weak, helped people in troubles, and scared people form breaking the codes.

The Code of Hammurabi is one of history’s oldest and best – preserved written law which appeared in Mesopotamia around 1760 BCE. “It consists of customary norms that were collected toward the end of his reign and inscribed on a diorite stela set up in Babylon's temple of Marduk, the god of Babylonia. The 282 chapters include economic provisions (prices, tariffs, trade, and commerce), family law (marriage and divorce), as well as criminal law (assault, theft) and civil law (slavery, debt). Penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of the offenses. ” These laws considered words which sent by the Sun god Shamash to Hammurabi. Therefore, people believed that as long as they obey the laws, then they obey the god’s words.

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

In 1750 B.C. a new king of babylonia arose by the name of Hammurabi. He continued his reign up until 1792 B.C. but most importantly his reign did not go unforgotten. During his reign he was in charge of giving punishments to the wrongdoings of his citizens. As he conquered other cities and his empire grew he saw the need to unify groups he controlled, he was concerned about keeping order in his kingdom. In order to achieve this goal, he needed one universal set of laws for all the people he conquered thus he created the Hammurabi code.

Hammurabi's code was just, because it protected people and was fair. For most of the 282 laws in hammurabi's code they were in the best interest of helping and protecting the week, sick, poor, and the vast majority of babylonia. The laws were mostly fair to the people because usually the punishment was something of equal or greater harm than which the crime was committed. The only concern of mine is how harsh some laws were, because the punishment was way worse than the crime, but it was in a good cause so if the punishment was not death that the criminal was taught a good lesson, and if it was death the people didn't have to worry about the criminal that was killed because the criminal would be dead.

My subject will be The Hammurabi Code, and its many similarities to the laws of today. The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest written legal codes, which was created by the Babylon King, Hammurabi, who ruled from 1792 to 1750 B.C. Hammurabi expanded the city-state of Babylon along the Euphrates River to unite all of southern Mesopotamia. What he was most known for though, were his set of laws known as “Hammurabi’s Code,” which was a collection of 282 rules that established standards for commercial interactions, and set fines and punishments to set the requirements of justice. These laws were Carved onto a 7 foot tall Stone Stele (pillar), and were displayed in a public place. The pillar, which is made of black diorite, now exists in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France (LiveScience, Jarus). What makes these laws so significant, is how organized and equal they were, and how similar they were to today’s laws. However, in many cases, these laws were more inhumane than the ones we follow in today’s society, with less room for interpretation than our criminal system of today.

The nature of the cruelty in Hammurabi's Codex is surly according to the culture of people back in that period of time  Criminal Law.

People often assume that kings always make laws that are right and just for all people, but if that is looked into, is it really true? Not necessarily, at least in the case of Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi was a king in Babylon during 1792 BCE who created 282 laws which were printed on a stele. These later became known as Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code was made by King Hammurabi who wanted ultimately to protect the weak- such as widows and orphans- from the strong, and who wanted fairness throughout his lands. So, was Hammurabi’s Code fair to all people? Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of evidence supported by laws about Personal Injury, Property, and Family.

In reading this article, I found to believe that Hammurabi produced these codes so that people can become righteous and he can teach them the right way of living in the world/society. He is the protective King, and was trusted by many of the great gods to protect the land, city, and their homes. I believe codes were put in place so that the society which they live in would be a better and safer place to reside. Hammurabi wants his legacy be remembered as the king who cared for the people and his words to reflect what he was as a person. This code of law is being mandated and the people will know to abide by these rules and regulations.

Hammurabi ruled the city of Babylon for 30 years, after many fights with other kings he became the ruler of most of Mesopotamia. By his 38th year of rule, Hammurabi had carved all of his 282 laws out onto steles. He made his laws to create order and fairness throughout Mesopotamia (BGE). But were his codes just or unjust? They were unjust, due to the cruel punishment that they provided for the laws on family, property, and personal injury.

Pain, blood, death. These were all the things that came with Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi was the king of Babylon in 1800 B.C. He gained control of the Babylonian Empire after a war. Hammurabi was known for the 282 laws he made, called Hammurabi’s Code. He wrote these laws because Shamash, the great god and judge of heaven and earth, told him to write them. Hammurabi’s Code is not just because of the harshness of the laws, the innocent people that had to die, and the social class difference of the punishments the laws gave.

Do you think Hammurabi’s Code was just? Hammurabi was a man who began his rule over Babylonia in 1792 BCE, and ruled over a likely population of 1,000,000 people. Hammurabi ruled over much of Mesopotamia, and sought to make things justified in his cities. Hammurabi constructed his code full of 282 laws on his 38th year of ruling over Babylonia. Hammurabi’s code was later found carved into a stele, and that’s how we know all about the code today. I myself believe Hammurabi’s Code was unjustified, and you will find my reasons in the following Paragraphs, those paragraphs being specifically of Hammurabi’s Family Law, Property Law, and Personal Injury Law. This will be my report on why I know Hammurabi’s Code is unjust.

If your car was stolen and wrecked by a guy, you should get a new car and he shall be put to death in the car that he stole. Hammurabi, the King of Babylon, ruled part of Mesopotamia. He was given laws from shamash to put to order on the land he was ruling. The question I am going to answer is, Was hammurabi’s code just or unjust? The question is saying were the laws fair or not. I think the laws are unfair, so I will discuss how they are unfair. I will discuss in the other paragraphs my proven point about how they were unfair on some of the laws.

Hammurabi’s code comes with punishments and rewards, these punishments and rewards make Hammurabi’s code unjust and just. Hammurabi’s code is one the worlds oldest sets of laws. These laws were written by Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, in the 18th century BCE. Based on the documents, Hammurabi’s code offers harsh punishments for mistakes, and nicer rewards. This essay will examine the punishments of Hammurabi’s code, as well as the rewards, and decide whether to not it is just.