Historical Importance of Civil Codes and Laws

Hammurabi, King of Babylon was the first person to create laws that would unite his empire. He created two-hundred and eighty-two laws that dealt with private matters/rights and criminal activity. The majority of the laws for private matters was put in place to protect the slaves and women, people that did not have a sufficient amount of power. The law for criminal activity covered offenses against others that included murder, assault, robbery and etc.There were specific punishments for crimes, this law prevented wrath towards one another. Hammurabi's Code set the standards for justice and social order throughout Mesopotamia. His code taught us about how life in Babylon and Mesopotamia changed from what is was like before the laws got set in

* Hammurabi produced the law codes called “Code of Hammurabi” in order to acquire order and welfare. As Hammurabi state in his prologue, “Right and Justice I established in the land, for the good of the people.” (prologue, Hammurabi’s Code)

The secular laws of Babylon were laid down by Hammurabi in “The Code of Hammurabi”, and in the book of Exodus. These laws provided stability and order in those respective societies. As society depended upon them, it is natural to assume that the laws relied upon society as well and reflect the values held by each society, not only in the laws themselves, but also in how they are written, whom they pertain to and how they are executed. While at first glance the law codes appear similar, there are a number of differences that provide key insight to what was held dear in each society. How do differences in these two law codes attest to differences in the two societies which pronounced them, and likewise, what can be learned from their

Have you ever thought of how and what made everyone want to follow the law nowadays? Hammurabi’s code and the Ten Commandments were two early (not the earliest) codes of law that were used in the ancient times as methods of justice, both of the laws shaped society then and now. Hammurabi’s code goes back to ancient Mesopotamian culture that flourished way before the Bible was written or the Greek and the Roman civilizations had even developed. Hammurabi made a collection of 282 laws that established values of manner and justice for keeping order in his kingdom. God engraved the Ten Commandments on stone tablets that were given to Moses and the population of Israel. Even though the code and the commandments

Throughout the world, laws brought a sense of purpose and order into empires through many centuries. Two groups of laws that brought major purpose to empires were Justinian’s Code and Hammurabi’s Code. Although they may differ in different aspects of life they are connected in political, economic, and social forms in the ancient world.

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.

Laws are usually inspired and taken from the common knowledge of the society, whether the common knowledge was good or bad it does not make a difference. To illustrate, common laws derive from ethical backgrounds passed through generation to generation, where they feel that these traditions are sacred, and they cannot change it, because they fear the resistance that might develop form that change. Similarly, any religion after certain time gets to change in the name of modernity and prestige. To explain more, Hammurabi

Mesopotamia was a decentralized civilization, and resulted with many rulers leading the many city-states within the empire. Due to the many wars occurring within, kings were originally war leaders, and the function of defense and war, including leadership of a trained army, remained vital. Due to being many rulers within the empire, there were many internal conflicts, let alone the outside ones, which resulted in Mesopotamia further advanced its empire by developing ideas for a bureaucracy and laws, by using Hammurabi’s code. It laid down the procedure for law courts and regulated property rights and duties of family members, setting harsh punishments for crimes. This focus on standardizing a legal system was one of the features of early civilization. Also, the political structure there was enforced by none other than the Sumerians, which can be seen in many similar ideas and traits passed on today’s modern

On one hand, we have women’s rights and property laws. Women we treated quite well under the Code, for their care was often guaranteed and if a woman was punished for adultery, the man who facilitated the crime to her would be punished, too. Your property was extremely secure, since, whether it be the death of the thief or compensation for damaged crops, you would always receive justice if your property was somehow vandalized. On the other hand, we have the extreme punishments that the Code stipulated, such as the chopping off of hands, the drowning of adulterers, and the hanging or “piercing” of thieves. While the Code had its pros and cons, it’s safe to say that it was very effective in bringing order and justice to the people of

The law codes of the United States are based on the Ten Commandments and various standards that humanity has conceived throughout history. However, before Moses climbed Mount Sinai and “the Lord descended upon it with fire”, the First Babylonian Empire in ancient Mesopotamia was ruled by Hammurabi, who developed the earliest known law code in world history (Exodus 19:2-25; class discussion, 08/29/17). Hammurabi’s Law Code, as it is known today, could be thought of as an early interpretation of morality. Despite the good moral intentions of the law code, these laws are strict, cruel, and, in some cases, unusual. With over two hundred laws, divine right, the act of revenge, and inequality of punishment between classes took up a large amount of this ancient Babylonian law code.

Part 2: The Law Code of Hammurabi tells historians that there was a strong emphasis on achieving a controlled civilization. Although Hammurabi's Code seemed to be a fair code of law, most of the rules only benefited those of property and high position. Also, only the literate people could read Hammurabi's code which posed a disadvantage to the

The governing legal, moral and religious codes of ancient civilizations were written and enforced by a minority that exercised power and authority over the majority. This minority consisted of priests, rulers and elites with established power and influence in society. In these codes of early civilizations, there was an overarching emphasis on maintenance of structure and order in society. Simply put, while these codes reflect the conditions, needs and values of the times in which they were formulated, they also unveil the authors’ agendas to preserve their power by maintaining the status quo. Therefore, these codes acknowledge and uphold the prevailing social, gender and racial inequalities as natural conditions of human existence and reveal the manifold biases present in early civilizations.

Picture the laws we have now. Now imagine how they would be 3,815 years ago. How different would they really be? How would the differences affect society? Hammurabi was the king of Babylon in 1800 B.C.E. who wrote one of the world’s oldest orders of laws. This particular set of laws is used to research and understand ancient Mesopotamia's overall history, and thoughts about justice this brought us to learn about "Hammurabi's Code", the previously mentioned oldest order of written down laws though this was one of the oldest order of written down laws. Though this is one of the oldest sets of laws, there is a question that's been asked for thousands of years: "were these laws just?" It is true that the set of laws is described as "harsh", and "hasty", but they were written like this because they were the first try at justice. People didn't know any better. This is why a great number of Hammurabi's laws concerning bestowment of power, family, and theft were just and fair to all those it applied to.

A few thousand years ago, three sets of laws were composed that show remarkable similarities in their instructions on how to live a moral and righteous life. Although they were written hundreds of miles apart from each other, and in totally different cultures and civilizations, the Edicts of Ashoka, the Bible, and Hammurabi’s Code all elucidate the moral principles of self-control, justice, and abstention from harming living beings.

The United States ranks number one in the world for most people in prison. Because America believes in rehabilitation for those who commit a crime, they sentence people to prison, jail or probation with a court ordered time to hopefully help people learn from their mistakes. Unfortunately, their biggest sentence is after they get out of prison. Felons are often discriminated against in society. Certainly, a society has the right to punish those who break the social contract. This follows from an Enlightenment theory, explored by Michel Foucault in Discipline and Punish, in which society takes on the role of the offended when a criminal violates the trust and insults the dignity of the community’s civil code (xxii).The felony charge eliminates so many possibilities and opportunities for many people. Society shouldnot discriminate against any race, gender, or even ex-offenders. After someone has served their due time, society should not make it any harder for one to create a stable life. Creating such a life is initially impossible with the obstacles you face as an adult plus the recognition of having a bashful record. Having a criminal record should not take away your freedom inside and out of prison. A person’s record follows them forever which never will lead to any chance of rehabilitation in the real world. Felons face all types of problems, i.e. discrimination, stereotypes and impossible clean slates.Once a felon commits a crime and serves his or her sentence, it is