The Similarities Between Hammurabi And The Mosaic Code

Drowning, cutting off hands, and hangings were all punishments in Hammurabi’s code. Given to him by Shamash, the god of justice, the code was carved on a stone stele and consisted of 282 laws. The laws were just for Hammurabi’s time period, but they would not be considered just by today’s standards. Compared to people today, Hammurabi and his subjects have a more impulsive mindset; their society is adverse to the works of society today. In that case it is expected that certain components, like laws, will be viewed differently over time.

* 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)

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.

Hammurabi was the sixth king in the First Dynasty of Babylon in the 18th century BCE. He became a first king of the empire of Babylonia when he conquest Sumerian and Akkadians. He was the creator of the Code of Hammurabi that known as one of the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history.

The Code of Hammurabi from the ancient Babylonian civilization, and the Twelve Tables from Ancient Rome society were both sets of laws from by which their societies had to abide. The Ancient Babylonian society abided by the Code of Hammurabi while the Ancient Romans abided by The Twelve Tables. Although they both served as promising laws to live by, they also served as tools that defined and distinguished each citizen’s position in the social order. Depending on where they stood in the social order, any criminal punishment would be tailored to that specific class. In Mesopotamian history, the most consummate code of law was the Code of Hammurabi, engendered by the King Hammurabi. The Twelve Tables was created by the Roman elites in order to create justice and fairness between the plebian and patricians. Both these sets of laws, although belonging to different societies, sought to create the illusion of fairness and equality outwardly towards the people, and inwardly, reward the rich and elite of their respective social class with power. Although these sets of laws belonged to different societies, they both casted an illusion of fairness and equality. However, in actuality these regulations only benefited the rich and elite.

Hammurabi improved on the measures implemented by Sargon through his idea of “centralization”. Instead of controlling trade routes and resources like Sargon, Hammurabi institutionalized regular taxation for all the territories. Hammurabi also ruled from within Babylon while extending his authority to other territories through the use of deputies placed in each territory. (Bentley and Zeigler, p. 29)

Since the dawn of man, Hammurabi’s Code has been considered to be the most intrusive and strictest laws, especially against women. However, nowadays, there is another law called “Sharia” about which many people have questioned if there is a similarity between this law and the Hammurabi’s Code. This essay will examine how Hammurabi’s Code connects to modern-day Sharia Law in terms of geographical, cultural, and legislative similarities and differences. And throughout the comparison between the Hammurabi’s Code and the Sharia Law, we could come up with a clearer view about evolution of these laws in each period of time, in the past, at present and in the future and how Hammurabi’s Code and Sharia Law have affected the people who follow these

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

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.

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 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.

So the just part of the laws are that Hammurabi is not the one to blame but the god of justice Shamash. That is why it is just and unjust. Also the evidence of this is’’shows Hammurabi standing before Shamash , the god of justice, who is seated on his throne. Shamash is instructing Hammurabi in the laws”

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.

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the first Amorite dynasty of Babylon. He supposedly ruled from 1792-1750 BC. During his rule, he wrote a code of law, which was the first to be translated from cuneiform. The code was written on several stone tablets so that all people could see them. It had a prologue, an epilogue, and 282 articles, and included rights for women, even though they didn't have as many rights as men did.