The Ancient Mesopotamians

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.

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,”

The Law code of Hammurabi is an inscription of laws on a well preserved stele artifact. The Babylonian King Hammurabi included not only new laws but law codes from the Sumerians and Akkadians. Since Hammurabi included these ideas from previous codes this can prove that these laws were not only written but also enforced. The laws of Hammurabi have a common theme of solving problems with getting even or unjustly consequences so that they don’t go against his laws, the topics such as domestic situations, work relations, and exchange all exemplify this theme within their law.

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.

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.

Throughout time many civilizations and societies have come and gone. Every one of them was unique in their own way and had a different way of governing themselves. In this paper, I will be focusing on Hammurabi’s Code. Hammurabi’s Code is a series of laws that governed the Babylonian society back, when they were created, in 1780 BCE. The code was wrote by Hammurabi himself, back when he ruled the Empire of Babylon. The text itself explains why the code was created and why Hammurabi was chosen to write the code. The code then lists, in an organized fashion, all the rules that the society is to follow and what the punishments are if the rules are broken. Every rule is very specific about what is to happen if the rule has to be enforced. Hammurabi’s Code gives us an idea of how the justice system worked in the Babylonian society, how men and women in the society were treated, and how the religion was followed.

Nearly 4,000 years ago, a man named Hammurabi became king of babylonia. He ruled for 42 years. During that time, he became the ruler of much of Mesopotamia, which had an estimated population of 1,000,000 people or more. In his 38th year, Hammurabi made a set of 282 laws called a code that he had engraved on a stone stele. He did this to bring order and fairness to all. There has been some debate about the justness of this code. In my opinion, Hammurabi’s code was not just because of it’s family law, property law, and personal injury law.

In 1754 BCE, Mesopotamia was a chaotic city with no order at all until Hammurabi’s law code came through. Even though some may not agree with him, Hammurabi’s laws were necessary in order for them to have reached a civilized society. Hammurabi’s Code established a fair law code because it created order across the violent region of Mesopotamia, it administered harsh punishments preventing chaos and violence, and it supported the development of religious ideas and concepts.

One feature that made Ancient Mesopotamia an advanced civilization was the creation of law. According to Document 1, Hammurabi wrote and issued his code of laws in 1,770 B.C. Hammurabi created a justice system to bring order, and to protect those who were weaker than others. According to Document 6, Hammurabi stated in the Prologue, “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

Even though we know about Hammurabi for his famous laws, "The Code of Hammurabi", there is much more about him that makes him knowns as being a man of peace and justice. Hammurabi was more than a king who wanted to make a great change for his city and his people so that they could have had a prosperous life and growth within the city. There are three reasons to what makes Hammurabi famous. They are about who Hammurabi is, the lands that he conquered, and his political view of the laws he created.

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.

Hammurabi, king of Mesopotamia wrote a set of laws, that included 282 laws, 4,000 years ago in Mesopotamia to protect the weak. Hammurabi’s code was not just because it terrorized the family, it negatively affected personal property, and was not fair against personal injury.

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.

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.

Hammurabi’s Code shaped ancient civilization into a conformist society. With laws and punishments for breaking those laws posted for all to see, citizens were now expected to abide by certain rules that were literally “set in stone”. The Code shows mankind’s development from a vigilante type justice, where retaliation may be in one’s hands as they see it, to actual rules and specific repercussions enforced by a governmental body.