Essay on Hammurabis Code - 964 Words

Hammurabi’s code Hammurabi was the King of Babylonia from about 1790 BC to 1750 BC Hammurabi is believed to be the sixth ruler of the Amorite Dynasty. Although he was a successful governmental and military leader, his name will always be known for his Codes of Law. Hammurabi was the first King ever to record all the Laws of his Empire. He had a black stone carved with the 282 laws of Babylonia. On top of the stone sits a statue of a God handing the laws to Hammurabi. Because of his codes, Hammurabi was an immensely influential leader. Hammurabi came into power as a young man. Although he was young, he had already gained respect and trust will many powerful duties. In the early years of his rule, projects such as repairs, trading deals,†¦show more content†¦Many of today’s forms of government have traces of the same principles that Hammurabi used. Today’s laws are written down (of course), put into their respective categories, known by all the people, and obeyed by the courts. One example of a Hammurabi principle is that of a crime with a death sentence. When a person was tried for the death penalty, the trial was in front of a bench of judges, much like the juries of our government. The Hammurabi laws do seem quite harsh with most of them ending in death. But, as it seems, to stay away from them all you have to do is have control of your crops and possessions, stay out of harm’s way, be honest and do not accuse. That seems like a reasonable request. Of the translated Hammurabi codes, many of them are actually funny to the modern person. Take for instance, laws 215 and 218. To summarize them, they state that if a surgeon operates on a person and cures them, the surgeon shall receive ten shekels of silver, but if he fails to cure him, the surgeon will have his hands cut off. More serious ones are like numbers 229, 14 and 3. 229 states that if a builder constructs a house, and that house later collapses killing the owner, the builder shall be put to death. Law 14 states that if a man has stolen a child, he shall be put to death. 3 states that if a man accuses another man of a crime, and the accuser cannot prove that the crime was commited by the accused,Show MoreRelatedHammurabis Code of Laws Essay761 Words   |  4 Pagesfirst 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 didnt have as many rights as men did. Hammurabis code was based on the saying ‘an eye for an eye. This means that the retribution for the crime would roughlyRead MoreHistory: Hammurabis Code Essay1305 Words   |  6 Pagesbook, Arts and Culture, (p 98) presents Hammurabis Code as a Law Code of King Hammurabi. 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However, these laws—compared to some other ancient laws such as the Mosaic Law and Roman Justinian Code—were unfair, unjust, and based on the social classes. Hammurabi’s laws were based on the harsh â€Å"eye for eye, tooth for tooth† mentality of the ancient eraRead MoreStatus of Women in Hammurabis Code Essay956 Words   |  4 PagesThroughout Hammurabis Code, it is made clear that the ancient Near East had a patriarchal system in which laws were needed to be put in place to grant protection to women from abuse. Laws placed restrictions on womens dowries and the manner in which divorce could occur. The state, therefore, recognized that women needed certain legal protections from male authority. Unfortunately, while such legal protections are granted, women are constantly addressed as a piece of property similar to slavesRead MoreSimilarities Between the Edicts of Ashoka, the Bible, and Hammurabis Code744 Words   |  3 Pagesremarkable 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. In the Thirteenth Rock Edict, Ashoka, the greatest Mauryan king of India, points out that he desired to have self-control. 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The Code of Hammurabi was a set of 282 laws dealing with a wide variety of interactions, and an epilogue filled with curses applying to anyone in the future who may change, efface, or subvent Hammurabi’s divinely ordained legislation (Cook 3). The Code of Hammurabi may have shown fairness to a degreeRead MoreThe Code Of Hammurabi : How Does It Differ From The Past?1716 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is History? How does it differ from the past? These questions are asked by almost every Historian at some point in time. This essay will use the Code of Hammurabi to show that the actual past that historian attempt to obtain is not as important as the way it effects daily life, w hich creates history as we know it. It will look at the discrepancy between who created the document and who actually wrote it, the difference between why a document is important and why it survives, how the intent of