...may not follow rules such as “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” like the Code of Hammurabi, whose punishments for a crime were much more extravagant and gruesome at times. There was segregation in gender and social status. The topics addressed in the code are some of the same topics addressed that we, today, value and instill. In today’s government we have laws of crime and punishment, monetary laws, and laws regarding marriage. We have these laws so we can have structure and a successful government and society. It’s amazing how such early civilization started these fundamentals and on some linear level, had the same values. Not discovered until 1901, the Code of Hammurabi shows us how Hammurabi viewed himself and the people of Babylon. This insight is significant. Hammurabi believed he could run his empire and gain power not through war but by using his intelligence. To find of how Babylonian society...
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...Ancient Babylon History of Babylonia The city of Babylon was the capital of the ancient land of Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia. It was situated on the Euphrates River about 50 miles south of modern Baghdad, just north of what is now the modern Iraqi town of al-Hillah. The tremendous wealth and power of this city, along with its monumental size and appearance, were certainly considered a Biblical myth, that is, until its foundations were unearthed and its riches substantiated during the 19th century. Archaeologists stood in awe as their discoveries revealed that certain stories in the Bible were an actual situation that had happened in time. The Tower of Babel The Bible reveals that all false systems of religion began in the land of Babylon and will have their consummation from the spirit of Babylon in the last days. It is interesting to note that every organized system of religion in the world today has traces of ancient Babylon. The Bible records in Genesis 10:10, that, after the great flood, all men spoke one common language and a man named Nimrod built a city and established a common religion. Nimrod was a descendant of Noah’s son, Ham. Genesis 11:1-9 describes the building of the city and its famous tower"whose top may reach unto heaven." It also records how God came down and punished the people’s arrogance by creating a confusion of different languages and possibly their racial distinctions. This way man would be forced to obey God’s original command to "be fruitful...
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...My art selection is The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel. The Tower of Babel is a Renaissance painting created with oil on an oak panel in 1563. Bruegal was considered the greatest Flemish Renaissance painter of the 16th century. He actually painted The Tower three times. The first painting was smaller and is now lost. The second painting was created on a panel in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The third painting was a bit smaller and is now in the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningon in Rotterdam. Bruegel was born in 1525 in the Duchy of Brabant and moved to Antwerp in 1542 to become an artist’s apprentice. He visited Rome from 1552-1554. He traveled through the Alps which may have inspired his landscaped style of painting. After working in Antwerp for 10 years he moved to Brussels in 1563 and died in 1569. Bruegal has about 45 paintings that have survived, of which one third of are at Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. The Tower of Babel painting is beautiful with all its detail. The background is sky blue with fluffy white clouds. In the distance are green grassy plains with a few small hills. To the left is a small town full of houses of all shapes and sizes. To the right is a body of water with many different types of watercraft. To the front is a king leading his people. The king has a few citizens bowing to him, but all others are working hard on the construction of the tower. Bruegel has painted many trades of skill working along...
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...Attack! The warrior king said as they went into battle. Alexander the great has the story of a true hero. If you take a look behind the story of the man you will come upon the story of a model philosopher king. Alexander’s story starts as a young boy. Growing up under the wing of the historic philosopher Aristotle, who in turn came from a line of the most elite philosophers in history, and as the observant son of the great king Philip of Macedonia, Alexander had the makings of a great philosopher and king. Alexander had a competitive nature, which played a big role in his claim to greatness. As a young adult he claimed many victories, including taming the wild thoughtless untamable horse, which he named Bucephalus, and being a prized combat specialist. It came as no shock after his father’s assassination that he would avenge him, and in turn take the path of becoming one of the greatest kings in history. This leads to the next part of his story which his name the great was derived. As an attempt to avenge his father, Alexander sought after his murderer, who was believed to be king of the vast Persian Empire, Darius. This chase lead him to a conquest of which inspired the philosopher and warrior in him to conquer and explore the unknown lands and civilizations that were under Persian rule. As a philosopher he enjoyed trying new things, and was not partial in taking part in other cultures as he became more...
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...12/10/12 Research paper The City of Babylon The city of Babylon was the capital of the ancient land of Babylonia in southern Mesopotamia. The tremendous wealth and power of this city, along with its extraordinary size and appearance, were certainly considered a Biblical myth, that is, until its foundations were brought to the public eye and its riches grew physically and mentally stronger during the 19th century. Archaeologists stood in awe as their discoveries revealed that certain stories in the Bible were an actual situation that had happened in time. Babylon is Akkadian which means "the Gate of God(s)" and it became the capital of the land of Babylonia. There is evidence that man has lived in this area of Mesopotamia since the beginning of civilization. The first records indicate that Babylon was established as a city around the 23rd century BC.Babylonia was an ancient empire that existed in the Near East in southern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. In 587 BC, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and carried the leading citizens of the Kingdom of Judah as prisoners to Babylon.Throughout the long period of Babylonia history, the Babylonians achieved a high level of civilization that made an impact on the whole known world. Sumerian culture was its basis, which later Babylonians regarded as traditional. In the area of religion, the Sumerians already had a system of gods, each with a main temple in each city.Babylonian religion was temple-centered...
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...Human World Views The Influences of Asia, Africa and the Americas toward Contemporary Society September 13, 2015 The progression of morality as it relates to the influence of family, religion and society varies between Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Our contemporary society has been influenced tremendously in many different areas by these different societies. Social order in Asia was established by Hammurabi’s Code of Laws. Hammurabi himself was an Amorite king of Babylon, he set these laws to place order in Babylon. Hammurabi’s lex talionus explains that the punishment of a crime should be equal to what crime has been done, these laws are described as “an eye for an eye” and “a tooth for a tooth” (Levack, B., Muir, E., & Veldman, M. (2004).). Hammurabi’s laws were set up for various issues including civil and criminal issues. Though due to one’s social status, laws for free people and laws for slaves were different, but they still held on to the same concept. Hammurabi code of laws helped to mostly shape our justice system. His laws were clear to understand the offenses being committed and consequences that were to be issued. This is present in our society because when one commits a crime or murder they suffer from the consequences in the jail and prison systems. Most of the time when a murder is committed the initial punishment is life in prison or retaliated with death by lethal injection, an eye for an eye. Our current law system is heavily influenced by Hammurabi...
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...Aeneid is a story of Aeneas, who was known as the leader of the Trojans and their travels from Troy to create the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, Charles Virgil did not complete this manuscript prior to his death in 19 BC. The Stele of Hammurabi stands tall and assertive. Hammurabi, the Babylon king expresses justice and laws in this powerful statement. In this sculptures top half, Hammurabi is receiving the code from Shamash, who was known as a god. The bottom consists of the spoken code. This was a great accomplishment for Hammurabi, but the sculpture tells me that he was not intimidated by Shamash, as they are equal size. This sculpture is carved on all sides and is one of the top relief sculptures in history. The story of Aeneid tells how a group of people that have been defeated can push forward and create something special with desire. The fact that this story was told in no particular order and was never completed leads you to believe that the writer put much thought into the story. It is a story of heroism, love and destiny, which is what, caught my attention. This dramatic story and prominent characters are sure to keep my attention. The one thing that is similar in both pieces of art is the desire for humanity. Each symbolizes a long hard struggle to achieve different goals. No matter what the situation, the amount of effort put into it makes all the difference. Stele represents success of authority and power, where Aeneid is a story of feelings, power and...
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...King Nebuchadnezzar was a great military king and warrior. He was known for the splendor and wonders of his city, along with his Political acts. King Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest warrior and king in the ancient times. Nebuchadnezzar’s Father, Nabopolassar, defeated the Assyrians and made their kingdom part of his. When Nebuchadnezzar took over as king, the Assyrians rebelled. Nebuchadnezzar’s armies marched to Judah and Killed Assyrian rulers. They captured the remaining Assyrians and their family and deported them to Babylon. Then, Assyrians that had not been captured joined together with the Egyptians and fought against Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar marched with his armies to Carchemish and defeated the Assyrians and Egyptians....
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...The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason 1 The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason TABLE OF CONTENTS First Published in 1926. Table of Contents About the author ..................................................................................................................................3 Foreword ..............................................................................................................................................5 An Historical Sketch of Babylon ...........................................................................................................6 The Man Who Desired Gold .................................................................................................................9 The Richest Man in Babylon ...............................................................................................................12 Seven Cures For a Lean Purse..............................................................................................................17 THE FIRST CURE..........................................................................................................................18 Start thy purse to fattening .........................................................................................................18 THE SECOND CURE ....................................................................................................................19 Control thy expenditures.........................................
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...Code of Hammurabi Western Civilization and the World I 100 Professor Preface This paper will examine the Code of Hammurabi and how it affected the people of Babylon before, during and after its creation. The nature of the topic is to have a better understanding of how the Code of Hammurabi changed society, hindered women’s rights and independence and left a lasting impression for future generations. Chronology 1810 BC Hammurabi was born to the then-king of Babylon Sin-muballit. 1792 BC Hammurabi, king of Babylon, started his rule. 1787 BC King Hammurabi captured Uruk and Isin. 1784 BC King Hammurabi campaigned against Rapigum and Malgium. 1772 BC Code of Hammurabi was created. 1763 BC With the aid of Mari and Eshnunna King Hammurabi conquered Larsa, putting an end to the long reign of Rim-Sin I. 1755 BC Captured Eshnunna which was the last of his Mesopotamian rivals. 1750 BC King Hammurabi died and passed the reigns of the empire to his son, Samsu-iluna. 1738 BC Under Samsu-iluna’s rule his empire fell to the Sealand Dynasty. 1595 BC Babylonian empire restored to glory of the Hammurabi’s age. 1901 Code of Hammurabi monument is discovered by French archaeologists. 1910 The Code of Hammurabi was translated by Leonard William King. During the rule of King Hammurabi he wrote the Code of Hammurabi. This consisted of many laws that changed the society, hindered women’s rights and independence and left a lasting impression for future generations...
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...An Eye for the Truth The Laws of ancient civilizations may be confusing to some people nowadays, but, when put into the context of the location, time, and mindset of the people who created these laws, they become much more reasonable within that framework. In this essay, two distinct sets of laws from the ancient civilizations will be compared and contrasted; The Code of Hammurabi, by Hammurabi, the sixth Babylonian king in the 1700s B.C. and the Ten Commandments and Exodus, written, or at least attributed to Moses. The first difference that must be noted is the way that the laws are introduced, or the prologues, one obviously polytheistic, the other blatantly monotheistic. The Code of Hammurabi says in its prologue, “at that time Anum and Enlil named me to promote the welfare of the people.”1 It also mentions Igigi and Anumnaki, minor gods who attend to the major gods Enlil and Anum respectively, so very clearly a polytheistic setting there, as these gods appoint Hammurabi as the promoter of the people’s welfare. The Ten Commandments states, in contrast, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me.”2 This starting sentence immediately says that there is only one god, and later in the passage it also mentions as one of the laws not to create any idol.3 These two societies then might be said to have different social values in the idea that as a monotheistic person, you would be expected...
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...Yes, the code of Hammurabi is a dependable source to rely on when studying the lives of the early Mesopotamians because it conveys information about their society, culture, and government that cannot be found elsewhere. The society, culture, and government are important characteristics for anyone to know when attempting to understand a civilization. According to the code of Hammurabi society was organized into three categories; nobles, free persons, and slaves. Unlike some early civilizations, the Mesopotamians did not view every person as equals. However, their society was relatively fair. For example, a noble was charged more for medical assistant than a slave (Mathisen). The code of Hammurabi depicts their culture as male dominant; men could...
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...VALEN, Aira Geyle C. --- AC402 * Political System A political system in which government is controlled by a king or queen is called a monarchy. In Sumer and Babylon, the king was often the monarch and the high priest. The position of these so-called priest-kings was relatively unstable. If the god(s) didn't provide for welfare of the citizens, the people often held the king responsible, and deposed him. Ancient Mesopotamia was a region that contained several city-states, much like Italy during the Italian Renaissance period. Mesopotamia at this time did not have a centralized government but, instead, had many smaller regions with their own separate governments. The early kings ruled over only their own city-states. Lacking a centralized government and leader, the ancient region was prone to internal fighting among the kings for land and resources. The Mesopotamians believed their kings and queens were descended from the City of Gods, but, unlike the ancient Egyptians, they never believed their kings were real gods. Most kings named themselves “king of the universe” or “great king”. Another common name was “shepherd”, as kings had to look after their people. Sumerians: Gilgamesh (c. 2650 BC) - Gilgamesh was the 5th king of the Sumerian city of Uruk. He became known as a demigod with superhuman strength in later legends and tales such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Akkadian Empire: Sargon the Great (reigned 2334 - 2279 BC) - or Sargon of Akkad, founded the world's 1st...
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...Alexander or Cyrus? In our past, we have had many leaders. Some were better than others, but what must a leader do to acquire the label “great”? Of course, one could simply go by the definition of the word and deem the leader “above average”. Did the great ones of ancient times exceed these standards or were they just above average like a standard dictionary would have us believe. Let us focus on two “great” leaders of our past by the names of Alexander and Cyrus. Both of these kings were famous for the way they ran their empires but were they both, so called, great? Cyrus the Great was the first king of the Achaemenid Empire. While he was king, he freed 4,000 Jews from Babylon. He also founded a new capital, invented the first postal system, and was mentioned 22 times in the old testament. Not only did he build one of the most powerful empires in ancient times, but he made its glory last by organizing it and expressing his tolerance of different races and religions. Alexander the Great lost his father and became a king at the age of 20. While he was king, he expanded Macedonian territory. He did this through conquest and was never defeated in battle. In fact, he conquered half of what was known in the world at the time. He also founded a city in Egypt and named it “Alexandria” (after himself, of course) and Wheatley2 discovered trade routes in Asia. But, because of the excellent battle strategies he was known for, he is often called the greatest military leader of all...
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...Imagine this: you are walking around in an outdoor market when you feel someone take your wallet. You turn around and you see a person. You accuse them of stealing your wallet and it gets taken to trial, when right in the middle a person comes in and confesses to the crime. Suddenly, the current trial ends and a new trial begins: against you. The judge decides to cut your hands off for falsely accusing someone while the thief gets away scot-free. I bet you’re thinking that it would be totally unfair to get your hands cut off while a thief gets away with stealing your wallet, just because you thought someone else stole it, then you are completely correct. However, if you lived during Hammurabi’s rule, then this situation might have actually happened. Hammurabi was an ancient king who ruled a small city-state in Mesopotamia, called Babylonia. Hammurabi ruled for 42 years from 1834 BCE (Before Common Era) - 1792BCE. Near the end of Hammurabi's of rule, he created a law code which he carved on a large stone column called a stele. Now you know a little background, we can start answering our main question: Was Hammurabi’s Code just? I don’t think so and here are three reasons why. Hammurabi’s Family Law was unjust; this is shown in Law 129 where if a man wants to marry a second wife because his first wife is sick, he could become sick infecting who know how many other people! (Doc C) Or in Law 195 is unfair because the punishment for striking your father is cutting your hands...
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