...Preface: Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who ruled from 1792 to 1750 B.C. His attributes were he extended his empire northward from the Persian Gulf to the Tigris and Euphrates River and west to the Mediterranean Sea. He united the area into one extensive empire, Mesopotamia, which in present day is known as Iraq. (Ancient Mesopotamia) Hammurabi created a list of rules and laws for the people of his empire to follow called “The Code of Hammurabi”. This is one of the oldest and most detailed documents in existence and gives insight as to how the members of Babylonian society lived. The code listed 282 rules for society to obey by and the consequences or guidelines for each member given their social status and their gender. There were rules of every category. From marriage and adultery, criminal acts such a stealing, property, and monetary trading. What’s interesting about this rulebook is the detail and coverage of the book. While in today’s world we 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...
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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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...The Code of Hammurabi is thought to be a set of laws and statue’s put in place to bring about equality in ancient Mesopotamian times (5000-1000 BCE). An eye for an eye was the basic principal of the law and or law’s. Yet there were social classes that were deemed to be more upper class than others. During Mesopotamian times the women did not have rights as an individual, but as an attachment to their male counterparts, such as their fathers or their husbands, these rights were limited if not null and void. However majority of these rights along with the laws favored the aristocrat class a great deal. It also appears that adultery was one of the crimes that was greatly shunned upon by Babylonians and in most cases warranted a conviction of death. In the event of a law being broken, such as being a bad husband, women were given the right to obtain a divorce. At that point, the woman was to return to her father’s home until she remarried. In terms of men, it seem as if many of the laws were biased and leaning in their favor. In one of the statues, men were permitted to sleep with other women as so long as she has his name. As for women, it is not the same. With that being said, women were not equal to men, and instead not considered as an individual human being, but as a product under the name attached to her. References Horne, C., Johns, C., King, L. (n.d.). Ancient History Sourcebook: Code of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BCE [Online]. Fordham University. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode...
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...Code of Hammurabi The code of Hammurabi was written by King Hammurabi, the sixth king of the first babylonian dynasty.Hammurabi ruled the Babylonian Empire from 1792 BC. to 1750 BC. Hammurabi came to power by using his advanced military and political tactics to unite many smaller city states to unite his mighty empire. Not long after his reign began, Hammurabi created the code of hammurabi. Written on large clay tablets, the code of Hammurabi consisted of 262 rules/laws covering a variety of subjects including adultery,family law and property law. Hammurabi created these laws following a philosophy of the punishment must fit the crime. In essence, the magnitude of a crime must fit the magnitude of the punishment. Furthermore, the code of Hammurabi played a detrimental role in the development of the babylonian empire. Many speculations can be made from reading these rather harsh, laws about the babylonian empire. Law’s played an important role in the development of Hammurabi’s empire....
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...King Hammurabi, of Mesopotamia, reign from 1792-1750 B.C.E. He, in the search of equity and fairness to his people, wrote the Code of Hammurabi. It is composed of 280 laws and standards, in which sets fines and punishments as a consequence of a dishonest or immoral behavior. As he united Mesopotamia, he wanted a set of laws that everyone can relate to, but did not give the same opportunities to everyone to fully understand the code. Each law servers his people accordingly to their statues. This is where we see how the new civilization begun to set hierarchical positions and eventually formed a society where everyone could keep their position. There were the priests, the lugals, the peasants, the servants, and slaves. However, within this categories, there was the group of women that were subjected and dependent to men. Women, according to the Hammurabi’s Code, had certain behavior and economic freedom, but still not much autonomy....
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...After the development with the discovery of the stele in Babylon the question developed the fairness of Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi was a ruler of Babylon and he developed many laws that the three classifications had to follow. About 40 centuries ago he ruled for about 42 years. He also had a set of 282 laws. A careful review of the relevant documents indicate the three classes of people; the law breaker, the victim, and society as a whole. Therefore, Hammurabi’s code was both just and unjust to the lawbreaker, victim, and society. Firstly, Hammurabi’s code is both just and unjust to the law breaker. The laws 53 and 54 are just for the law breaker because a man who damages his neighbor’s field is required to compensate his neighbor for the damage he has caused. Additionally, law 148 is also just because it allows a man to take a second wife if his first wife was seized by a disease. The reason for this is because he is able to have a second wife and the ability to raise a family. To demonstrate the unjustness of Hammurabi’s code for the law breaker an analysis of laws 129 and 195 is relevant. Law 129 was unjust to the law breaker because the punishment is death for an adulterous affair is too severe. Additionally, law 195 is also unjust because is a son struck his father his hands would be cut off and that’s too harsh. Therefore, Hammurabi’s code is...
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...Charlie Mate The first set laws in history can be dated back to the code of Hammurabi and the Magna Carta. These laws set up an established government, created laws, and gave the people rules to live by. In same ways we still follow this justice system today. The Code of Hammurabi and the Magna Carta share the same principles but are different in many ways. The Code of Hammurabi brings the iron fist down on the people. When on the other hand the Manga Carter’s gives power to the people. These documents shaped the way our government is today. Hammurabi’s code is a set of laws created to keep “peace” throughout the Babylon ages. This differs from the other set of laws called Magna Carta, which is the more modernized set of laws that are more understanding and fair to the people. The Hammurabi Code and Magna Carter’s laws have greatly affected the people of their time. The Hammurabi Code Originated in Mesopotamia the land between the Tigres and Euphrates River. Hammurabi was a son God named Sun Shumesh. It was written in stone in 700 BC. The code was created so that if people did negative things they would be punished rather than thinking they can get away with it. False accusation is the first code of law. If you steal you will be put to death and if someone stole goods from you the whole community has to give back what was stolen (Allen & Hall, 2015p.115) The Magna Carta originated because of negotiation between the people and the king. The people were sick of...
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...to Hammurabi’s code a father can choose to disinherit his son. Now what even is Hammurabi’s code is the question. Hammurabi’s code is the first ever set of laws made over 4,000 years ago and it is important because it helped shape our laws we have today. These laws were made to protect the weak. I believe that Hammurabi’s code is unjust because people did not get to help make the laws or give idea’s, laws were different for different genders, and laws depended on your social class. These laws need to be the same for everyone because laws impact all people that live...
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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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...Hammurabi’s code Hammurabi’s code hurts innocent people instead of protecting them from harm. Hammurabi is the king of Babylonia and ruled Babylonia for 42 years. Hammurabi has also constructed 282 laws for his subjects of Babylonia and wrote them on Steele's and called them Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi made these laws to protect his subjects mostly women and children that were weak and could not defend for themselves but that is not the case. Hammurabi's code does not help the innocent at all this code just hurts the innocent so leading to conclusion, Hammurabi’s code is not just.As wee look into the family laws and Property laws it can be proven that Hammurabi’s code wasn’t just Hammurabi’s code is unjust and can be found in the family...
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...Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi was the ruler in Mesopotamia around 18th century BCE around Babylonia. His reign lasted for 42 years and one thing Hammurabi was most known for was his 282 set of laws. These laws were written to protect all of the citizens under his rule but the question are the laws just? Hammurabi code was written for the citizens. In Document A, the text says Hammurabi stood with the god, Shamash, and Shamash instructed him on the code. One law states,” If a married lady is caught with another man, they shall be bind and cast into the water.” It’s not fair to kill two people because of one mistake. This could be changed to jail time or payments to the wife’s husband, and not killing two people who have not committed a serious...
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...The world’s oldest and most structured set of laws, was created to protect all of the people; however, the Hammurabi Code set unfair standards amongst the different classes. Slaves were treated different that freemen, men were treated different than women, and children were treated different than adults. This code was extremely harsh and unfair. One of the unfair standards was between the freemen and slaves. Under the Hammurabi Code slaves were considered property of their masters. The had little to no rights because they weren’t even considered people. An example of this unfair treatment is that if a doctor was doing surgery on a free man and he died during the procedure, then the doctor’s hands would be cut off, but if a doctor was doing surgery on a slave and the slave died, then the only thing the doctor would have to do was replace the slave. Obviously, cutting off the doctor’s hands is extremely harsh, but the differences between the punishments to the doctor is extremely unfair. Another act that was not equal in fairness was if a man, free or slave, injured a freeman then that same injury would be put upon him. But if a man, free or slave, injured a slave then he would just have to pay half of what the part cost that he injured....
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...Justice is a system that promotes equality within society by restoring balance and providing closure, with a foundation of vindication and rationalization .The Hammurabi’s Code attempted to accomplish this idea by making “justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil-doer, that the strong might not injure the weak” however “the Babylonians clearly did not live under a social system that treated all people equally” (Hammurabi’s Code). As a result, the Hammurabi’s code, “an eye for an eye” is not a justice system but rather a complex system based and supported on the ideas of revenge and inequality( ideas that are not ethically supported). This code fails in resonating justice for it does not provide adequate closure...
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...The Code of Hammurabi stated law treated women as a property. Law said that if a man's wife was found lying with another man, they would both be tied together and thrown into the water. The king could forgive the man but not the woman even if the husband wanted to forgive the wife (17). A single woman?s was carefully protected, if a man the virginal wife of another man, the man would be put to death but women should go free (19). In Mesopotamia, women were sexual and economic property of their husbands, and the law did not allow women to leave their husbands without any reasons. For example, law states that if a woman left her husband without any reason and then neglected her husband, she would be put into the water. But, the code provided women with protections that were continue for the time, if a man did not have sex with his wife or draw up a marriage contract, she was not considered his wife....
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...Job vs. The Poem of a Righteous Sufferer and The Code of Hammurabi vs. Leviticus The book of Job and the Poem of a Righteous Sufferer both have a similar storyline and address the issues of suffering (more specifically, undeserved suffering). Both protagonists go through great sufferings, and turn to their God(s) in bewilderment as to why. They both felt their suffering was underserved and questioned their God(s) in search of understanding. The major difference between the stories is the deities. Wherein the Poem the protagonist believed in many Gods, in the book of Job, Job believed in one all-powerful God. In the poem of the Righteous Sufferer, the Mesopotamian culture believed in many Gods. The good which one God might wish for an individual could be challenged by another God, therefore concluding that suffering could come from any deity or any reason. From the story, it seems the problem of suffering in Mesopotamian religion is dealt with “through one God working through an intermediary to deliver justice.” Meaning, the God’s will deal with you justly eventually. In time, they would redress your wrongs and cure your afflictions. So, the sufferer is given comfort, knowing that eventually their suffering will be compensated for. In the story of Job, the suffering was not brought upon by God, but rather by Satan (the adversary). God allowed this suffering to occur to Job although he considered him “blameless” and “upright.” The answer to the question of human suffering is...
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