Hammurabi’s Code in Mesopotamia Essay Example
Hammurabi’s Code in Mesopotamia Essay Example

Hammurabi’s Code in Mesopotamia Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (575 words)
  • Published: February 14, 2022
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Introduction

The Hammurabi code of law introduced the justice system in Mesopotamia (Wreight, 2009). The ancient Mesopotamia was not aware of law and justice, and thus many people in that society ended up not getting their justice. However, Hammurabi gave the Mesopotamians a different view of law and justice, and he made it clear to them that it was through justice that we were all equal. Hammurabi law requires that there be equality in all cases that is cases be settled with absolute justices. Therefore, the Mesopotamians had to adopt the rule so as to bring a change in the society. To Hammurabi law was; an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Findings

There were no social classes in Mesopotamia when it comes to justice people were treated equally under the Babylonian rule. Therefore, t

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here were no social classes in the society. In the time when the Hammurabi introduced his code in the Mesopotamia society, it was clear that there were no social classes since with the code Hammurabi introduced a system that allowed each citizen to understand their social class in the society well. He introduced a code that made people the different types of punishments in law, and he brought different types to different classes. Hammurabi thus made sure that there was social stratification and that everyone understood his or her social class in the society.

The code of Hammurabi recognized that women and men had a different say in the society. However, the code gave the woman some right in the property of his husband. In the ancient Mesopotamia, a man divorced a wife and left the woman and the children with

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nothing. However, Hammurabi law ensured that every woman had some rights in the society though the man remained on top that is the head. The code assured the woman some security and happiness that is the woman was given justice to and could share in the husband’s property as long as she remained faithful in the marriage. Therefore, the code ensured that there was satisfaction, and every gender had some justice on him or her.

The father was the head of the family and could do anything he deemed fit for his family including selling off his children to slavery. However, the code brought on justice to the society ‘there must be evidence that you are in poverty to be allowed to sell anything in your family’ those were provisions from the Hammurabi code. Therefore, before the code was introduced the fathers could behave greedily towards their families since they were heads but the codes justice reduced their greed. Fathers were thus the family masters in Babylon though Hammurabi gave this a consideration he ensured that the powers were just to everyone and that there was proof of the father to exercise the powers.

In conclusion, the Hammurabi code respected all the rights in the Babylonian culture. To make the law more familiar to the Babylonians, it was written in language that was familiar to all. The code comes to improve on the rules that were in place in Babylon. The code only brought justice and ensured that every Babylonian was familiar with his social status.

References

  1. Hammurabi, ., & King, L. W. (2007). The code of Hammurabi. United States: NuVision Publications.
  2. Wright, D. P. (2009). Inventing God's

law: How the covenant code of the Bible used and revised the laws of Hammurabi. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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