Code of Hammurabi

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. Were these laws too tough for the people to handle or where they what the Mesopotamia society needed to bring order and justice to their society? The laws of the Hammurabi Code created strict rules with severe punishments for their violation. There are 282 laws that were supposed to protect the poor from the wealthy; the weak from the strong; and so on. However, “some of the laws enacted by Hammurabi showed strong gender bias” (Johns 1). These laws played a big role in how the people of the Mesopotamia society operated. Some laws had the eye for and eye philosophy. An example of this would have been if someone cut off another man’s ear he would receive the same act done to him. During his time people were penalized to death for many crimes or wrongdoings that almost never would be penalized with capital punishment in modern time. Hammurabi’s Code also reveals inequality between social classes. Slaves were not thought of on the same level as free-born people. These policies may have worked and brought order in ancient time but we know that these laws would never be used today. To get a better understanding of the Code of Hammurabi and its impact on society we must first examine what life was like before, during and after the creation of this code of laws. Also, it is important to learn who King Hammurabi was and his thinking behind the writing of these controversial laws.
Before the Hammurabi Code was the way of life, Babylon was a very different place. When the Semitic tribes first settled in the cities of Babylonia, their customs spread over into city law. The early history of the country is the “story of a struggle for supremacy between cities” (Johns 3). The city rights and usages were respected by kings and conquerors alike. The laws of these cities were quite liberal. They showed equal treatment to citizens of foreign descent such as allowing groups of foreign people to enter the city at any time. Also, “foreign women who were once married to Babylonian men could not be enslaved or sold to another individual” (Johns 4). Every defendant was given a fair trial and it was said that everyone received one with no exceptions.
Hammurabi was the sixth king of the first Amorite dynasty of Babylon. He ruled from 1792-1750 BC. During this time is when he wrote the Code of Hammurabi. The code was written on several stone tablets which stood eight feet tall so that all people could see them. This concept lives on in most modern legal systems and has given rise to the term "written in stone" (Horne 1). These laws established penalties with the philosophy that the punishment should fit the crime. They were made up of 282 provisions arranged under a variety of subjects ranging from family and personal property to trade and business. To some the fact that they were written down brings about much controversy because this was a time when few people were literate, mostly just scribes and nobles held the capacity to read. By having the laws publically displayed, “helped him craft his image as a just ruler: the stela was displayed publicly, so nobody, regardless of status, could plead ignorance of its laws” (Adams 1). Since many were unable to read the codes they suffered harsh consequences for often petty offenses. Others say that with King Hammurabi writing the laws down made people want to learn to read so they knew what was going on. “The laws dealt with many societal issues such as theft, assault, rape, destruction of property, morality, slavery, land ownership, marriage, and inheritance” which were all topics each citizen should know about. (Johns 2). He managed to have a peaceful reign until the last decade of his life when he fought with his enemies and expanded his empire. He combined the newly acquired territory with his inherited lands to form a United Kingdom and his codes were also enforced there. Although Hammurabi’s reign was conquered and declined after his death, his set of laws promoted the unification of his diverse subjects and became an enduring legacy.
The written Code of Hammurabi established new elements of restriction on women that hadn 't been in effect before. Hammurabi took it upon himself to establish these laws based on his own principles and values. These laws bring into question the fairness and intention regarding women particularly dealing with marriage. Marriage was still done through the purchase of a bride with a bride 's price and a dowry. This gives us the notion that back then women were viewed as merchandise that can be bought and sold from father to suitor. A woman was only a wife through a special marriage contract. She had no say to whom she married or when she got married. According to Hammurabi 's code, special provisions and conditions could be put into the contract that held strict limitations on women. For instance, “not only was the wife expected to be a maid-servant to her husband, but if her husband wishes he could force her to serve her mother-in-law, or even his first wife” (Kings 3). This creates the idea that a woman is subservient to her husband. Another way in which women are hindered is a when a man married a woman he also inherited her debts and became responsible for them. If he wanted to he can have it added to the contract that he may offer her as a maid-servant to those she is indebted to, to pay back her debts. There were also laws that governed a wife 's behavior as well. Women deemed bad wives would suffer severe consequence, “if a woman was a bad wife, her husband could have her sent away while keeping her children and her dowry” (Horne 16). Another option for bad wives would be for their husbands to make them slaves in their own households. At this point, all the man is responsible for is to feed and clothe her. Although a woman was allowed to file suit if her husband treated her cruelly or neglected her she could only get a judicial separation. There was no punishment for his behavior towards her and “if she did not prove her case, but was proved to be a bad wife, she was drowned” (Horne 17). This law is an example of how woman were thought of as less important to men. In today’s society this is something that we still struggle with at times.
It was not just written laws that gave power to husbands over their wives, but fathers as well. In fact, a woman never really left the control of her father. She was always known as a daughter of someone and not as someone’s wife. A father had strict control over his daughters, and there were serious punishments for disobedient children. Fathers often choose his daughter 's future, giving her little to no say whatsoever. A father could choose a life of celibacy for his daughter. This was known as a Vestal Virgin. As a Vestal Virgin, she was free to marry but she could never bear children. Also, the power to sell his daughter off for marriage was delegated to the father as well. A father could also choose other paths in life for his daughter such as offer her services to particular gods, vestals, and others. As you can see, “the Hammurabi law system left little room for women 's rights” (Johns 5).
Hammurabi basic principal for his system of government was an "eye for an eye" system. If corporal harm was done to an individual, ideally the party responsible would have the same act inflicted upon them. Just like in today’s society this system was not always followed when it came to the wealthy. They were the exception to the rule. Which did not fit the original premise for the creation of the legal code which, “Hammurabi defined the purpose of the Law Code as, to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil, that the strong may not oppress the weak” (Roaf 12). If a member of the higher class of society had committed a corporal crime, usually he would only have to pay a fine but if a lower class citizen caused bodily harm to another they would have the same punishment done to them. The law also institutes an arrangement where if a person falsely accuses another person or does not have enough evidence to back up his claims he would be put to death. Judges also had an incentive to always make sure their judgment was accurate because it was found out that they ruled incorrectly they would have to pay a penalty for a wrong decision.
The Code of Hammurabi organized society into three classes. The Amelu, were the upper class and received harsher punishments if they broke the law. The Mushkinu, or middle class, did not receive such stiff fines or punishments, however they were restricted in their contributions to religion and were required to give money to people they injured. The Slaves were the lowest of the three classes, although they were able to do business, own their own property, and purchase their freedom. Their punishments were the most severe.
In 1750 BC King Hammurabi’s reign was over and his son, Samsu-iluna took over after his death. Hammurabi’s reign left a lasting impression on future generations of Babylonians, thus making him one of the major figures of the Mesopotamian history. His policies were followed by other kings and his son. However, Samsu-iluna did experience some revolts by surrounding neighbors about 10 years after his take over. This ended in him giving up most of his empire. For the rest of the seventeenth and sixteenth century it was a time of great change in chaos. There were a lot of invasions and different groups trying take over the kingdom of Babylonia. It wasn’t until 1595 BC that the Kassites united the country after recapturing it from the Sealanders. The Kassities restored order of the empire to the glory it had during the Hammurabi age.
The Code of Hammurabi, carved into stone, leaves no questions about its credibility. It stands out because it was the most complex and most advanced collection of law for its time. Much can be learned about Babylonian society through reading the Code of Hammurabi. At a very basic level, the document itself and the materials used to produce it tell a lot about how advanced the empire was. The Code reveals the priorities that Hammurabi and his kingdom held. The family unit was highly regarded in the Code of Hammurabi, as many laws were created to protect it. Most of the laws were very extreme for this time period but this was only the beginning. When something is new it takes a while to get things to run smooth. Even in today’s society lawmakers are continuously tweaking laws to better suit society and strengthen others to better protect us. Perhaps the virtue that Hammurabi most wanted to instill in his people was personal responsibility. He wanted families to stay together, men to take care of their families and people to not harm and steal from others. Even though the consequences for breaking these laws were extreme Hammurabi was onto something when he created these laws. If you make the punishment so sever people won’t commit the crimes and families will stay together. It is now many thousands of years later and we still have a lot of the same problems that Hammurabi was trying to end during his reign.

Conclusion

What King Hammurabi was trying to do when he created the Code of Hammurabi was try to instill order and dignity in the people of Babylon. Although his conquences for the crimes were often extreme he did make everyone aware of the laws by writing them on big rocks where everyone could see. The laws did change society, hinder women’s rights and independence and left a lasting impression for future generations. This is a perfect example of why we need to learn about history so it doesn’t repeat itself. In today’s society we have a lot of the same problems that faced the people of Babylon in the 17 century. Examples include broken marriages, people hurting other people and different classes being treated better or worse than each other. What is learned from this point in history is that extreme punishment does not work and you can’t make a law for every possible scenario.

Work Cited

Adams, William Lee. “Babylon: Visions of Vice.” Time 12 Mar 2008: 70-71.
Print.
Horne, Charles F. The Code of Hammurabi. New York: Forgotten Books, 2007.
Print.
Johns, Claude Hermann Walter, M.A. Litt.D. "Babylonian Law: The Code of Hammurabi." (1997). The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Retrieved on 3 Apr. 2012. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hammpre.htm.
Lendering, Jona. “Babylonian Empire”. Livis.org. n.p. n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2012.
Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Oxford, 1990. Print.

Cited: Adams, William Lee. “Babylon: Visions of Vice.” Time 12 Mar 2008: 70-71. Print. Horne, Charles F. The Code of Hammurabi. New York: Forgotten Books, 2007. Print. Johns, Claude Hermann Walter, M.A. Litt.D. "Babylonian Law: The Code of Hammurabi." (1997). The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Retrieved on 3 Apr. 2012. http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/hammpre.htm. Lendering, Jona. “Babylonian Empire”. Livis.org. n.p. n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2012. Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Oxford, 1990. Print.