Code Of Hammurabi Research Paper

Helen Catherine Reich
Document Reaction Paper 1
18 June 2014
Code of Hammurabi
An eye for and eye" might be a simple phrase but summarizes a king 's code that organized one of the most civilized empire of it time. King Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylonia almost four millennia ago, was not the typical power hungry king that people might view him as today. Instead of writing detailed and very wordy laws like one might see today, confusing his people was the last motive of King Hammurabi. Though the phrase "an eye for an eye" might seem harsh, it represents the codes perfectly by demonstrating the harsh but simple laws that Hammurabi 's presented to all of his Babylonian people. Being appointed by Shamash God, the god of justice, King Hammurabi
The code is the longest surviving text from the Old Babylonian period. Through King Hammurabi’s ruling from 1792-50 BCE, he believed that he was chosen by gods to being justice to every one of his people. Through his obedience to the gods, he created this code that contained 282 laws cared in forty-nine columns on a basalt stele. These codes addressed a variety of topics in civil, criminal and commercial law that applied to everyone. However, the purpose of the laws and punishment was based off social standing. One can easily see that not everyone was equal during this time. The Ancient Babylonian’s lived under the assumption that the gods could do anything to humans that they wanted. The Hammurabi Code allowed real justice to be shown throughout his society. The entire code looks to be formed in order to keep cases as fair as possible by setting strict boundaries for everyone. However, the penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of the offenses. Hammurabi went through, what looks to be every common problem and made sure to list the consequence if one was to carry out the
The consequences are very dramatic, such as “if a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.” Consequences like this is not comparable to any kind of law one would see today, however, because it is a different time period, the stations that Hammurabi is writing about would more than likely not have any significance today, so it is understandable that the laws are at limited comparison to modern laws. But unlike a great percentage of laws written today, Hammurabi wrote these laws very clear and right to the point. It is assumed that this simple language is at use only so all the king’s people could easily understand them. The Code of Hammurabi illustrates the class structure that the Babylonians had, and the code was designed with this structure in mind. Power to demand more severe punishments was given to the Amelu, what we would today call the upper class, but they also received harsher punishments if they broke the law. The Mushkinu, or middle class, did not receive such harsh punishments, however, this class had more restrictions when it came things, such as religion. The slaves, obviously the lowest class, were treated a little more than property, although they were able to do business, own their own property, and purchase their freedom. Their punishments were the most severe