Compare and Contrast Manu and Hammurabi
During the time of the two early civilizations of Mesopotamia and India, there were many similarities and differences between their social stratifications. One of the similarities was that crimes committed by a lower class citizen to a higher class citizen had much harsher punishments. Another similarity between the two civilizations would be the fact that the lowest social class was also the largest social class. But there were some differences between the two; like how they treated women. In early India, women were honored and adorned and in Mesopotamia they were basically just property.
Both societies had harsher punishments for when crimes were committed by a lower class citizen to a higher class citizen. For example, in Mesopotamia the Code of Hammurabi states that if a man were to hit another man of a superior class he would be beaten 60 times, but if a man of the aristocracy hits a man of equal stature then he is to only pay one mina of silver. In the Code of Manu if a man of the lowest social class should with any part of their body injure anyone from a higher social class, that body part would be cut off. …show more content…
In Mesopotamia and India, the laborers and hard workers were put in the lowest class because they could not afford the luxurious lifestyle of the noblemen. The three major classes were the upper, middle, and lower class. The upper class was priests, noblemen, and government officials., the middle class was the military, and the lower class merchants, artisans, craftsmen, and peasants. The lower class was so large because anyone who didn’t have a part in government, the military, or wealth was put into the lowest