Hammurabi's Laws

The Laws of Early Ancient History The laws of early ancient history all had one thing in common: They instilled fear on the people. Four major rulers with their own law systems were Hammurabi, Draco, Solon, and Diocletian. All four rulers established laws of their own that the people of their nation had to abide by or else they would pay the consequences. The people feared their laws whether it was because of the harsh punishments, the threat of death, the fines they had to pay, or a tax system that hurt the poor even more. Hammurabi, Draco, Solon, and Diocletian all had their own ways of displaying their laws and showing the consequences. However, they all led the people pf their respected nations to fear them and the law. Criminal actions were punished with severe punishments or death. Fines were expected to be paid for crimes that did not involve homicide. Taxes were expected to be paid off no matter how poor someone was. Fear was a major symbol of early ancient history as the people feared all four of these rulers. First off, the Hammurabi Code was the first known written code of laws in history. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, adopted 282 laws from several collections of laws known across the land and chiseled them into a large
Solon’s laws were most known for its’ economic reforms. To deal with a major crisis of debt in the economy, Solon decided to cancel all debts. He also issued an executive order that abolished slavery for debt. Solon put a limit on the amount of land that nobles could own as well. Solon’s laws replaced Draco’s harsh laws except for the laws concerning homicide, as he still believed harsh punishments should be administered for that violent of a crime. In Lloyd Duhaime’s “530 BC - Solon's Laws (Greece),” he talks about how Solon left some harsh laws under Draco the same, but had altered some laws for the punishment to be a fine. He