Hammurabi Dbq

Published around 1780 BCE, the Code of Hammurabi governed the lives of people in ancient Babylon. The code created a gateway as to how people in society should function. Hammurabi was able to organize one of the largest conserved set of laws, consisting of 282 individual scriptures written on a stone sculpture, known as a stele. In order to be visible to society, the stele was placed in public. The scriptures focused on family values, land and ownership, physical violence and politics. These laws were meant to expand the nation, to keep the lives of Babylon under control. However, most of the people in ancient Babylon were illiterate, so they would never know the laws unless someone read it to them. People under Hammurabi had to make sure

Population in ancient Babylon was growing, moving more people to cities to create a society. The rise of population created the advancement in agricultural technology. Agriculture depends on soil conditions, temperature and availability of water. Because water was easiest to manipulate, people were using the rivers and plains to create irrigation systems. As these agricultural technologies were advancing, communities were able to produce enough surplus to provide large populations. People of different societies were moving in, providing commodities and new ideas to the society. Everyone had specific roles as to what they should do to keep society moving. The Code of Hammurabi allowed all of Babylon's citizens to read the laws that governed their lives, and the laws could not be manipulated by a ruler to suit his or her own goals. Because there was increasing village organization, “Political and social stratification began to rise, which institutionalized leadership” (History 1 Effects on Agriculture, February 8 2018). A social hierarchy had people of higher social class rule over the people of lower social class, such as farmers and slaves. Hammurabi’s code was created as a mechanism to control society. People were given rules and laws to follow because it kept people under control. People had property ownership and families to protect, so these laws were created to have them be secured. For example, Law 22 states, “If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death.” This law protects people’s assets and punishes the ones who violate the law. If this law was not enforced, people would be committing misconduct and society would be dysfunctional. These laws also have moral and ethical meanings. For example, law 154 states, “If a man be guilty of incest with his daughter, he shall be driven from the place (exiled).” This law is protecting the children from