Hammurabi Research Paper

Babylonian and Assyrian laws serve as the foundation of what we know as law today. Their primitive senses of justice set up systems of power in which humans were looked at as gods and seen as supernatural vessels to the spirit world. Mesopotamia became one of the trendsetters in religion being assimilated in politics. Although, the king was seen as a god himself, people viewed the king as the closest being to their gods of worship. After being given so much power and responsibility, the reliability of the king comes into question.

Babylonian government brings a unique aspect on justice with the Law Code of Hammurabi. This code is the emblem of the Mesopotamian civilization. The high basalt stele erected by the king of Babylon in the 18th century

King Hammurabi served as the leader of ancient Babylonia. He set forth a series of moral codes that were mandatory for all citizens to follow. Actions like this show up in different religious groups such as Christianity with the 10 Commandments. To ensure that all citizens lived by the laws given to them, Hammurabi dictated his laws with harsh punishment to all rebels of the system. To maintain order and avoid chaos in Babylonia, Hammurabi created a way of life for people to live by. He acted in a way that God would in the Old Testaments of the Bible. Hammurabi ruled his people with an iron fist and took no shame in making examples out of those who dared to defy his infallible laws. Hammurabi’s Code spread into Assyria and became part of Assyrian life as well. Both Babylonian and Assyrian culture adopted living by “an eye for an eye”. At the time, the strongest people ruled over the meek and Hammurabi’s rule is the perfect example of such ideology. Whether Hammurabi was right or wrong in his method of ruling is opinion-based, but one thing is certain. His rule was very effective in setting a foundation of justice. Although many laws seem unfair and extremely bias to us today, the system of retribution and structured revenge became the basis of justice systems. It paved the way for improvement, revision, and application for