Hammurabi was named King, he was believed to be the one to create justice that would prevail, to destroy those who appeared wicked and evil, and to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak. Not long after his ascent to power, King Hammurabi created his Code, almost 300 written laws that define all relationships and aspects of life in the kingdom. The laws applied to everyone, even though the laws and punishment differed according to social class. The punishments for disobeying the laws were cruel and barbaric. The Code of Hammurabi was carved into stone and stands out as the most intricate and advanced collection of law. In Hammurabi’s code, the values of the Mesopotamian society that are represented are religion, the integrity of work, and social status. Within these codes include social values within the people under Hammurabi, the ones that were treated the worst includes woman and slaves. The simple communication tool used to write the Code allowed the average member to understand the expectations placed on them. Each of the laws were written separately and had specific examples of indiscretions and the punishment that would take place. Hammurabi assumed that the members of his kingdom have the same values that he does. He …show more content…
Mesopotamians had an ordered civilization and in order keep the society functioning a specific set of standards were set. Many of the 282 laws are about slaves and slave owners, one of Hammurabi’s law that is an example of social values is, “If he destroy the eye of a man’s slave or break a bone of a man’s slave, he shall pay one-half his price” (Hammurabi 199). Slaves were one of the most traded and expensive goods in this society and if you were conned into buying an unhealthy slave then you would lose a lot of money. Hammurabi wanted to put a stop to that, which was a very important value to him, so he put it in his document showing that