Essay On The Code Of Hammurabi

The presupposition that ancient and medieval kings and empowers had absolute power over their realms is a categorical truth. Although some advocates of ruler having limited power would argue that they did not rule over their realms with an iron fist, these romantic critics are too dogmatic in their provincial ideology. Throughout history, there has been many examples of rulers who have written law codes in order to have full control over the justice system and lives of their people. Three prominent archetypes that exemplify how ancient and medieval sovereigns had absolute power over their realms are The 12 Tables and The Code OF Hammurabi. But if you take a look at The Pact of ‘Umar, you will see that not all rulers ruled with this stern control. We will first dive

The 12 Tables mostly focuses on laws to be carried out in response as a legal action for ones property or self. Such as in table VII it is said “If one has broken a bone of a freeman with his hand or with a weapon, let him pay a penalty of three hundred coins. If he has broken the bone of a slave, let him have one hundred and fifty coins.”, this law aims to keep justice when a person has been harmed by another. Another example is in table IX which states “A person who had been found guilty of giving false witness shall be hurled down from the Tarpeian Rock.” As you can see while the laws control most aspects of the people’s lives, it is actually done in order to keep order and protect them. One could say that if a ruler has full power of their people it is a bad thing but I believe that by presenting them with a set of rules that need to be followed, it allows them to maintain order over their people. Another similar example to The 12 Tables is The Code of Hammurabi which also acts as a set of legal laws for the people to follow and maintain peace and balance.