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Hammurabi’s code of law fair or unfair
Code of hammurabi and justice
Hammurabi’s code of law fair or unfair
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Hammurabi’s code of law fair or unfair
Code of hammurabi and justice
Hammurabi’s code of law fair or unfair
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Name: Brianna Cohort: UCLA Question: Hammurabi’s Code: Was it just? Hammurabi and his Codes Introduction Did you know Hammurabi created the first set of laws. Hammurabi was a king of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s codes were laws.
He also claimed that multiple gods including Shamash gave him the right to rule. The laws were displayed all over the place on humongous stone steeles which is a pillar-like structure. The question now is, was Hammurababi’s code just or unjust? Hammurabi’s code was unjust because not everyone was treated equally, it couldn’t be changed, and it was written from one perspective. To start, Hammurabi’s code was unjust because it treated people of different social classes differently.
Hammurabi’s Code DBQ King Hammurabi’s rule began in the city of Babylon. He later then extended his control by taking over Larsa and Mari a large part of Mesopotamia. After expanding his land, Shamash, the god of justice presented him with a code of 232 laws (Doc A). These laws were then influenced throughout the community and were considered a part of the communities culture. I disagree with Hammurabi’s code because most laws were to cruel and targeted certain people.
The first reason that Hammurabi’s Code of law is unjust is the Personal Injury Law. In document E, law number 218 stated that if a surgeon operated with a bronze lancet on a free man for a serious injury and the man dies, his hands will be cut off. Also in law numbers 209 and 213 they stated that a if a man has struck a free women and the fruit of her womb is lost he pays 10 shekels of silver but if the man hit’s a slave women and she loses her froot of the womb the man only has to pay 2 shekels of silver. It might seem if the personal injury laws are absolutely just but they are really not because in law 218 the surgeon hands are cut of if he fails to save the man and in laws 213 and 209 the free women gets more shekels of silver then the slave women and also if the man hits the women and the fruit of her womb in not lost the man
Hammurabi’s code was erected onto several steles (large pillars of stone) for all his citizens to read and obey. Was Hammurabi’s code just? There are three areas of law where Hammurabi’s code can be shown to be unjust. These are family, property, and personal injury law. Examples of injustice can be found in the area of family law.
In law 195 document C it claims that, ¨ If a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off.¨ Going on, law 129 document C states that, ”If a married lady is caught [ in adultery ] with another man, they shall bind them and cast them into the water. ¨ It would be easy to believe that Hammurabi's code of family law is just but actually it is not just. Law 129 is unjust because if a married lady cheats on her husband she gets thrown into the water but, if a man cheats nothing happens.
All except one of the laws in this excerpt are about marriage and women’s rights. When it came to decisions regarding marriages and engagements, all aspects depended on either the young woman’s father or the man she would be married to. This shows that the society Hammurabi ruled was a patriarchal one. It also shows us that society has favored men’s rights over women’s since the beginning of civilization, so it makes sense that even in modern times, gender rights are not yet completely
Hammurabi’s code was unfair to women. As it states in law 148 document C, if a wife of a man has a disease and her husband is determined to marry a second wife, he will marry her. However, he will not divorce his first wife. She will live in the house they had built together and he will maintain her as long as she lives. This law is unfair to the first wife because if her husband really loved her he would not marry a second wife.
Hammurabi invented the first written code of law. He built it for everyone to follow. The laws were written in cuneiform on an eight foot tall stone pillar. The Babylonians called it the eye for an eye code. Hammurabi wrote over 282 laws and included 3 parts.
Hammurabi’s code was not just because the personal injury laws did not protect all people equally, property laws were harsh and not protecting people enough, and the Family laws should allow people to be with whoever they want to be with. Looking at the evidence from the Personal Injury Laws states that punishments towards slaves are
King Hammurabi’s codes were unjust because of the evidence found in the 282 laws. The codes that King Hammurabi wrote about were personal injury law, property law and family law. First, there is evidence that the codes were unjust. The first, code was personal injury law.
Was Hammurabi’s code just? Nearly 4,000 years ago, a man named Hammurabi became king of a city state called babylon. Hammurabi made a very important code in 18th century B.C.E. Hammurabi made 282 laws and he made these codes to protect the weak and poor from the strong. There are areas of law where Hammurabi’s code can be shown to be both, just and unjust. These are Family Law, Property Law, and Personal Injury Law.
Hammurabi's code and the modern laws have several similarities and differences. For example, they are both intended to maintain order in society. However, Hammurabi’s code is far more violent than modern law. Also, they have different ways of handling things, different punishments, and different social structure. One way that Hammurabi’s Code and the Modern Laws are different is because Hammurabi’s Code is strictly based on social structure.
Hammurabi's laws that were concerned with family, property, and injury were unfair. Hammurabi's laws that dealt with family were cruel and harsh. In law 129, it states that if a married woman is caught cheating, the woman and the other man will be tied together and would be drowned. Although, the man who was
Funk and Wagnall New World Encyclopedia wrote, “The basis of criminal law is that of equal retaliation, comparable to the Semitic law of ‘an eye for an eye’”(“Hammurabi, Code of” 1). Hammurabi was the first to make the law code meaning he was the first to start the foundation for our law system today. He was the father of law and today his justice code is still apparent today. The code of Hammurabi was designed to protect the weak, which includes: women, children and slaves. Funk and Wagnall wrote, “It seeks to protect the weak and the poor, including women, children, and slaves, against injustice at the hands of the rich and powerful”(Hammurabi, Code of” 1).