The Code Of Hammurabi In Ancient Mesopotamia

“An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”, this phrase along with the written laws dates back to the ancient Mesopotamian culture. Hammurabi was the most recognized of all Mesopotamian kings. He ruled the Babylon Empire from 1792 B.C.E- 1750 B.C.E. Babylon was a significant city in Mesopotamia, which ran along the eastern bank of the Euphrates River. The Hammurabi code was created by the Babylonian ruler, Hammurabi. The code was significantly important to history because it was the first set of written laws. It was a set of 282 laws engraved on a stone pillar for the people to follow. These laws dealt with major and minor offenses as well as their punishments. The purpose was to promote order and enforce stability. The Code of Hammurabi

Women had very few rights. Women were defined in relation to their families. Women’s jobs in society were to take care of children and maintain the household. They were considered their husband’s property/slave rather than individuals. Some examples would be, ‘If the finger was pointed at the wife of a seignior because of another man, but she has not been caught while lying with the other man, she shall throw herself into the river for the sake of her husband.” Using a river to control the fate of an individual even when not guilty of the act is completely unfair. Code 143 states that, “If she were not discreet, has gone out, ruined her house, belittled her husband, then she shall be drowned”. During these times, a woman was to preserve her body to ensure her validity to a man. At marriage, a woman was then property to her husband, meanwhile men were allowed to have relationships outside of the marriage with maid-servants, and slaves, but women were to be bound and tossed into the Euphrates along with their lovers. Men could sell their wives or children into slavery in order to pay off their debts. They could also disinherit a son if they chose to. Wealth was controlled by the husband or father. Many laws were placed in regard to women 's dowries and rights in divorce. Any divorced or widowed woman was seen differently in society, which in result made it very unlikely for them to ever marry

Before King Hammurabi implemented the code people there was never an idea on what was right or wrong to do in society. The morals that he was promoting were harsh. The death penalty is listed as a punishment at least 20 times if not more. The laws called for death, even for nonviolent crimes. Entirely innocent people were killed. For example, “If a builder build a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill the son of the owner, then the son of the builder shall be put to death”. The son of the builder had nothing to do with the incident, so it’s the builder that should be put to death. Another example, in the law code was, “If a physician make a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off. For crimes that could not be proven with hard evidence the Code allowed for a trial by ordeal which was practically where the accused was placed in a potentially deadly situation as a way of determining innocence. The Code states that, “if an accused man jumps into the river and drowns; his accuser shall take possession of his house.” However, if the gods spared the man and allowed him to escape unhurt, the accuser would be executed, and the man who jumped in the river would receive his house. Overall, the idea was that Hammurabi was chosen as King by the gods. He made people think that he