University:
Eastern Kentucky University
Course:
HIS 100 | World Topics to 1500
Academic year:

2020
Views:

93

Pages:

2
Author:

Alma Hester

Was the Code of Hammurabi fair? During 1792-1750 B.C. , the code of Hammurabi was created by the Babylonian King Hammurabi. It was the first written laws in human history and it was significantly important. Code of Hammurabi was not fair to the people of Babylonia because the laws were too harsh and the punishments did not consider people’s intentions. One reason that the Code of Hammurabi was unfair to the people of Babylonia was that the laws were unjust and cruel. Properties were valued more than the Babylonians. For example, code 8 states, “If a man has stolen an ox, a sheep, a pig or a boat that belonged to a temple or a palace, he shall repay thirty times its cost. If it belonged to a private citizen, he shall repay ten times. If the thief cannot pay, he shall be put to death”. This law was created to show that if a man steals someone else’s property, the thief would have to pay some of the money to get away with the crime. However, if a man steals and cannot pay, he would have to die. This law shows how the Code of Hammurabi failed to recognize the value of human lives and there was no fairness or equality. Therefore, Hammurabi’s laws were superfluous. Another reason why the Code of Hammurabi was unfair to the people was that it did not consider people’s intentions and it did not consider women as strong as men. For instance, code 143 states, “If the woman is at fault, she shall be thrown into the river”. This law was written to show that if a woman ruins her house and belittles her husband, she would have to drown in the river and die. This code expresses how the Hammurabi Law gave women less rights in marriage and if the husband was humiliated by his wife, he could decide to drown her in water. Thus, it wasn’t fair because the husband had complete control over his wife, and the women had very few rights. In conclusion, the Code of Hammurabi was unfair to the people who lived in Babylonia because the punishments were unjust and cruel. If people broke the law, it really did not matter whether they intended to do it or it was an accident, they would still be punished harshly. Hammurabi laws had a great influence on the lives of Babylonian people as it consisted of rules and regulations that had to be obeyed.