What do all elite empires like the Roman and Byzantine Empire have in common? They both have a centralized government. As an empire, it is critical to have a form of legislative order to maintain stability within your Kingdom/Empire. With that being said, the ruler of the empire has the power to create that order and how they lay the foundation of the empire will lead to not only being known as a memorable, supreme ruler but have the longevity of the empire and become known as a legend for generations to come. But who’s order became more significant to today’s society? We are going to look at the primary sources of two iconic rulers in Hammurabi, who created arguably the earliest and most complete written laws in history and heavily influenced US Constitution with the origin foundation of the constitutional law, the Code of Hammurabi and Charlemagne, who influenced the Frankish court with the Capitularies in case of time of crisis inside the royal kingdom and reinvented European political and economic lifestyle.
The Code of Hammurabi was written by the Babylonian King Hammurabi and it has consisted of 282 laws written on a stone-pillar for the Babylonians to not only read about it and understand, but also maintain order amongst Babylonian society by listing punishments for people who break the law as well. Hammurabi wrote out each law that dealt with everyone, including children, women, and men, and has a punishment for anybody who breaks it and depending on your social status is how severe your punishment would be. If a man with higher status is involved, the punishment is more severe depending on what law he broke and his social status as well. “202: if anyone strike the body of a man in rank than he, he shall receive sixty blows with an ox-whip in public”. The men face a very strict punishment if they broke the law because Hammurabi established the “Eye for an Eye” saying which states that if you do something to another male of the same class, you will have to face the same punishment in the rule of law. The purpose of Hammurabi creating this is because it creates a fair balance of justice, no exceptions. “196: If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out'. '197: If he breaks another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken'. '200. If a man knocked out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out”.
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The Code of Hammurabi was very compelling at that time because of how it was the first written laws ever and was able to create these laws from his own words, but even that, there are flaws in his code as well starting with the majority of laws aiming at the lower class, specifically slaves and women. At the time, women did not have any social or political rights with society, they’ve been labeled as 'housewives', who stay at home and do everything that the man of the house tells them to do because they were not fit enough to make the decisions. Hammurabi gave the women more women rights in terms of providing justice to protect them from certain issues like adultery: “130: If a man violates the wife of another man… the man shall be put to death, and the wife is blameless'. And '127: If anyone blames the wife of any husband, but cannot prove it, then the man shall be taken before the judges and shall be marked (cutting skin or hair)”.
But Hammurabi also created multiple laws limiting the decision making of women in terms of marriage and breeding a child, ultimately having the father of the woman make the decision of who she can or can not marry: “160: Anyone who has brought chattels into the father-in-law’s house and pays the ‘purchase price’ for the wife and the father says no, he shall give back all that he brought with him'. '163: If a man marries a woman, and she bears sons to him and she dies, if the 'purchase price', that was used into the house of his father-in-law is repaid to him, the husband will have no claim upon the dowry of the wife and instead, belongs to him”.
The slaves get little rights for themselves as well. “19: If a man holds slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he shall be put to death”. The 'Eye for an Eye' saying does not apply to them because they are not considered to be part of Babylonian society but instead below it. They treat the value of slaves like scum and the owner of the slaves benefit the most from the laws instead of the slaves themselves. “199. If he put out the eye or breaks a bone of the man’s slave, he shall pay one-half of its value”.
Hammurabi claimed to “bring about the rule of righteousness in the land”. There are flaws in the Hammurabi’s code of law which made his statement invalid in the current time period, but based on when he presented this centuries ago and the way how Babylonian society was at the time was extremely different than in today’s society, he was so advanced in his time for creating a written constitution for his empire and for him to write it for his people is remarkable.
The Capitularies of Charlemagne are chapters that gave instructions by the central administration of the court to other authorities. It was stated that the Capitulary of 802 was “nothing more than a foundation charter for the Holy Roman Empire'. Charlemagne converted to Christianity and he wanted to influence that religion to his empire. '3: Firstly, every one of his own accord… to keep himself in the holy service of God according to the precept of God as the emperor can not exhibit the necessary care and discipline to each man singly”. Charlemagne also wanted the members of the church to both to agree with one another of the worship of Christianity and to help each other embrace the religion and spread the teachings to the disciplines. “10: Bishops and Priests should live according to the canons and should teach each other likewise. Priests and the lesser clergy, who they have to help the ministry, shall altogether show themselves subject to their bishops”.
Hammurabi originated the constitutional law by creating the law of Hammurabi, which listed 282 written laws on a stone-pillar for the Babylonian society to understand. Hammurabi created the laws to give every person some form of rights based on social classes. The Capitularies of Charlemagne were chapters written to give instructions by the Frankish court to give to the local court and other authorities. The new strengthen royal control help create a new political and economic system in Europe.
Both documents became an important piece of history that helped revolutionize today’s modern world. In terms of which document became more influential, the code of Hammurabi laid the foundation for the modern law we live in today. They both maintain law and order amongst society and provide for justice for anyone who breaks the law.
Works Cited
- The Avalon Project : Code of Hammurabi, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp.
- “Capitulary of Charlemagne Issued in the Year 802”. Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/medieval/capitula.asp.
- “Hammurabi's Code: An Eye for an Eye”. Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, https://www.ushistory.org/civ/4c.asp.
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