Significance Of The Code Of Hammurabi

Hammurabi was a Babylonian King who had many accomplishments, one being the Code of Hammurabi. According to the text, Hammurabi was a great leader to his empire. His successful skills as a military leader and an administrator qualified him for rule. During his reign he paid attention to the needs of his people, improve the irrigation of fields, built opulent temples to the gods. and maintained the infrastructures of the cities under his control. He used his military strategies to win the wars against neighboring city-states along the Euphrates river to unite all of the southern Mesopotamia, thus expanding his empire. In order to keep his empire together he created laws in order to keep the order in his expanding empire. The Code of Hammurabi is a set of laws (282 laws) carved into stone for everyone to see …show more content…
Hammurabi uses this opportunity to justify his authority while giving an introduction to the code. He states that “Anu” and “Bel” (the Sumerian Sky God and the Supreme God) called him to power to “bring about the rule of righteousness in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil-doers; so that the strong should not harm the weak.” By using and believing in that statement he gained more respect as a ruler because the Babylonians were polytheistic, which means that they believed In more than one god. They worshiped their gods, so they easily believed that Hammurabi got his power and authority from the gods. According to Hammurabi, Marduk authored the code of laws and that Hammurabi also rule in his name. The authority given to Hammurabi by Marduk helped to give him religious and political authority over the ancient