Code Of Hammurabi Research Paper

The Code of Hammurabi is considered to be one of the first published legal documents in the world. The first ruler of the Babylonian Empire, Hammurabi, set down these laws to bring order to his kingdom. Hammurabi’s Code is best known for lex talionis (or the punishment of an "eye for an eye"), and set down the basis for both criminal and civil law, and established procedures for commerce and trade. When reading the code, it is clear that everything in society is regulated, and what punishment would be meted out if those regulations were not followed. Everyone and everything had a rule, ranging from the treatment of slaves, to how a wife could divorce her husband. But why is everything in Babylonian society so tightly regulated, and what freedoms did a person have if everything was dictated to them by their ruler?
Upon reading the Code for the first time, one …show more content…
In his proclamations at the beginning and the end of the Code, he talks about what would be the precursor to Divine Right, or the belief that the gods chose their King or Queen. The gods would take care of their king (in this case, Hammurabi) and in return, the leader would take care of the people’s needs and make sure they prospered. However, he did not claim he himself was a god, but instead was one the central piece in the whole puzzle that formed a pyramid of various classes, in which every member of society had a place. At the top was Hammurabi himself, taking orders from the gods and making sure the gods were pleased with his work and that the people were happy. When reading the Code, it is deduced that the various classes of Babylonian society were those who served the gods in the temples, such as priests and priestesses; freedmen such as landowners, shopkeepers, and government officials; and slaves who, while slaves, had their own rights and protections written into the Code, designed to prevent abuse from their