Essay On The Code Of Hammurabi

Hammurabi is the finest acknowledged and most notable of all Mesopotamian kings. He ruled the Babylonian Empire from 1792-50 B.C.E. Although he was concerned with maintaining order in his kingdom, this was not his single purpose for gathering the list of laws. When he started ruling the city-state of Babylon, he gained power of no more than 50 square miles of territory. As he seized other city-states and his empire grew, he saw the need to unite the several groups he controlled. Hammurabi clearly understood that, to accomplish this goal, he needed one collective set of laws for all of the different colonies he ruled. Therefore, he sent legal authorities throughout his kingdom to gather laws that already existed within those city-states. These laws were evaluated and some were revised or removed before assembling his final list of 282 laws. In the next few paragraphs, this essay will touch on some of those laws concerning family, economics, and gender roles.
In the Code of Hammurabi, men had great authority over their families. Men were allowed to sell their wives or children into slavery in order to pay off their debts. They could also disown a son if they wanted to. These actions were severe and required men to defend their actions in a court of law. Men who wanted to sell their family …show more content…
The code governed the responsibilities and rights of farmers. Farmers were required to carefully develop their land and also to keep any canals or ditches clean and in good condition. Farmers who were careless of their duties were responsible for paying for all damaged crops and could be sold into slavery if the debt was high enough. Other workers could also be punished for poor work ethic. For example, if a house made by a builder collapsed and killed the son of the owner, the son of the house builder would also be killed in retribution. “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth” is well represented in this case