Hammurabi Code Dbq Essay

The world’s oldest and most structures set of laws was created to protect all of the people; however, the Hammurabi Code set unfair standards between slaves and freemen, women and men, and adults and children. This code was written by Hammurabi, one of the most famous kings of Mesopotamia. Containing 282 laws, the Hammurabi Code set the standard of living for the citizens of Mesopotamia. Many find this set of laws to be very unfair because of the harsh punishments of mainly the death penalty. Looking in depth at this code, examples of unfairness between slaves and freemen, men and women, and adults and children are uncovered. The Hammurabi Code is full of a plethora of unjustness between slaves and freemen. First of all, there was a law about …show more content…
First of all, the code permits a man to divorce his wife, but a woman could not divorce her husband. A man could also have an affair, but a woman could not. Women had barely any say when it came to their marriage. Secondly, a woman was bound to their husband and was considered property. If her husband was arrested and the wife goes her own way, that wife must go back to her husband when he comes back. Lastly, if a woman was murdered, the penalty for the killer was the death of his or her daughter. Unlike if a man was murdered, the killer was executed. More unfairness is shown against women through the unjustness when it came to murder. The Hammurabi Code also showed unfairness between adults and children. First of all, children had no say against their parents and they were considered property. The parents would make all of the real estate decisions. Secondly, children were used to pay off debt. If the father could not pay off his debt, he could sell his children as slaves to pay back the debt. Finally, a child could be killed if the parent does something wrong. The children were not given a chance to live. Also, if a child hit his father, then his hands would be cut