Hammurabi's Code on Family Relationships
In a translation done by L. W. King of Babylonian Law--The Code of Hammurabi, by Rev. Claude Hermann Walter Johns, M.A. who originally wrote the document in 1910, we read about King Hammurabi who was ruler of the Babylonian Empire from 1792-1750 BCE. Hammurabi declared a set of 282 laws which were known as Hammurabi's Code. These laws dealt with many aspects of every day life, offenses and their punishments. It is 1 of the first written codes of law in history. This code was one of the first set of laws created which was written in cuneiform and was adopted by the Sumerians. These laws developed the necessity for one powerful leader. These laws created a step for the vision that the King was the …show more content…
Of course, there was issues between judgment of what was right from wrong. The document attempted to completely end all “savage” human existence. It was designed to end all blood feuds by stating clearly the crime and the punishment, hoping that it would influence society and its decisions. Hammurabi’s law developed a code of punishments to deal with any if not all punishable acts. What decided one’s guilt or innocence however was indeed a process. An accused person was sentenced to perform a task and based on if they succeeded or not, would tell if they were guilty or not. Clearly, cheating on your husband or wife was not as bad as killing your husband or wife. This process sorted out the laws and punishments connecting them with a level of ‘harshness’ and gave complex societies a temporary way of …show more content…
This would include husbands, wives, and the rest of the family system. These laws were given to give husbands and wives more rights and abilities and to protect them from every aspect of the marriage. On the other hand, the laws gave women less rights than men. It did, however, protect from any harsh punishments within the marriage. The family as a whole was looked over and protected under Hammurabi’s law on family relationships. If a husband wished to end his marriage, he could not just pick up and leave. He was required to pay a divorce settlement. This was done to protect the wife and their children. If the wife wanted to leave, she could not take everything from the man, including the kids. This was made in order to develop a system to not have one person left with nothing. The husband however was given the rights to decide what happens in the life of both him and his wife. If a mans’ wife was found guilty of cheating for example, he could spare her life or decide to have her killed ( Law 129 ). In many ways, the husband was in charge of his wives entire life. With these laws, the wife didn't have much power or freedom. A benefit given to women in Hammurabi’s Law, would include that if she hated her husband so much, she was given the right to declare and move away. The husband was then required to pay her for what she had when she moved from her fathers home ( Law 149 ). However
In a translation done by L. W. King of Babylonian Law--The Code of Hammurabi, by Rev. Claude Hermann Walter Johns, M.A. who originally wrote the document in 1910, we read about King Hammurabi who was ruler of the Babylonian Empire from 1792-1750 BCE. Hammurabi declared a set of 282 laws which were known as Hammurabi's Code. These laws dealt with many aspects of every day life, offenses and their punishments. It is 1 of the first written codes of law in history. This code was one of the first set of laws created which was written in cuneiform and was adopted by the Sumerians. These laws developed the necessity for one powerful leader. These laws created a step for the vision that the King was the …show more content…
Of course, there was issues between judgment of what was right from wrong. The document attempted to completely end all “savage” human existence. It was designed to end all blood feuds by stating clearly the crime and the punishment, hoping that it would influence society and its decisions. Hammurabi’s law developed a code of punishments to deal with any if not all punishable acts. What decided one’s guilt or innocence however was indeed a process. An accused person was sentenced to perform a task and based on if they succeeded or not, would tell if they were guilty or not. Clearly, cheating on your husband or wife was not as bad as killing your husband or wife. This process sorted out the laws and punishments connecting them with a level of ‘harshness’ and gave complex societies a temporary way of …show more content…
This would include husbands, wives, and the rest of the family system. These laws were given to give husbands and wives more rights and abilities and to protect them from every aspect of the marriage. On the other hand, the laws gave women less rights than men. It did, however, protect from any harsh punishments within the marriage. The family as a whole was looked over and protected under Hammurabi’s law on family relationships. If a husband wished to end his marriage, he could not just pick up and leave. He was required to pay a divorce settlement. This was done to protect the wife and their children. If the wife wanted to leave, she could not take everything from the man, including the kids. This was made in order to develop a system to not have one person left with nothing. The husband however was given the rights to decide what happens in the life of both him and his wife. If a mans’ wife was found guilty of cheating for example, he could spare her life or decide to have her killed ( Law 129 ). In many ways, the husband was in charge of his wives entire life. With these laws, the wife didn't have much power or freedom. A benefit given to women in Hammurabi’s Law, would include that if she hated her husband so much, she was given the right to declare and move away. The husband was then required to pay her for what she had when she moved from her fathers home ( Law 149 ). However