Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, took power around 1800 B.C. In approximately 1790 B.C., he created the “Code of Hammurabi,” which listed 282 laws to which his people were to abide by. Hammurabi’s laws are one of the first recorded legal codes; it was passed down as an example for future code of laws. These written laws set the model of what the government does and the concept of law and order. The laws made it so that every city-state in Babylon had the same set of laws. The Code of Hammurabi was the uttermost historically significant development in the context of that period introducing laws involving property and adequate punishment to wrong doers, leading en route to a further complex society as well as placing Hammurabi well above
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For example, if a property of land is rented out for one year, the property is taken over by the owner after the year and within that contract year the renter cannot sell the property (Law 31&36). The fact that Hammurabi had to issue over 30 laws about property rights concerning territory, serves as evidence of the shift from the lifestyle of hunters and gatherers to the rise of agriculture and a complex society. These property laws also state the consequences and fines that are issued to those who damage the land of another. For instance, if a neighbor intentionally or accidently floods your fields, he must pay you in corn for your losses (Law #55). We know that farming creates a surplus of food. This allocates that one farmer can feed more people than just himself. Thus allowing others to work on a different skill creating specialization of labor; this is a characteristic of a complex society (listed in our notes). Confirming that the Code of Hammurabi assisted in developing a more complex …show more content…
More importantly Hammurabi’s code marked the beginning of a legal system. The laws made it possible for the city-states to be state organized. This set the concept of a government’s responsibility, all abided by the same consistent regulations. It made it so that laws that are to be governed by the city-state are the same as all other city-states. Not only that but it standardized writing given that the Code of Hammurabi was written out and duplicated so the people of Babylon can address
For example, if a property of land is rented out for one year, the property is taken over by the owner after the year and within that contract year the renter cannot sell the property (Law 31&36). The fact that Hammurabi had to issue over 30 laws about property rights concerning territory, serves as evidence of the shift from the lifestyle of hunters and gatherers to the rise of agriculture and a complex society. These property laws also state the consequences and fines that are issued to those who damage the land of another. For instance, if a neighbor intentionally or accidently floods your fields, he must pay you in corn for your losses (Law #55). We know that farming creates a surplus of food. This allocates that one farmer can feed more people than just himself. Thus allowing others to work on a different skill creating specialization of labor; this is a characteristic of a complex society (listed in our notes). Confirming that the Code of Hammurabi assisted in developing a more complex …show more content…
More importantly Hammurabi’s code marked the beginning of a legal system. The laws made it possible for the city-states to be state organized. This set the concept of a government’s responsibility, all abided by the same consistent regulations. It made it so that laws that are to be governed by the city-state are the same as all other city-states. Not only that but it standardized writing given that the Code of Hammurabi was written out and duplicated so the people of Babylon can address