Hammurabi

Hammurabi, first ruler of the Babylonian empire, holds the claim of restoring order and justice to Mesopotamia through the establishment of his cod, a code that has affected not only Babylon, but modern times as well and perhaps even the bible. Hammurabi wanted his subjects to obey him because they believed he made just and fair laws, not because they were apprehensive of his formidable military. In about 1786 B.C.E. he wrote two hundred and eighty two laws governing almost every aspect of life in Babylon, onto an eight foot black stone tablet. These became known as “The Code of Hammurabi”. He set the stone where everyone could see and read them. No one had ever set up a code of law to this extent before, although there were several others that came close over the previous four hundred years. Although Hammurabi had the right motives for producing these laws, which he believed Marduk the chief Babylonian God had given to him, many of them seem harsh and cruel by today’s standards. Things like “If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his forehand,” and “If anyone steals the minor son of another, he shall be put to death.”

Although opinions vary on exactly when Hammurabi lived and the important dates of his reign, most believe Hammurabi began his rule in 1792 B.C.E. and died in 1750 B.C.E. Hammurabi was the sixth king of the city of Babylon. However due to almost constant war between the neighboring city-states, solid alliances and weak ones Hammurabi was able to effectively conquer the majority of them by 1763 B.C.E. Eventually his empire would cover most of Mesopotamia. His most memorable achievement, Hammurabi’s Code, was written in or about 1786 B.C.E. He did however do many other things to benefit his empire. He improved the irrigation system, strongly encouraged the exploration of astronomy, mathematics and literature. Hammurabi spent a great deal of time and money fortifying Babylon’s walls, restoring public buildings, and restoring temples. It can be seen that Hammurabi had a very good understanding of the need for water in his efforts to build dams, and canals to harness the power of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Sadly, once Hammurabi died, the Babylonian empire that he had worked so hard to build and improve, would collapse due to military pressure from the Hittites, and eventually fall to the Kassites. Interestingly though, they obeyed and respected the Code that he had set in stone for all to see.

The Code of Hammurabi is a list of two hundred and eighty two laws that cover many parts of life from family and business to civil laws and ethics even prices and trade. They include women, men, sons, daughters and slaves. It seems that all peoples had rights, though the high the rank the less the punishment. These laws were published in almost every city in Hammurabi’s empire. In Babylon they were carved into an eight foot tall black stone, and set in the center of the city. The code starts and ends with a prayer to Marduk who was the chief god in the Babylonian empire. It speaks as if Marduk gave Hammurabi these codes to give to the people. The structure of the code is very specific, with each offense receiving a specified punishment to be carried out in most cases immediately. The punishments tended to be harsh by today’s standards but were nonetheless effective. Phrases like “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” come almost directly from the code. Many of the punishments were either death or to be thrown into the river. The latter an almost certain death sentence as swimming had not really been learned at this point in time. Although the punishments