Preview

Hammurabi: Righteous Rule Or Law

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
506 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hammurabi: Righteous Rule Or Law
The idea of any rule being righteous is often questioned, since a righteous rule or law is very ambiguous . In the past, Hammurabi created the first complete set of rules called, Hammurabi’s Code, that was intense in some area’s , and too lenient in others. In some of his rules,he wasn’t fair to the accused, to the victim, and to the society in all his laws.
The accused should be punished enough to learn the lesson. Being harsh is necessary in some cases, but some cases harshness goes to the extreme. For instance as law 143,If she has not been discreet, has gone out, ruined her house, belittled her husband, she shall be drowned. Death is a punishment for too many laws, instead of drowning her. Why don't they divorce her leaving her no property
…show more content…
Getting what the victim wants out of the accused is a failed object Hammurabi managed to hit. As in Hammurabi’s 195th law, without hands a child has no way of becoming an artisan or an merchant. The my dad wants respect from me, not for the me to becoming disabled. Next, killing someone doesn’t always make the circumstance fair to the victim. For instance, law 129, by binding the married lady with another man, they will die. Then what happens to the married man, and what if they had a child. Victim should gain what they lost ,not lose more things precious to them.
Changes to society Sometimes the punishments could traumatize the accused, which leads him to harm the society. Such as law 48, maybe the man thinks making an trench and planting is more than enough work. Thinking that this is unfair Other times the accused could be useful to society, but instead they punished him to no longer be useful. In law 218, a highly skilled surgeon got the luck of trying to save a person that damaged almost all vital organs, now the surgeon fails and loses his hands. Without hands the surgeon can not operate, and he can not of save hundreds of more lives .

Although Hammurabi’s code could be seen as just, but some ideas he has are thought out incorrectly. Overall Hammurabi’s laws can’t be said as righteous in every way, since they god of unjust must of work with the god of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi DBQ

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Conclusion In conclusion, there are just laws in Hammurabi’s Code. These laws are just because he gave people things back and the gods gave him the right to rule.It is also just because he said people dont have to pay people back if there plants were…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Code Dbq

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To begin with, Hammurabi’s Code threatened the family. For example, in law 129, it said if a married woman is caught with another man, they will both get tied up and cast to water. Also, in law 195, it said that if a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off. Based on what I read, in law 129, you cannot be with another man or they will kill both of you. Law 129 shows, if you hit your father they will cut your hands off and now the family is going to get separated. As you can see, these laws are supposed to protect you, but either way you get hurt.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi Dbq

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To begin with, Hammurabi’s code was just because it helped the family be together. For instance, in Law 129 it says if a married lady is caught in adultery, they shall both be bind and cast into water. Also, in Law 195 it says that if a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off. Based on what I read, Law 129 helped the lady and the man be together. On Law 125 it shows that it helped children be obedient. As you can see, these Laws helped the family be together by being obedient.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hammurabi’s laws were based on the harsh “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” mentality of the ancient era, requiring a death penalty for many slight offenses. For example, according to the twenty-first law in Hammurabi’s code, “if any one breaks a hole into a house (break in to steal), he shall be put to death before that hole and be buried” (citation). In accordance to this law, anyone who tried—it did not matter if he actually did—to steal and was caught would be sentenced to death instantly. In fact, the Code further stated that even people who were discovered merely buying items from a robber would also be sentenced to death. This was not fair because if the robber is found but…

    • 1585 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine this: you are walking around in an outdoor market when you feel someone take your wallet. You turn around and you see a person. You accuse them of stealing your wallet and it gets taken to trial, when right in the middle a person comes in and confesses to the crime. Suddenly, the current trial ends and a new trial begins: against you. The judge decides to cut your hands off for falsely accusing someone while the thief gets away scot-free (Journey Across Time). I bet you’re thinking that it would be totally unfair to get your hands cut off while a thief gets away with stealing your wallet, just because you thought someone else stole it, then you are completely correct. However, if you lived during Hammurabi’s rule, then this situation might have actually happened. Hammurabi was an ancient king who ruled a small city-state in Mesopotamia, called Babylonia. Hammurabi ruled for 42 years from 1792 BCE (Before Current Era)-1834 BCE. Around Hammurabi’s 38th year of rule, he created a law code which he carved on a large stone column called a stele. Now you know a little background, we can start answering our main question: Was Hammurabi’s Code just? I don’t think so and here are three reasons why.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Dbq Essay

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found against the wrong” (Theodore Roosevelt). To start off let’s talk about Hammurabi, a king not many people knew about. Thanks to clay writing tablets found by archaeologist, we know some things about him. Some things we know about Hammurabi is that he was a king for 42 years! In addition to that he was a king of a city-state in Mesopotamia called Babylon. Something else about Hammurabi is that he took power in 1792 BCE. Hammurabi also developed a code consisting of an astonishing 282 laws. My paper will answer the question, “Was Hammurabi’s Code fair?” There are three areas of law in Hammurabi’s Code which can be proven to be just. These three areas of law are family law, personal injury law, and property law.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Unit I Dbq

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hammurabi's code of law in document one of the many methods by which rulers established their power. Like many rulers, Hammaurabi created a code of law, that the people in his empire had to adhere to. Creating a code of law was not meant to be cruel but to inform people living within the empire that their were rules and regulations that they had to follow. “If any one steal the property of a temple or of the court, he shall be put to death,and also the one who receives the stolen thing from him shall be put to death.” Law number six makes it evident that religion played a part in society and people had to respect that as well.…

    • 421 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Almost 4000 there was a king named Hammurabi. He ruled over a small city-state called Babylon. Hammurabi Ruled for 42 years, but the first 30 were pretty uneventful and he only had power over Babylon which even though it was the capitol of Babylonia was pretty small. But the last 12 were when things got more interesting. Hammurabi devised a plan so that he would have almost absoulute power and even after he died he would have millions of people still following him. So he made a list of laws called Hammurabi’s code which were the first ever set of written laws. Now many people loved Hammurabi and many more hated him. But, the question still remains…was Hammurabi’s code just or unjust?…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mesopotamia PERSIAN CHART

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hammurabi also established a set of laws that is today called the Code of Hammurabi. This was a system of harsh laws divided into groupings such as slavery, trade, and household laws. An example of his laws are: If a son should strike his father, his hands shall be cut off.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi's Code

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I think the property laws in Hammurabi’s Code are unjust. I find law 21 striking and unfair. “If a man has broken through the wall (to rob) a house, they shall put him to death and pierce him, or hang him in the hole in the wall which he has made.” I don’t agree with this law for two reasons. First, this punishment is way too harsh. If someone robs a house now, they wouldn’t be put to death; they would just be put in jail. My final reason is that I don’t think that the robber should be killed in the house that he robbed. I wouldn’t want anyone being hung or pierced in my house.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For the most part in the modern world, all people are thought to be created and therefore treated equally. It is instinctual for humans to act in a moral way towards others, and the law in theory protects innocent people from crime and civil injustice. But in ancient Babylonia these standards of society were not present. Hammurabi’s Code, was not in correlation with the modern sense of morality. There is a distinct difference between what is right, and what is the law. But because the government has authority over its citizens, then most people will feel an obligation to act in accordance with whoever it is in the position of authority. A very prevalent theme in Hammurabi’s Code is that of “An eye for an eye,” or the concept that if someone causes harm to another person, then the perpetrator should receive an equal punishment. In the case of a robbery or a minor crime, this concept would seem reasonable. But there are many instances where this idea becomes immoral. For example, if a man’s house collapses and then kills him, the builder or architect of the house would be sent to death as well. Hammurabi’s code does not account for coincidences or mistakes.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabis Code

    • 849 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Imagine a society without rules and regulations. Everyone can do exactly what they want and there is no difference between what is right and wrong. This is the world that the people of Babylon lived in before King Hammurabi took reign. Hammurabi ruled the city-state of Babylon in the early 1800’s BCE, during the 38th year of his rule, Hammurabi created a set of laws supposedly given to him directly from the god of justice himself, Shamash. According to Document A, the 282 laws, promoting justice to the weak, were carved into large pillar shaped stones called stele. They later became known as Hammurabi’s Code. Today we are going to analyze these laws in order to determine whether or not they were fair to the victim, the accused, and society. Personally I believe that these laws were indeed fair in his ancient era , although we don’t know much about life in this century, by studying these laws we can find out.…

    • 849 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Vs Exodus

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This essay will explore the differences between Hammurabi’s code of law and laws from the book of Exodus. The laws were similar but had their true differences when it came to punishments. Hammurabi’s code consists of laws that mostly deal with commercial transactions, slavery, marriage relationships, and theft. These laws contained “if” statements and various types of punishments that were inconsistent. As for the book of Exodus, it was the total opposite. In this document, they describe the laws to be more of regulations in the form of divine commands placed down by god through Mosses. Hammurabi’s code and the laws handed down by Mosses were all in fair judgment. With this similarity, one can assume the good intentions behind these laws.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Is Hammurabi Wrong

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Hammurabi’s Code was harsh and quick in order to serve as a deterrent. The code’s harshness made people see what would happen to them if they broke the law. His code stopped people from breaking the law, so it protected the weak from the strong. The U.S does not have a harsh and quick system. In fact, it is very slow and does not have many major punishments. Many laws are broken in the U.S because our laws do not serve as a deterrent. If Hammurabi visited the U.S today I think he would not be pleased and he would not feel that his ideal was not being met. Hammurabi wanted to protect the weak from the strong, but the system of laws the United States has does not execute this. People rob, hurt, and even kill people on a day to day basis! Hammurabi…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people may say that the death penalty is a horrible way of justice but some may disagree. In my paper I will compare and contrast the 18th century B.C. code of Hammurabi and its liberal use of using the death penalty in the United States today. Throughout my essay I will address the following questions, Are there any instances in which the death penalty is considered justice? Why is killing in some cases murder? Might there be a historical connection between the code and United state laws?…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays