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From a political science perspective, Hammurabi's Code is valuable and fundamental because it demonstrates how law was used to reinforce social hierarchies and maintain control. Pearn (2016) writes that the Code's laws were applied differently depending on a person's social class, so nobles received greater protection than commoners and ...
A carving at the top of the stele portrays Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash, the Babylonian god of justice, [32] and the preface states that Hammurabi was chosen by Shamash to bring the laws to the people. [33] Because of Hammurabi's reputation as a lawgiver, his depiction can be found in law buildings throughout the world.
The upper part of the stele of Hammurabi's code of laws. The legal code was a common feature of the legal systems of the ancient Middle East. Many of them are examples of cuneiform law. The oldest evidence of a code of law was found at Ebla, in modern Syria (c. 2400 BC). [1]
In the earliest texts, it can be difficult to discern to what extent a particular religious injunction held force as secular law. In later texts, the rationale for abortion laws may be sought in a wide variety of fields including philosophy, religion, and jurisprudence. These rationales were not always included in the wording of the actual laws.
Cuneiform law refers to any of the legal codes written in cuneiform script that were developed and used throughout the ancient Middle East among the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Elamites, Hurrians, Kassites, and Hittites. [1] The Code of Hammurabi is the best-known of the cuneiform laws, but there were a number of precursor laws. [1]
If the man were proven innocent through this ordeal, the accuser was obligated to pay three shekels to the man who underwent judgment. [18] The Code of Hammurabi dictated that, if a man was accused of a matter by another, the accused was to leap into a river. If the accused man survived this ordeal, the accused was to be acquitted.
However the reciprocal justice applies across social boundaries: the "eye for eye" principle is directly followed by the proclamation "You are to have one law for the alien and the citizen." [31] This shows a much more meaningful principle for social justice, in that the marginalized in society were given the same rights under the social structure.
But Zimri-Lim's palace at Mari held an archive that included letters and other texts that provide insight into the alliance between the king and Hammurabi, as well as other leaders in the Syro-Mesopotamian region. These documents survived because Hammurabi had burned the palace down — which buried the material, thus preserving it. [17]