How Did The Code Of Hammurabi Compared To Today

Hammurabi’s code is a series of Babylonian law codes engraved on a large stone. They come from ancient Mesopotamia, and date back to around 1754 BC. Today this Code shows us how even back then people were influenced by a central government. These laws were written by King Hammurabi who ruled the Babylonian empire from 1792-50 BCE. His reason for writing these laws was because of how many cities he had conquered, and how much his empire was growing, he needed one universal set of laws to unify everyone in his empire. Like stated in our book, “Hammurabi’s Code covers a broad spectrum of moral, social, and commercial obligations (pg. 26).”
When comparing Hammurabi’s code and todays laws, there are some clear similarities and differences. Although for the most part, both work as a way of punishing a crime.

For example, in the 8th clause it states that if someone stole from a god or palace they would have to pay “thirty-fold” but if they stole from a plebian they would only have to pay “ten-fold”. Another example is in clauses 196 and 198, the severity of the consequences for destroying the eye of someone depended on how high on the hierarchy the victim was. Another big difference was that many of the consequences for the crimes were extreme. Varying from getting their hands cut off to being slain. Today we have less extreme ways for punishing people that have done similar