Hammurabi Code Analysis

Hammurabi’s Code: Was it Just?

Have you ever disagreed with laws of you country? Or wish that someone else is in power? Well the people of Babylon (a civilization) might have felt the same way. Hammurabi was a king who ruled a small city-state named Babylonia. Hammurabi ruled Babylonia for 42 years for 30 years he was limited to only Babylonia, he was involved in lots of quarrels with other kings of other small city-states. After that in 1792 BCE he became the ruler of much of Ancient Mesopotamia. He ruled over an estimated amount of 1 million people . After this triumph, he wrote a set of laws that are now called Hammurabi’s code. But were those laws fair to his 1 million subjects? Hammurabi’s code was not just because of the following reasons,

If you look at law 23 (document D) “If a robber is not caught, the man who has been robbed shall formally declare whatever he has lost before a god and the city and the mayor in whose territory or district the robbery has a been committed shall replace for him whatever he has lost.” To reinforce this, the people and the mayor who are most likely innocent have to pay for something they most likely didn’t do. Also, he could just fake a robbery and act like he lost something but really didn’t. Not to mention, law 48 (Document D) “ If a has borrowed money to plant his fields and a storm has flooded his field or carried away the crop… in that year he does not have to pay the creditor.” To put it in different words when someone borrows money to plant their crop and something happens to it, they do not have to pay back the money. This is unfair to the person who he borrowed it from because it is not their fault that the field flooded and their money practically got washed away. The person who’s crop was ruined should still pay them back. Of course, the person who’s crop was ruined may have no way to pay them back but the person who helped them out should at least get some