Caoimhe Bodnar Bodnar 1
Mrs. Guler
Honors World Civ
Document Based Question Hammurabi’s Law Code Document Based Question Walking down the street in Babylonia, it was not an uncommon sight to see dead people hanging in the walls of houses. This was one of the many punishments for crime 1754 BCE in Babylon. The laws were written by the king, Hammurabi, who claimed that the laws were given to him by the gods to help protect the weak. “Hammurabi, the protecting king am I…That the strong might not injure the weak, in order to protect the widows and orphans” (Document B) The laws were written …show more content…
The king Hammurabi ruled for 42 years, in those 42 years as ruler, he compiled a list of 282 laws. Hammurabi was not the first ruler to write down his laws, but he had the most complete law code. With these laws Hammurabi was able to control his vast empire. Some of these laws resulted in physical punishments. These physical punishments could range from a persons hands being cut off, to the person being drowned. There are many opinions about Hammurabi’s Code being just or unjust. It can be shown that these laws are just in many different categories, such as family laws, personal injury laws, and property laws.

There were many problems in Babylon at the time. Due to these problems Hammurabi’s Code is split into three categories. The first category of laws are family laws. An example of a family law is, “If a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off.” (Document C) Many people believe that these laws are cruel and unjust. In this time period, these laws would be the best way to keep order because the loss would be great if you misbehaved. When a son strikes his father, it is …show more content…
Another person might think that these laws were unjust because it causes so much death and bloodshed. While the laws do cause much death, free the rules are enforced a couple of times, people would not do things that would cause themselves of loved ones harm. Instead they would follow the laws and understand that the laws were extreme to keep everyone safe. “If a man 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 his creditor.” (Document D) This laws is just because the creditor knows that weather can be risk, and still loaned the farmer the money. When the storm hits, it isn't the farmers fault. He will have to struggle to feed his family without the crops. Neither of them are doing very well now but if the farmer has more time to pay off his creditor, it will make it better for both parties. The creditor will get paid, and the farmer will have more time to pay him. This is a balance that Hammurabi used to form his code. Hammurabi’s Code is important because it shows us what life was like in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago. It shows what things people where doing wrong and doing right then. It shows some of the common problems people faced then, and how the rules dealt with these problems. In this day, there are many people who are in jail for breaking