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Women In The Code Of Hammurabi

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King Hammurabi, of Mesopotamia, reign from 1792-1750 B.C.E. He, in the search of equity and fairness to his people, wrote the Code of Hammurabi. It is composed of 280 laws and standards, in which sets fines and punishments as a consequence of a dishonest or immoral behavior. As he united Mesopotamia, he wanted a set of laws that everyone can relate to, but did not give the same opportunities to everyone to fully understand the code. Each law servers his people accordingly to their statues. This is where we see how the new civilization begun to set hierarchical positions and eventually formed a society where everyone could keep their position. There were the priests, the lugals, the peasants, the servants, and slaves. However, within this categories, there was the group of women that were subjected and dependent to men. Women, according to the Hammurabi’s Code, had certain behavior and economic freedom, but still not much autonomy. …show more content…
Women, in this case, were subjected to form a new environment and dynamic within the four walls their house was built on. They were supposed to take care of their children and husband; they controlled their home. However, they were not granted a respected value without their husband’s approval or support. In these laws, there were signs of compassion if women made a mistake, however if he was the one to misconduct she would get a small reward for her loss. One clear example is on the marriage and family code number

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