Code of Hammurabi
The Code of Hammurabi was written by the sixth king of Babylon, Hammurabi, whose reign was between 1790 and 1750 BCE. The Code of Hammurabi was a set of rules and laws that were created to govern, rule and protect the people of Babylon. In many cases, the Code has been compared to other “eye for an eye” laws, where by the punishment resembled the crime or violations committed.
In the Code, there are various degrees of punishment depending on the individual’s social status. If the individuals are of an equal or equivalent social status, what was done to one individual was done to the other. An example of this would be if one person broke another person’s nose, then as punishment, that person’s nose would be broken. If someone of a higher social status did something to an individual at a lower status, there would be a different punishment. The person of higher social status would be required to pay a fine with gold or silver.
In Babylonian society marriages were important. They represented very beneficial economic and business ties and some of the Code of Hammurabi was written to protect this. In the Code, the women were placed under direction of either their father or husband. The Code even featured several laws that governed the treatment of the woman by those men. This was to ensure that the women were treated reasonably.
The Code created a very strict hierarchy in the society, one where the slaves were treated as slaves and nobles were treated
