What does hammurabi's code of laws tell you about the government of the babylonians?

Question

In my opinion i think that the government of the babylonians was very strict and no nonesense in a way. The laws didnt give the defendent any room to make excuses. Basically it was, you make the mistake, you pay the price what do you guys think?

Answer 1

It's quite difficult to judge from our point of view, ourselves in history we know about something called Human Rights, we've been through a Reinassance and Illustration revolutions were we have rebuilt the image of Human being.

I think we should try to understand the babylonians with the culture they lived in, most likely prefered to keep things undercontrol as a priority than the well being of one man alone. If you keep strict rules you guarantee that society will "function".  The greeks had extreme rules like them as well.

What makes it worse, I have the feeling that goverments today are becoming like that, (not as much of course) but because of terrorism or whatever reasons you want to call it they have limited our freedom.

Answer 2

i think it showed that the government though strict and sometimes unjust was very structured in the sense of being "civilized"

Answer 3

Well, the code shows the values placed on punishment for a crime. However, the coed also shows class distinction and what crime is deemed to be worse.

Answer 4

Yes, it was strict and enforced all occupations to work at their best.  For example, there is a law that states "if a shepherd, without the permission of the owner of the field, and without the knowledge of the owner of the sheep, lets the sheep into a field to graze, then the owner of the field shall harvest his crop, and the shepherd, who had pastured his flock there without permission of the owner of the field, shall pay to the owner twenty gur of corn for every ten gan."

I think the laws show that the Babylonians desired control and justice.  Their environment was unpredictable, and they came to believe that the gods were emotional and arbitrary like the surroundings.  In a place of uncertainty, where floods were erratic and devastating, the laws were the only place available for regulation.

The Code of Laws also tells us that the Hebrews may have influenced the Babylonians, or vice versa.  For instance, there is a law in Hammurabi's code declaring "if a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out."

This eye for an eye mentality may have been adopted by surrounding areas.

As in that time, there were superstitions and religious beliefs that led to laws such as if an accused man jumps into a river and does not drown, the accuser is wrong and should be killed.  Such beliefs were common in the era, as each region did not have as much variety in beliefs as would come later.  This reflects a centralized faith.

In these ways the Code of Laws demonstrates that the Babylonian government had a unified set of tenets, an aspiration for control, and a relationship with neighboring areas.