What was Hammurabi's Code? why is it important to learn about?

Question

What was Hammurabi's Code? why is it important to learn about?

Answer 1

Why don't you type on Google "Hammurabi's Code." It played an important part in history and you should study. It is also very interesting if you like history. :)

Answer 2

Code of Hammurabi



An inscription of the Code of Hammurabi.

View of the bas-relief image at the top of the stele.The Code of Hammurabi (also known as the Codex Hammurabi and Hammurabi's Code) was created ca. 1760 BC (middle chronology) and is one of the earliest extant sets of laws, and one of the best preserved examples of this type of document from ancient Babylon. It was created by the sixth Babylonian King, Hammurabi.  Earlier collections of laws include the codex of Ur-Nammu, king of Ur (ca. 2050 BC), the Codex of Eshnunna (ca. 1930 BC) and the codex of Lipit-Ishtar of Isin (ca. 1870 BC).

At the top of the stele is an image of a Babylonian god (thought to be either Marduk, or Shamash), with the King of Babylon presenting himself to the god, with his right hand raised to his mouth as a mark of respect.

The Hammurabi stele image is done in bas-relief on basalt, and the text completely covered the bottom portion of the stele with the laws, written in cuneiform script. The text contains a list of crimes and their various punishments, as well as settlements for common disputes and guidelines for citizens' conduct. The Code does not provide opportunity for explanation or excuses, though it does imply one's right to present evidence. The stele was openly displayed for all to see; thus, no man could plead ignorance of the law as an excuse. Scholars, however, presume that few people could read in that era, as literacy was primarily the domain of scribes. For a comprehensive summary of the laws, see Babylonian law.

History

Hammurabi (ca. 1810 BC – 1750 BC) believed that he was chosen by the gods to deliver the law to his people. In the preface to the law code, he states, "Anu and Bel called by name me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, who feared God, to bring about the rule of righteousness in the land."

The laws numbered from 1 to 282 (numbers 13 and 66-99 are missing) and are inscribed in Old Babylonian cuneiform script on the eight-foot tall stela.  It was discovered in December 1901 in Susa, Elam, which is now Khuzestan, Iran, where it had been taken as plunder by the Elamite king Shutruk-Nahhunte in the 12th century BC.  It is currently on display at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

The code is often pointed to as the first example of the legal concept that some laws are so basic as to be beyond the ability of even a king to change. Hammurabi had the laws inscribed in stone, so they were immutable.

The Code of Hammurabi was one of several sets of laws in the Ancient Near East.  Most of these codes come from similar cultures and racial groups in a relatively small geographical area, and they have passages which resemble each other. The earlier code of Ur-Nammu, of the Ur-III dynasty (21st century BC), the Hittite code of laws (ca. 1300 BC), and Mosaic Law (traditionally ca. 1400 BC under Moses), all contain statutes that bear at least passing resemblance to those in the Code of Hammurabi and other codices from the same geographic area.

All the best :)

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Ham...