Humurrabi's Code

361 Words2 Pages
The Code of Hammurabi is considered as one of first known attempts create a written code of conduct. King Hammurabi ruled Babylon at approximately 2000 B.C. The Code provided a basis for order and certainty essential for commerce. The Code made rules regarding sexual relationships, theft, interpersonal violence, and other issues. It was ment to replace blood feuds with a system sanctioned by the state. This code has a huge impact in many government systems, including the U.S. law. Hammurabi’s code had a huge impact in modern governments because it was one of the first written documents that talked about government. It shaped many governments by giving them a outline for how to write the government out. Hammurabi made the laws to keep together his kingdom but what he did had such an importance on law making today. Hammurabi's laws are evident in our present day society because his method of thought and morals set the precedent for our own. The Code of Hammurabi is significant because its creation allowed men, women, slaves, and all others to read and understand the laws that governed their lives in Babylon. It is unique in that laws of other civilizations were not written down, and thus could be manipulated to suite the rulers that dictated them. The Code is particularly just for its time. Although it follows the practice of "an eye for an eye", it does not allow for vigilante justice, but rather demands a trial by judges. It also glorifies acts of peace and justice done during Hammurabi’s rule. It symbolizes not only the emergence of justice in the minds of men, but also man’s rise above ignorance and barbarism toward the peaceful and just societies still pursued today. In the words of Hammurabi as carved on the stone, "Let any oppressed man who has a cause come into the presence of my statue as king of justice, and have the inscription on my stele read out, and
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