Breanna Thompson

History 1100
Document Analysis Essay
26 October 2014

The Code Of Hammurabi, King Hammurabi

King Hammurabi was fulfilling the kings responsibility by creating a code of laws for the
people of Babylon. Babylon was a great city on the Euphrates river. The laws King Hammurabi
created covered slander, trade, slavery, the duties of workers, and theft. There were three classes
of people in Babylon during this time, their was the free persons, commoners, and slaves. Their
society was so large that King Hammurabi established hierarchy and laws in Babylon.

King Hammurabi was king for 46 years, 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. of Babylon. After his
father, Sin-Muballit was unable to fulfill his duties, Hammurabi assumed the responsibility of
being the King over the Babylonian Empire. Hammaurabis empire covered all of Mesopotamia.
Hammurabi was best known for the code of laws he created. Hammurabi was influenced by
Sumerian gods so much that he created a code of divinely ordained laws, the first detailed
written law code in history. Hammurabis reign was quite peaceful during the first few decades
of his reign because they were at peace. Since Hammurabi was king, he used his power to create
a series of public works, including heightening the city walls for defensive purposes, and
expanding the temples. The heightening of the city walls was very beneficial when the people of
Elam attacked the Mesopotamian plains in 1801 B.C.E. Hammurabi established an alliance with
the king of Larsa to conquer the Elamites. Hammurabi provided most of the military power with

Larsa contributing very little military power. Hammurabi wasnt happy with Larsa for not
providing more military, so he took control over the entire lower Mesopotamian plan by 1763
B.C.E. Hammurabi continued his expansion into the north by conquering Eshnunna and the
remaining northern states. Hammurabi went to war against Ishme-Dagan I of Assyria to obtain
control over all of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi won the war and forced the new king of Assyria,
Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute to him. Mesopotamia was united by the success of Hammurabi.
When Hammurabi died, in 1750 B.C.E, his son Samsu-iluna began king and ruler of the
Babylonian empire. The Babylonian empire began to quickly unravel under the rule of Samsuiluna.

Babylon was located on the central southern Mesopotamian plains. Babylon was one of
the larger city-states within Mesopotamia. Babylon was the capital city of Mesopotamia. The
Mesopotamian plains were by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. They choose this area because of
the climate and the fertile land for farming. They used the water from the rivers to water their
food crops. They created canals to run the water from the river to their food crops.
Mesopotamias territory not only included Babylon, but also Mari, Rapiqum, Eshnunna, Slipper,
Malgium, Kish, Nippur, Isin, Larsa, Uruk, Lagash, Ur, and Eriqu. Western Civilization was
influenced by Mesopotamians developments in private commerce laws and learning.

King Hammurabi created the most famous set of early laws that was called the Codes of
Hammurabi. There are a total of 282 laws. Hammurabi felt that it was the kings responsibility;
so that the powerful may not oppress the powerless, to provide justice for the orphan and the
window let the victim of justice see the law which applies to him, let his heart be put at ease.

When Hammurabi created the law code, he divided society into three-parts; free persons,
commoners, and slaves. It is not known what mades the two categories different, but free person
outrank commoners in the Babylon society. The laws were created with the idea of an eye for
and eye. There were laws against slander, like law number 127 that stated "if any one "point
the finger" at a sister of a god or the wife of any one, and cant prove it, this man shall be taken
before the judges and his brow shall be marked. (by cutting the skin, or perhaps hair.) There
were also laws about trade, like law number 265, that stated "if a herdsman, to whose care cattle
or sheep have been entrusted, be guilty of fraud and make false returns of the natural increase, or
sell them for money, then shall he be convicted and pay the owner ten times the loss. Also,
there were laws about slavery, like law number 15, that stated "if any one take a male or female
slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put
to death. There were also laws that covered the duties of the workers, like law number 42 that
stated "if any one take over a field to till it, and obtain no harvest therefrom, it must be proved
that he did no work on the field, and he must deliver grain, just as his neighbor raised, to the
owner of the field. Also, there was laws about theft like law number 22 that stated "if any one
is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death. The laws also covered
food like law number 104 that stated if a merchant give an agent corn, wool, oil, or any other
goods to transport, the agent shall give a receipt for the amount, and compensate the merchant
therefor. Then he shall obtain a receipt from the merchant for the money that he gives the
merchant. It is important to know that there was different punishments for the different
hierarchies in Babylon. The free class had the most leeway when it came to breaking the laws,
punishments were not as severe as a slaves punishments. The slaves punishments were much
more harsh because of their social class in the society. Women had limited rights. They could

make business contracts and appear in court. The only reason a wife could divorce her husband
was for cruelty but a husband could divorce his wife for any reason. Wifes could keep the
property that they had before the marriage.

There were many burglaries and assaults against those who lived in Babylon. The brides
father arranges her marriage to the groom and sealed it with a legal contract. Magic with potions
and specific diets were used for Mesopotamias medicine. Many women owned wineshops that
offered drinks and a place to relax. The citizens enjoyed the open spaces of the parks to get
away from the crowed cities and oders. The mathematicians created positional notations and a
system based on the sixty, that we still use for minutes, hours, and degrees. Babylon was the
center for education. Marduk was the main god that was worshipped by the Babylonians.
Mesopotamians had an astrological belief that the movement of celestial objects affected human
life that helped them develop a skill in describing the past of the stars and the planets.
Mesopotamian stargazers created charts and tables that enabled the later advances in
astronomical knowledge. The Babylonians created a system of irrigation using canals to feed
their crops. This made Babylon one of the most fertile cities even though it was in the desert.
They were creative in arts and crafts. The Babylonians made beautiful buildings and temples.

King Hammurabi took great responsibility over the Babylonians in creating laws that
would help the control over populated area as well as the protection of the higher class people.
The laws in many ways were unfair, but Hammurabi felt that it was beneficial for all three
classes. Mesopotamia was filled with cities and water resource for the farms. There were great
advancements in mathematics and astrology during this time of Hammurabis reign. The laws

that Hammurabi created was a reflection of the people during that time. It showed the first real
structure of a society with laws to insure order. Hammurabi had more temples build because of
his strong belief for the Sumerian god and for the people to worship their gods. Their society
was so large that King Hammurabi established hierarchy and laws in Babylon.

Sources:______________________________________________________________________

"Babylonia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia>.
"Code of Hammurabi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Hammurabi>.
"Hammurabi." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammurabi>.
Hunt, Lynn, Thomas Martin, Barbara Rosenwein, and Bonnie Smith. The Making of the West.
Third ed. Vol. One. Boston: Mary Dougherty, 2010. 559. Print.