The Code of Hammurabi
The Hammurabi code had a massive impact on the legal system’s laws and moral values in the American legal system. The Hammurabi code reflects on the moral values in the entire society. Additionally, the code also has information on how particular situations were handled in ancient Babylonia. According to the Hammurabi code, the nobles were ranked above the slaves and freedmen. Besides, wealthy individuals in society were also considered best in the community (Behroozi Mehrnaz, & Behrokh Jamali, 2019). Crimes involving the rich men were not handled equally compared to the crimes of slaves.
Moreover, if an individual were involved in a crime against a noble individual, there would be severe punishment as a result. Opposed to this, the rich men were often used to offending the slaves and experiencing less severe penalties. The society was characterized by a significant social gap between the noble persons and the slaves. According to Hammurabi’s laws, the nobles should not take advantage of their position and exploit the weak in society.
Life in Babylon was stratified, and people had no equal rights. Different punishments were based on the class of individual. The wealthy individuals benefited in most instances, while the slaves were often subjected to difficult situations. (Pfeffer, 2018) The men had more powers compared to the women because of male chauvinism in the Babylonian society. Women had to remain under the same protection as men. Later on, women felt a significant impact from the powers given to men and requested for more rights that ensured their safety with the multiple rights protecting women in the society. Different classes received different treatment in Babylonian culture. Women enjoyed the benefit of legal protection in numerous instances.
The code also has an insight into the contractual and professional duties that the individuals had in Babylon. If unexpected circumstances came up in the olden time, there were different forms of punishments made to the victims. For instance, doctors would face severe penalties when there were strange events. For example, the death of patients undergoing surgery would result in the doctor being chopped of hands (Pfeffer, 2018). The code contained 282 provisions, which were arranged in several subjects. The king sorted the laws into several categories including, family, individuals’ property trade and real estate. Most of the laws enacted in the Babylonian society encouraged people to accept the king’s authority. Unlike slaves, wealth was not subjected to harsh conditions. This implies that there was discrimination based on the wealth of individuals.
The Hammurabi code stated that the noble should not take advantage of the weak. The king had strong principles that made different crimes undergo different penalties. Additionally, there were also legal actions involved that ensured fair judgement for different crimes. The code stated a tooth for a tooth (Pfeffer, 2018), which meant that criminals underwent severe treatment for their crimes. For instance, some of the violations resulted in ex-communication of individuals involved in crimes like incest. The society did not support any form of injustice. The slaves had more severe punishments compared to wealthy individuals in society. Additionally, crimes in the olden society were had severe punishments, for instance, death and ex-communication depending on the crimes.
Women in the Mesopotamian society were highly protected with the numerous right made after they complained about the many powers that man had. Because of male chauvinism, women felt the need of seeking more protection. This resulted in the many rules that protected women in multiple instances, for instance, in the case of divorces. On the other hand, women were also supposed to follow and seek the protection of men. The women enjoyed several rights in society, for instance, involving marriage. For instance, if a woman fell sick and her husband decided to marry another woman, the law required the man to care and protect the women in the house. On the other hand, in case of a divorce, the man had to provide a woman with sufficient property to cater to her wellbeing. Additionally, men were only allowed to remarry when the children had grown. Women had fewer powers compared to men. Mesopotamian women were protected with numerous rules that favoured them sometimes.
References
Behroozi Mehrnaz, & Behrokh Jamali. (2019). A Comparative Study of Wage Laws and Medical Crimes in the Code of Hammurabi and Avestaean Texts. Medical History Journal 10.35, 109-120.
Pfeffer, L. (2018). Church, State, and Freedom: Revised Edition. Wipf and Stock Publishers.