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Brief historical overview Image 14
After the Akadians were overthrown by the Babylonians, as a result, one king remained, King Hammurabi. King Hammurabi was an influential king, but wanted to obtain ultimate rule over all of his citizens in Babylonia. Thus creating Hammurabi's Code by using the Sumerian invention of cuneiform, which was the first civilization that settled in Mesopotamia, according to (Code of Hammurabi: Laws & Facts)
What was the Purpose of Hammurabi´s Code?
Hammurabi's Code was composed of 282 laws and legal procedures, mostly from court cases that had previously occurred. The code was inscribed onto a large seven foot, two ton diorite pillar, as stated in (“Code of Hammurabi: Laws & Facts). The code consisted of three parts, first, the prologue. The prologue includes the installment of King Hammurabi as the King of Babylonia. Second, the epilogue. The epilogue consists of Hammurabi and his legal work for the law, such as how the law works. Lastly, the main text has all 282 laws regarding day to day interactions between the citizens of Babylonia, and interactions among all citizens in Mesopotamian proper . All of these points are stated in (Dragatakis).
What made Hammurabi´s Code so historically significant was its ¨eye for an eye¨ precedent, captivating what life was like in Mesopotamia. People see the code as harsh, inhumane, misogynistic, and discriminatory, thus being an unsettled controversy in the historical world, making it very historically important.
Hammurabi´s code had a negative impact on the people of Babylonia. The negative impacts mostly pertained to people within Babylonian society who were not seen as citizens. These people included women and slaves. Hammurabi´s code consisted of unfair laws directed at these groups of people. There were many laws pertaining to women in relation to marital infidelity, and laws pertaining to slaves in the sense as they were dehumanized in the eyes of society. This information shows how people who were seen as "less than" were treated in Mesopotamia. As stated in (“How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems).
How does Hammurabi's code still have an impact in today's world?
Hammurabi's code didn't just have an impact on the people of its time, it impacted civilizations thousands of years later, such as in the U.S. legal system, stated in, (“How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems). Hammurabi´s code was the ¨Skeleton¨ for how the U.S. developed its legal system. The U.S. took many of the legal procedures used in Hammurabi's code such as an ¨Innocent until proven guilty¨ theme, having witnesses take oaths, and including a panels of judges. This shows that the code had a significant impact, not only in Babylonian society, but also in society thousands of years later, as stated in (“How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems).
Discovery and Questions of Hammurbi's Code by Archeologist
1902 French archeologist began digging in an archaeological site in the ruins of ancient Elamite, modern day southern Iraq.
At the same archeological site in southern Irap, the archeologist Jacques de Morgan discovered the diorite pillar Hammurabi's code was inscribed on.
The pillar consisting of the code being found in the ruins of Elamite instead of Babylon arose some questions within the archelogical world.
The question as to why the code was found in Elamite was ultumintly traced back to the ancient rivalry between the two cities. The stolen code was said to be captured as a pit from the Elamites against the Babylonians.
Additional resources for more information
www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/vorderasiatisches-museum/home/
This video talks about how and why Hammurabi's code was created and the laws the code consisted of.
This short video speaks of when the stone pillar Hammurabi's code was inscribed on was found, and a brief overview of the King and the code.
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