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PLEASE RESPOND TO EACH DISCUSSION. YOUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE 150-200 WORDS

1 day ago

Alejandro Bedoya 

RE: Week Two Discussion 1 Topic 1 – Law Code of Hammurabi

According to the video, Hammurabi became the King of Babylon in 1792 B. C. He ruled for 43 years and took control of most of Mesopotamia. Originally, Mesopotamia was split into city states that was ran by their own rules and regulations but Hammurabi wanted all of Mesopotamia to be under common law so he could continue to rule successfully. This is when he created Hammurabi’s Code, which was an 8ft tall stone slab that had over 282 laws.

After reading through some of the laws posted on Hammurabi’s stone, i believe some laws are first because they cover important issues. An example of this would be the first law posted. It reads, ” If a man bring an accusation against a man, and charge him with a (capital) crime, but cannot prove it, he, the accuser, shall be put to death.” This quickly lets people know that they should not make up or lie about false crimes because if they cannot prove it, they will be put to death.

What the laws told me about the nature of early life is that money, livestock, property and sons were very important to people. I say this because the majority of the first laws listed concern at least one of the subjects I just mentioned. I believe that the laws were just for that time. They were very literal and the laws were very much “an eye for an eye” and although they seem extreme, i think since they were one of the first societies with laws, they needed to be extreme to show people that disorder and crime were not going to be tolerated.

Benjamin Omey 

RE: Week Two Discussion 1 Topic 1 – Law Code of Hammurabi

The code begins with an introduction from King Hammurabi. The introduction explains who King Hammurabi is, his accomplishments, his right to establish law, and his purpose for promoting the welfare of his people. The code then states the laws from 1 to 282. The laws are all pretty basic and describe an offense then a punishment with little if any further explanation. The punishments are very severe and it appears King Hammurabi intended on using them as deterrence from crime. The code ends with King Hammurabi discussing, in detail, his greatness and how he wishes his codes to be passed on.

I read the first 28 laws which deal with the certain rights of the accused/ accuser, theft, and slavery offenses. I think the laws regarding false accusation and other similar offenses come first because they set a precedent for the following laws. Whoever studies the law knows that in order to accuse a person, they must first be able to prove it. The majority of the laws I reviewed appear to deal with property. These laws tell me that early urban life in Mesopotamia was considered wealth, power, and class important. The major concerns appear to be a man’s property including slaves and his family. The way the laws are written makes me believe Mesopotamia was dominated by males and these laws were written in order to insure their dominion.

The ways the laws are written do not seem fair. Although there are some examples where the poor might be punished less, the majority of the property laws are in favor of the rich. For example, even though the rich might have been fined more than the poor, the poorer person would likely be put to death because they could not afford the lesser of the fines. The punishments for many of the offenses, such as death for stealing from a temple, seem very excessive and unjust.