Hammurabi's Code of Law Fair

What was Hammurabi’s Code of Law fair?

Today in class we read a very engaging article. I learned a lot of now interesting facts. It was about the first enforced laws made by the ancient ruler of Babylonia in Mesopotamia, Hammurabi.                                                                                                                                                                             Hammurabi wanted to make his civilization Babylonia just, which means he wanted to make it impartial for everyone. While Hammurabi was sitting on the throne of Babylonia, he made the civilization thrive. Hammurabi brought together all the different city-states, which were living upon their own rulers and own rules. Since Hammurabi combined the city states, he also combined the different laws of the city states creating what is now known as the “Hammurabi’s code”. It was a list containing 280 sections. Hammurabi wanted all other rulers of Babylonia/Mesopotamia, to fight for the same reasons and use the same punishments as he did.                                                                                                                                                                         The article gave us examples of some laws Hammurabi enforced, but I thought that most of them mean and unfair for people. Hammurabi made his code of laws following the phrase “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. For example, If a person destroys a gentleman’s eyes, his eye may be destroyed in turn, or if he breaks a gentleman’s bone, his bone may also be cut off in turn. I don’t like this cruel way of punishing incent people, but I really do understand why Hammurabi thought that it is fair for everyone. Still, I am glad that in the countries we all live in, don’t have laws that work the same way. Another example of an unfair law is when a person gets killed, because his/her house collapses over them, the constructor of the house will be killed, too. If the person’s son or daughter dies, the constructor’s son or daughter will be killed, too. That rule is mostly unfair to the little kids who don’t have anything to do with it. It would be a shame if the constructor has a little baby child that needs to get killed. How is it a kids fault if his/her father made the building unstable? Even the part where the constructor of the house would be killed is unfair, from my point of view at least.                                                                                                                                                                                         Some of the laws of Hammurabi are fair to all people. For example “if a slave strikes at a free man, his ear may be cut of”. I think that this is fair because if the slave strikes at a person for no reason, there must be a punishment. This punishment is neither bad nor good. “If two equals engage in a fair fight and one is injured, the person causing the injury may have to pay for the others medical treatment. However he cannot be punished further for having caused the injury”. This is fair because the person causing the injury won’t need to be punished severely for what he had caused. After all the other person was also continuing the fight knowing he could get hurt. hurt.                                                                                                                                                                        Something that was mentioned as well, is that the punishment is different if a person strikes at a gentleman (upper-class people), a commoner (a worker of some kind) or a slave. It is unfair that the punishment is harder for killing a gentleman than for killing a slave or commoner. They are both people with the same fears, rights, dreams and bodies, just that one of them was born into a wealthier family and the other one into a normal family.                                                                                                                                                                   From my point of view Hammurabi’s is trying to make his laws fair, but most of them are unfair and really disgusting (e.x. one person’s hand or any other part of the body gets cut off if he/she does certain things). I really like that slaves can buy their freedom or even go to other families and work for them. Over all I think that Hammurabi’s code of law fair is fairer to the high class people compared to the slaves and commoners. I also think it has very harsh punishments for some little things that people have done.  

Landeau, Elaine. "Hammurabi's Babylonia." The Babylonians. Print.