Hammurabi's Code: Then and Now

Hammurabi was the most well-known Mesopotamian king that ruled the Babylonian empire from 1792-1850 BCE. He wanted to keep his empire organized and supervised. Also, he wanted to keep everyone and everybody on one system. To do so, he created a set of rules. He developed almost 300 rules of punishment for all his people in his kingdoms. The rules were written on a stone monument called a Stele.

Some of Hammurabi’s laws had a few similarities but they were also many things different. One difference is if one accused another person of breaking a law or two, then they had to bring them to the court themselves. In our society today, if any laws are broken, then its required to show up at court. One rule is, “If a physician makes a large incision with the operating knife, and kill him, or open a tumor with the operating knife, and cut out the eye, his hands shall be cut off. ” In today’s laws, unless a doctor has proven negligent or a hasten decision, then the doctor cannot be penalized. Therefore, it called “practicing medicine”.

Another difference is, “If a man does not maintain a child that he has adopted as a son and reared with his other children, then his adopted son may return to his father's house. ” Usually, if a parent does not take care of their child, then the child will be removed from the environment, or of its bad enough, the parents will also be jailed. But in this case, if a stepchild is not received like the other children, then this doesn’t necessarily result in criminal actions.

Now to a similarity. “If after the woman had entered the man's house, both contracted a debt, both must pay the merchant. ” This is somewhat similar for people today. If personal loans, medical bills, credit card debt, or bank overdraft debt that is acquired while living together, then it is a must that it be paid back. Another similarity is, “If the robber is not caught, then shall he who was robbed claim under oath the amount of his loss; then shall the community, and. . . on whose ground and territory and in whose domain, it was compensate him for the goods stolen. ” So, in other words, for today that means the insurance company will pay for things like this, whether the thief is apprehended or not.

In conclusion, both today’s laws and Hammurabi’s code laws were meant for protection and to keep order. If we didn’t have any laws or organization, if people did not have any regard for others around them, then everything would be chaotic and dreadful things would happen without any consequences or repercussions. Laws are very necessary and are long lasting throughout years. They establish rights and obligations, along with punishments to people of the community. Laws change, and some differ from other countries, but they have all are meant to maintain order and prevent one from attempting to break any one of these rules.