Code of Hammurabi
Over the centuries, different civilizations used different documents toinsure peace, justice, and a false sense of equality amongst the people. And these documents are part of what make the civilizations. Without them, therewould be no governing statement to say what can, and cannot be done.Hammurabi’s Law Code is an example of one of those documents. It isactually one of the first documents of its kind, and is one of the foundationsfor many documents in history, and even documents in today’s societies. Astellar example is the Bill of Rights. And because Hammurabi’s Law Code hasbeen used as an influence, they share some interesting similarities, andsome equally interesting differences. When it comes to the characteristics the Bill of Rights andHammurabi’s Law Code have in common, one realizes that they are a far lessamount than the amount of differences. The Bill of Rights and Hammurabi’sLaw Code are both, obviously, a set of laws. This means that they both havedecrees that must be followed. Also, the purpose of both of these laws is toprotect and bring justice to the people to whom the rules shall apply.Hammurabi boasted of his purpose for his Law Code by saying, “…to promote the welfare of the people, I, Hammurabi, the devout, god-fearingprince, cause justice to prevail in the land by destroying the wicked and theevil, that the strong might not oppress the weak.” One person even definedthat the Bill of Rights was created to “set the limits on what the governmentcan and cannot do in regards to personal liberties.” When looking at thesetwo documents, many forget to consider the artists behind the masterpieces.Hammurabi and James Madison were both influential figures in theirsocieties. Hammurabi was the sixth king of Babylon, and the first king of theBabylonian Empire. Under his rule, Babylon had conquered most of Mesopotamia’s land, and expanded the empire. James Madison was thefourth president of the United States of America. He was also a leader in theFirst