Preview

Hammurabi Code Of Western Civilization Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
412 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hammurabi Code Of Western Civilization Essay
Western Civilization characterized the start of humanity, and the evolution of mankind from the manner of survival techniques to the urbanization of human civilization. Continuously, we see the repeated themes of religion, the simultaneous tie of divide and conquer in relation to expansion, intellectual awakening in the arts and philosophy, death, and the shift of governmental power as it transfers in the hands of an individual monarch, democracy, and so on. The present and the future are set and defined by the actions of Western Civilization as we continue to see the laws of Hammurabi’s code and the bible continue to dictate official bodies of paper, the art work displayed in museums, the roots of religion and the birth of new religions, education and institutions, rebellious nature of humanity, new advances in medicine and science, the exploration and discovery of land and its inhabitant with the rise of traditions and …show more content…
Immediately, the importance of texts proved crucial since documents and historical findings tell of how they people of certain times acted; what Gods they believed in, cultures, and their way of life. Then in History 100 we jumped into the text of Hammurabi’s code, the first written legal code, that expanded on the information of civilizations regarding their moral, sexual, and political values. Gradually, we entered the realm of Hebrew religion, and the radical belief of monotheism, and then to, which I believe to be the major turning point of Western Civilization; philosophy, which introduced reason. Socrates, the father of philosophy began questioning Athenian democracy and provided a voice of reason and then was followed by Plato with his arguments of democracy and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Imagine you lived in ancient Babylon and Hammurabi had just created his code. There would be 282 laws on a stone stele in the center of the city. Together, these laws were called Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi ruled for a total of 42 years. But unfortunately, Hammurabi’s code was unjust because of it’s family and property laws.…

    • 348 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The year is 1700 BC in Babylon and a new age has just began. A leader by the name of Hammurabi has introduced one of the oldest recorded set of laws. Hammurabi was a powerful military leader. He led Babylon to take control of most of Mesopotamia. He wrote the laws after being instructed to write them by many powerful gods including Shamash, the great god and judge of Heaven and Earth. Hammurabi’s Code includes 282 laws with punishments for each law. Hammurabi’s Code was described in the bible as “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. Hammurabi’s Code was just because it protected the weak, promoted the social welfare, and came from a higher power.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Amorites established cities on the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers and made Babylon, a town to the north, their capital. During the time of their sixth ruler, King Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.), Babylonian rule encompassed a huge area covering most of the Tigris-Euphrates river valley from Sumer and the Persian Gulf in the south to Assyria in the north. To rule over such a large area, Hammurabi devised an elaborate administrative structure. His greatest achievement, however, was the issuance of a law code designed "to cause justice to prevail in the country, to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong may not oppress the weak." The Code of Hammurabi, not the earliest to appear in the Near East but certainly the most complete, dealt…

    • 149 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    People should not break laws any ways, but most people did not break laws in 1792 because, if you did you could have your eyes gouged out, you could have your hands chopped off and you could even be killed. Hammurabi was a good king to the people of babylon in 1792 BCE. He created laws to keep people from doing bad things and to keep people from going crazy, he also wanted to protect family’s, orphans and the poor. The question is “Was Hammurabis code Just” most people wonder what does just mean, just means fair. I believe that Hammurabi’s code is fair and I will explain in the next paragraph.…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Code Essay

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hammurabi was the king of Babylon, he rued for 42 years. One day the god Shamash came down to earth and told Hammurabi to create laws. These laws were called Hammurabi’s code. Hammurabi created these laws to protect the weak, he wrote is laws on a big pillar, like stone called a stele he wrote his laws in an ancient writing called cuneiform. Although gods allowed him to make these laws, not all of them were fair. Some of his laws were fair and some were not.…

    • 512 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Dbq Essay

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found against the wrong” (Theodore Roosevelt). To start off let’s talk about Hammurabi, a king not many people knew about. Thanks to clay writing tablets found by archaeologist, we know some things about him. Some things we know about Hammurabi is that he was a king for 42 years! In addition to that he was a king of a city-state in Mesopotamia called Babylon. Something else about Hammurabi is that he took power in 1792 BCE. Hammurabi also developed a code consisting of an astonishing 282 laws. My paper will answer the question, “Was Hammurabi’s Code fair?” There are three areas of law in Hammurabi’s Code which can be proven to be just. These three areas of law are family law, personal injury law, and property law.…

    • 875 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hammurabi Code Analysis

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    There is much to be learned about societies throughout history just from reading the texts that originated from them. Hammurabi’s Code, Zarathustra’s teachings on Good and Evil, Laozi’s Living in Harmony with Dao and Ibn Battuta’s text on Customs all provide a narrative on different aspects of culture including religious practice, governance, architecture, and societal structure.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Code Of Hammurabi Essay

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First of all; Hammurabi was a Mesopotamian king who recorded a system of laws called the Code of Hammurabi. Code of Hammurabi is a set of 282 rules and penalties devised by the Babylonian King, Hammurabi. King Hammurabi ruled Babylon, placed along the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, from 1792–1750 BCE. During his time as king he oversaw a great expansion of his kingdom from a city-state to an empire. He was concerned about keeping order in his kingdom but that wasn't the only cause for amassing the list of laws. As he conquered other cities and his kingdom grew, he saw the need to unify the groups he controlled. To accomplish this goal, he needed one universal set of laws for all the people he conquered the Hammurabi Code.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Take Home Exam #1 Discuss the legal concept of lex talionis (retributive justice) of which Hammurabi's code (among others) is an example. How does this differ from distributive (or corrective) justice? How does this compare to our system of justice in the U.S. today? Lex Talionis follows the ideology of retributive justice, one of four types of justice that is mainly affixed on punishment.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Code Of Hammurabi Essay

    • 2713 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Hammurabi was a Babylonian king who ruled from 1792 to 1750 B.C. His attributes were he extended his empire northward from the Persian Gulf to the Tigris and Euphrates River and west to the Mediterranean Sea. He united the area into one extensive empire, Mesopotamia, which in present day is known as Iraq. (Ancient Mesopotamia)…

    • 2713 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi Research Paper

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What does it mean to be just? Being just is behaving according to what is morally right and fair. Hammurabi's Code was a code instated in 1750 BC when Hammurabi was the King of Babylonia. The code was imprinted onto a stone pillar and was placed in the center of town so everyone could see it and know what the laws were. Hammurabi's code was just for that time period. It showed that Hammurabi was strict and was very protective over his community. Although the punishments were harsh, they fit the time they were instated. The punishments usually involved bodily harm or being locked away for life. The main reason Hammurabi created this code was for the helpless people that could not defend themselves, also known as the widows and orphans. Hammurabi’s Code was just.…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hammurabi's Code

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “If a man strikes the slave girl of a free man and causes her to lose the fruit of her womb, he shall pay two shekels of silver.” A non slave would be paid ten shekels of silver. Isn’t that unfair? Hammurabi was the king of Babylonia in the 18th century B.C.E. He is very important. He wrote one of the world’s oldest sets of laws, which now is studied by many people. I feel Hammurabi’s code is unjust because of its Property laws, Family laws, and Personal-Injury laws.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Code Of Hammurabi Essay

    • 2635 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The physical environment of the Mesopotamians generally led to a pessimistic outlook with an emphasis on satisfying their angry gods P12-13…

    • 2635 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Code of Hammurabi

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Mohandas Gandhi once stated, “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” Although this may be true for modern times, it seems that the mighty Babylonian king Hammurabi would laugh at such a statement. His response to Gandhi (had they lived even remotely in the same time era) would probably be something like, “Why is my whole kingdom not blind then?” Rewind to about 1772 BC, when king Hammurabi established a collection of principles to move his empire in the right direction. Hammurabi instituted a set of laws that held people both morally and legally accountable through stern values and unique organization he believed could be the backbone of a thriving empire.…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Code Of Hammurabi

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    He was called to bring about the rule of righteousness. His code was established to destroy the evil in the land. Hammurabi received this authority from the Anu the Sublime, King of Anunanki, and Bel, the lord of Heaven and earth. This implies that all rulers are divinely anointed. As one expands their control over larger areas, this could cause problems because not everyone has the same beliefs and gods. This means, in turn, that the people may not see the rulers anointment as credible. This may be one reason why Hammurabi list all of the cites and gods he has benefitted. He received his calling and authority from his gods. To prove that his authority is true, he names all of the other…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays