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First Code of Laws (c. 1754 BCE)

 

First Code of Laws – Code of Hammurabi (c. 1754 BCE)

  1. Who Created It?

    • King Hammurabi of Babylon (ruled c. 1792–1750 BCE).

    • He was the sixth king of the First Babylonian Dynasty.

  2. Where and When?

    • Babylon (modern-day Iraq).

    • Written around 1754 BCE.

  3. What Was It?

    • One of the earliest known legal codes in history.

    • A collection of 282 laws inscribed on a large stone stele.

    • Written in Akkadian cuneiform script.

  4. Purpose of the Code

    • To establish justice and maintain order in society.

    • To protect the weak and vulnerable from the powerful.

    • Aimed at standardizing laws across Hammurabi’s kingdom.

  5. Structure of the Laws

    • Laws covered various aspects of life, including:

      • Property laws (ownership, theft, inheritance).

      • Trade and business regulations.

      • Marriage and family laws (divorce, adultery, rights of women).

      • Criminal laws (punishments for murder, assault, and theft).

      • Labor laws (wages, worker rights, contracts).

  6. Famous Laws & "Eye for an Eye" Principle

    • Law 196: "If a man destroys the eye of another man, they shall destroy his eye."

    • Law 197: "If he breaks another man's bone, they shall break his bone."

    • Law 200: "If a man knocks out the teeth of another man, his own teeth shall be knocked out."

    • This is called the lex talionis (law of retaliation), meaning "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

  7. Social Class Differences in Punishments

    • Laws varied based on social status (nobles, commoners, and slaves).

    • A crime against a wealthy person had a harsher punishment than one against a poor person.

  8. The Stele of Hammurabi

    • A 7.4-foot (2.25-meter) tall basalt stone inscribed with the laws.

    • At the top, there is an engraving of Hammurabi receiving the laws from the sun god Shamash (god of justice).

    • Discovered in 1901 in Susa, Iran (formerly part of the Babylonian Empire).

    • Currently displayed in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

  9. Impact on Later Legal Systems

    • Influenced later legal codes, including Hebrew laws in the Torah and Roman laws.

    • First recorded case of a codified legal system to establish justice.

    • Introduced the idea that laws should be written and publicly available.

  10. Decline and Legacy

  • The Babylonian Empire eventually declined, but Hammurabi’s laws influenced future civilizations.

  • Even today, the concept of justice and proportional punishment originates from this code.

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