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Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

Explore the origins of justice and punishment in Mesopotamia under King Hammurabi. This code of 282 laws, including the principle of "an eye for an eye," regulated behavior and imposed stern penalties for violators in Babylon. Learn about societal laws, divine authority, and the importance of individual responsibility.

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Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

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  1. Hammurabi’s Code of Laws

  2. Mesopotamia(Babylon)

  3. Code of Hammurabi • Hammurabi (King of Babylonian Empire from 1792 to 1750 B.C.) maintained control of empire by a code of law • Claimed the gods had chosen him “to promote the welfare of the people,… to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and evil, [so] that the strong might not oppress the weak, to rise like the sun over the people, and to light up the land.”

  4. Code of Hammurabi • High standards of behavior and stern punishments for violators • Death penalty for murder, theft, fraud, false accusations, sheltering of runaway slaves, failure to obey royal orders, adultery, and incest • Civil laws regulating prices, wages, commercial dealings, marital relationships, and the conditions of slavery

  5. Code of Hammurabi • Relied on lex talionis– the law of retaliation • Offenders suffered punishments resembling their violations • If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out. [ An eye for an eye ] (196) • If he break another man's bone, his bone shall be broken. (197) • If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out. [ A tooth for a tooth ] (200)

  6. Code of Hammurabi • Code of 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar placed in the public hall for all to see • Hammurabi Stone depicts Hammurabi as receiving his authority from god Shamash • Set of divinely inspired laws; as well as societal laws • Punishments were designed to fit the crimes as people must be responsible for own actions • Hammurabi Code was an origin to the concept of “eye for an eye…” ie. If a son struck his father, the son’s hand would be cut off • Consequences for crimes depended on rank in society (ie. only fines for nobility)

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