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The Code Of Hammurabi

The Code of Hammurabi
Babylon was the world’s first metropolis, and a great civilization. The sixth ruler of this remarkable city was King Hammurabi. King Hammurabi established Babylon as the world’s strongest and most developed civilization at the time. Through his ruling, he raised Babylon into the famed Babylonian Empire. Born in the year 1810 BC, the great King Hammurabi accomplished much in his reign over the Babylonian Empire ( 1792 - 1750 BC). Among his multitude of accomplishments are being the first to establish an unquestioned rule over the Mesopotamia, and instituting a monarchy that stretched as far as the Mediterranean. However, Hammurabi’s most essential contribution to history was The Code of Hammurabi. This code of laws was the first written legal system in the world. The Code of Hammurabi is the basis for all legal systems in the world. This body of laws was exhibited publicly, and allowed for all men and women who could read to clearly know what was expected and required of them as individuals, and as a part of Hammurabi’s empire. His Code has shaped all civilization as we know it, and is a vital part of the world’s history.

While it is usually credited as being the first body of laws, Hammurabi’s set of laws were not the first. Antedating bodies of laws have been lost or destroyed, but their existence is clear. Hammurabi’s own code connotes their being. Regardless of it not being the first set of laws created, it still has tremendous significance in the world. Hammurabi’s Code was the first recorded legal system, making it representative of all law before it, and therefore being essentially the first through a cumulative effort. Hammurabi merely recreated a well founded legal system. The actual Code was written into a stone monument. The stela is approximately eight feet tall, with four sides, each with laws written upon them. The monument also contains a carved scene of Hammurabi receiving the laws and the gift of justice from the sun...