Babylonian Society And People example essay topic

The people of ancient Babylon lived their lives not how they wanted to, but by 'The Code of Hammurabi'. The code was the major reflector and shaper in the ancient Babylonian society. If there was something they wanted to do, they had to make sure that it wasn't against the code, because if it was, the consequences were serious, and could mean their life. But without the code, their society would be much more uncivilized and inhumane. Without the code, they wouldn't have been as advanced and as knowledgeable as they were.

The code of Hammurabi reflected many things about the Babylonian society. It reflects that stealing was a very bad thing to do, in more than one way. For example, if someone stole an ox, a sheep, an ass, a pig, or a ship, they would have to pay thirty times the value of what they had stolen, and if they could not repay, they would be put to death. If someone attempted to break into another person's house, they would be killed and buried there, and if a man took a slave and made it his, his hands would be cut off.

Honesty was another thing that was very important to the Babylonians. If a woman was accused by her husband of sleeping with another man, and she can't prove that she hadn't, she had to throw herself in the river. This also shows that adultery was unacceptable. For example, if a man's wife were caught with another man, the two would be tied together and thrown in the river. Incest was also forbidden in their society.

If a man slept with his daughter, he would be banned from the city. Respect was also valued greatly in the Babylonian society. If a wife hadn't been economical, and neglected and humiliated her husband, she would be thrown in the river. If a man hit his father, his hand would be cut off.

They also had several rules like: eye for an eye, limb for a limb, etc. Responsibility was also important because if a builder built a house, and it collapsed and killed the owner, the builder would be put to death, but if a slave were killed, the builder would have to give the owner a slave. This is what the code of Hammurabi reflected about the Babylonian society. The code of Hammurabi helped shape up the Babylonian society to make it more civilized and a more pleasant and happier place to live.

Because stealing was unlawful, people didn't have to be worried about all of their stuff being stolen. If honesty wasn't prohibited, lots of people would be lying and the society they had been living in would be a more questionable place of uncertainty. Since adultery was unaccepted in their society, people wouldn't have to be worried about getting sexually transmitted diseases, and wouldn't lose their spouse's trust. Respect was another great thing that shaped up the Babylonian society, and it made them more civilized, rather than living like animals.

Responsibility was also a big part of their society so people wouldn " have to be worried about their house falling on them, because the builder hadn't built it correctly. People also wouldn't have to be worried about getting killed because someone hadn't taken proper care of their ox. One negative thing about responsibility was if a doctor treated a gentleman for a severe wound or loss of eyesight, and causes the man to die or lose his vision, the doctor's hands would be cut off. This may have frightened many people that had wanted to become doctors, but hadn't because of the fear of messing up. If this wasn't part of the code of Hammurabi, there may have been more doctors, that could have discovered new treatments for all sorts of sicknesses and diseases, and could have bumped their technology a few steps up. The code of Hammurabi shaped the Babylonian society to make it a more pleasant place to live in.

The code of Hammurabi compares much with the law-systems of today in many ways. Today and back then, there are many of the same rules and laws. People couldn't steal in the Babylonian society, and people cannot steal in the societies of today. In their society, it may have been because people just didn't want their things to be stolen from them. Nor could they lie or commit adultery because they were both dishonest. They also could not kill or hit people.

In the societies of today, these laws are present for the same reasons as in the Babylonian society and also because it says in most if not all holy books 'though shall not steal, commit adultery, kill, or lie'. In the Babylonian society and in today's societies, some of the same laws are present, but the consequences are different. There were positive and negative things in the code of Hammurabi, and both of them helped the societies of today improve their law system. For all these reasons, the way people lived depended on the code of Hammurabi. This was showed by how the code reflected and shaped the Babylonian society, and how it compared to today's laws. Their law system was well planned and determined by the code of Hammurabi.

Without it, the ancient Babylonian society would have been much different then how it was, and the people would have been more uncivilized.