Hammurabi essays

Hammurabi essays In ancient Mesopotamia Hammurabi's Law Code were just and reasonable, but the punishments were very retaliatory and barbaric. The system of laws applied to all citizens, however, punishment was not equally applied to all citizens. Punishments had social, gender and government inequality. Different social classes were not equally punished. Despite the inequalities of punishments, Hammurabi's Law Code was a new and great development. The most corrupt and controversial issues were the social or class differences. The laws are reasonable in trying to correct a wrong, but in most cases are extremely unreasonable and unfair in the application of punishment. Document (1,10) states that if a man has knocked out the eye of a patrician, his eye shall be knocked out. However, if a surgeon operates on a patrician's eye and has made the patient lose his eye, [document (1,12)] the surgeon shall lose his hands. The surgeon is held to a higher standard than a common man in the different punishment applied to the surgeon and to the common man. I believe this is very unfair and too drastic for the surgeon. The patient should be appreciative that someone is trying to save the patient's life, especially in those times. Documents (1,10) and (1,11) are more just laws except for the social class differences. They provide that if a man has knocked out the eye or broken the arm of a patrician he shall have the same punishm ent done to him. This is a more equitable and perfect punishment. The criminal's or wrongdoer's social standing, however, should have no influence over the application of the laws. In document (1,2) if a seignior is to destroy the eye of a commoner, the seignior shall pay one mina of silver, however if that same seignior destroys the eye of a member of the aristocracy, they shall destroy the eye of the seignior. These laws have been completely unfair to both parties. You can say that th ...