BEFORE THE LAW CODE
Hammurabi is said to be one of the best kings in the history of the Babylonian empire. He was an Amorite prince who traveled from Syria to Babylon, and was the sixth ruler in his dynasty. Before Hammurabi's reign, there were few cities in Babylon. Hammurabi changed that. When Hammurabi started his reign, he focused on improving irrigation and other factors that allowed citizens to live better. Hammurabi also cared about the citizens of the cities he conquered. This shows how devoted he was towards his citizens. The people of the cities he conquered were also less rebellious than the people who were conquered by Assyrian or Akkadian armies.
Before Hammurabi created his law code, most of Mesopotamia used laws created by Sumerian and Assyrian kings. Sumerian or Assyrian laws rarely changed and had to be generic to work for all of the civilizations that used them. In fact, they were meant for a single ethnic group. They were some of the first laws made and were a list of things that humans should not do, the basic idea of law. The reason Hammurabi's code is so important is because it was a milestone in the history of law. It was the first code in history that had laws pertaining to everyone in the society. Laws before that were then in fact not complete. Hammurabi's code had 282 laws, which may have been the longest a law code had ever been before then.
Hammurabi was in fact near the end of his reign when he completed his law code. He reigned near the end of the Babylonian empire's fall, and was well known for a number of things.
1. Creating the Code of Laws he was most well known for
2. During his reign, a canal was built from the city of Kish to the Persian gulf.
3. Hammurabi ordered that a ziggurat should be built to honor the Babylonian god Marduk.
4. Making education especially important in Babylon
5. Defeating the Elamites, who often raided Babylon.
6. Conquering all of Mesopotamia.
The picture below displays a ziggurat.
Hammurabi is said to be one of the best kings in the history of the Babylonian empire. He was an Amorite prince who traveled from Syria to Babylon, and was the sixth ruler in his dynasty. Before Hammurabi's reign, there were few cities in Babylon. Hammurabi changed that. When Hammurabi started his reign, he focused on improving irrigation and other factors that allowed citizens to live better. Hammurabi also cared about the citizens of the cities he conquered. This shows how devoted he was towards his citizens. The people of the cities he conquered were also less rebellious than the people who were conquered by Assyrian or Akkadian armies.
Before Hammurabi created his law code, most of Mesopotamia used laws created by Sumerian and Assyrian kings. Sumerian or Assyrian laws rarely changed and had to be generic to work for all of the civilizations that used them. In fact, they were meant for a single ethnic group. They were some of the first laws made and were a list of things that humans should not do, the basic idea of law. The reason Hammurabi's code is so important is because it was a milestone in the history of law. It was the first code in history that had laws pertaining to everyone in the society. Laws before that were then in fact not complete. Hammurabi's code had 282 laws, which may have been the longest a law code had ever been before then.
Hammurabi was in fact near the end of his reign when he completed his law code. He reigned near the end of the Babylonian empire's fall, and was well known for a number of things.
1. Creating the Code of Laws he was most well known for
2. During his reign, a canal was built from the city of Kish to the Persian gulf.
3. Hammurabi ordered that a ziggurat should be built to honor the Babylonian god Marduk.
4. Making education especially important in Babylon
5. Defeating the Elamites, who often raided Babylon.
6. Conquering all of Mesopotamia.
The picture below displays a ziggurat.