Monday, August 29, 2011

What was the role of righteousness in the law code of Hamurabi?

I believe the question refers to the Code of
Hammurabi
introduced by Hammurabi who ruled Babylon from 1792 to 1750
B.C.


Hammurabi was formulated incorporating and revising,
and expanding older collections of Sumerian and Akkadian laws. This code had great
influence on the civilization of all near eastern
countries.


Hammurabi's code consisted mainly of a long list
of rules to settle specific types of cases, involving matters such as false accusation,
witchcraft, military service, land and business regulations, family laws, tariffs,
wages, trade, loans, debts and theft. The code described the nature of punishment for
different types of offences committed, which were harsh by today's standards. The code
contains nearly 300 provisions.


On central principle
discernible in the code is  that "the strong shall not injure the weak."  The code set
up a social order based on the rights of the individual and backed by the authority of
Babylonian gods and the state.


A complete translation of
the code of Hammurabi is available at the website referred
below.

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