Why was Hammurabi’s code important?

Why was Hammurabi’s code important?

The Hammurabi’s code is the code of Babylonian law formulated in around 1700 BC. Hammurabi is the sixth king of Babylonia who has written the code and made it to appear permanently on stones called steles. This code comprises of 282 laws. The code was written in Akkadian language using cuneiform script. This code is even today available on a display in Louvre, Paris.

This code was considered important as the laws were written on something for the first time. These laws were thought to have given justice to the people of that period. This code could bring a most civilized society in those times and Hammurabi has prepared several copies of it. He distributed them to all the cities in his kingdom.

The code of Hammurabi was more important to especially biblical archeologists as these laws appear to be similar to the Mosaic Law. It is said that Moses who was born after about 3 centuries after Hammurabi borrowed his laws from the Babylonian royal principles. The eye for an eye” principle is similar in this code to that of in Mosaic Law. The law rules laid by Hammurabi were carved in 7 feet tall, black diorite stele which has shown that the king was blessed with these laws by the Babylonian God for Justice, Shamash. The code of law shown by Hammurabi gave much importance to the civil laws and the traditions of the earlier period. Some of these laws exhibit similarities with the laws given in the first five books of the bible called as Torah.

Hammurabi’s code of law represented the laws that were listed in the ancient Mesopotamian society. This listing consisted of both the laws as well as the associated punishments. The code of Hammurabi was so significant that even the king was not having powers to change anything while executing the laws. The code was similar to the fundamental laws of the state which are essential for governing the country. The code resembled the current constitution.