Babylon under Hammurabis law - Essay Example

Babylon under Hammurabi’s law Babylonians started ruling over Sumer in 1900 BC. Hammurabi, the king of Babylon led his armies to occupy Mesopotamia and build an empire there. As the supreme ruler, Hammurabi established a set of rules of conduct for the Babylonians. The laws of Hammurabi were written in cuneiform and encrypted on stone, stating exactly how the Babylonian society was to behave. Lewis (pp.18) sates, “the code is engraved in cuneiform writing on a seven-foot tall black stone pillar…” This discussion is going to focus on the laws of Hammurabi concerning marriage, divorce, adultery, inheritance, and life in Babylon in general. According to Hammurabi’s code, marriage was considered a contract between a man and a woman. Marriages were organized by parents and other relatives for their children, with the bride-groom’s parents obligated to pay bride price to the girl’s family. This type of marriage arrangement sounds authoritative since the lovers did have any say in their own marriage. Parents were in complete control of their children’s lives and marriages were not based on love or mutual agreement on the part of the ones getting married. This is very unfair, since a person would be forced to marry a person they did not want for a partner. Divorce was handled very differently for men and women. Whereas men were allowed to divorce their wives at will, wives were only permitted to separate from their husbands on grounds of neglect or cruelty. When a man divorced his wife, he was obliged to give her back her dowry and the divorced wife was allowed to take her children with her. The husband, however, had to take care of his children by giving resources to his former wife, such as goods and income from the fields. To some extent, the settlement for divorce was fair since the husband was obligated to take care of his family, even after divorce. One thing I disagree with however, is the fact that men could divorce their wives at will, yet women had to justify divorcing their husbands. This was unfair for the women as they were oppressed by their husbands. Anyone found guilty of committing adultery was drowned to death. A wife found in the act of adultery was tied to her lover and both were thrown into a river. The king could absolve and adulterous wife, whose husband was willing to forgive. Although adultery is a heinous act, I don’t think adulterers deserved to die. Other forms of punishment such as expulsion from the society would have been better. No one has the right to kill another, in spite of the latter’s mistake. A father was compelled to divide his wealth among his sons, provide dowry for each daughter, and bride-price for every son. Although the husband administered his wife’s dowry, it was the wife who decided how it was to be shared out. Her sons shared the dowry equally. Since polygamy was allowed, a polygamous man was supposed to share his estate equally among all his children. This also applied to a woman who had children by different men. In my opinion, this was very just society as far as inheritance was concerned. Both genders were allowed to inherit property and in equal share. Here, I agree with Hammurabi. In general, life in Babylon was run by hundreds of laws. Whatever one did, they had to be careful not to break the law. My concern, however, is the fact that women in Babylon had very few rights. A woman either belonged to her father, husband or served god. Otherwise, women were not allowed to act independently. This was unfair to the women, since they were subjects of the men. Lewis (pp.18) writes that women’s behaviour was controlled to ensure generational continuity. Assyrian and Persian Empires Civilization is the progression from old to new ways of thinking and acting. Early civilization is said to have started in Mesopotamia with the discovery of agriculture. Man started growing food and keeping animals and led a sedentary life. Various empires brought with them various civilizations to the west. In this essay, we are going to consider the Assyrians and Persian empires, their methods of governance and their contribution to western civilization. In the 9th century BC, the Assyrians grew to become one of the most powerful people in the Middle East. The Assyrians were best known for their warfare skills that enabled them subdue their enemies. The Assyrian army was very large and at one time it numbered to 12000 men. The army gained control of their enemies through intimidation. The army would invade a city, loot, burn and destroy everything. Any prisoners of war were either burnt to death or mutilated. As Lewis (pp.34) puts it, “as an aid to conquest and to hold down the peoples they conquered, the Assyrians pursued a policy of deliberate terror-skinning and mutilating, impaling, burning alive, and displaying stacks of human skulls”. After the fall of the Assyrian empire, the Persians took over. Contrary to the Assyrian brutal way of conquering their enemies, the Persians used peaceful negotiations to surmount their rivals. This, however, does not mean that the Persians did not have a standing army. The Persian army was in composition similar to the Assyrian army, with large weaponry including warships and chariots. Nonetheless, these weapons were rarely used, because Persians were not very martial. Assyria was led by an absolute emperor. Under the king, the empire was divided into provinces led by local authorities, who had taken over the role of hierarchical nobles. There were inspectors watched over the provinces and detailed the status of the provinces to the king. Correspondingly, Persia was ruled by a mighty king. He was very venerated by the people, more or less like a divinity. Just like the Assyrians, the Persian Empire was divided into provinces led by nobles. Similarly, there were inspectors to oversee the efforts of the governors and report to the king. The Assyrian empire made a huge impact on western civilization. The Syrians were the first people to build good roads to ease communication. Messengers and inspectors could travel to and fro the provinces to the king’s palace to relay messages, using very minimal time. Therefore, the Assyrians made great contribution to western civilization by introducing goods roads for easier communication. Assyrians are credited for fostering education in ancient times. Assyrians were the first people in the world to build a large library. This provided its citizen with an opportunity to read and write. This has been of great use to historians as they have been able to obtain literature on the Assyrian empire. On the other hand, Persians contributed immensely to western civilization in terms of astronomy. Persian astronomers learnt how to predict moon eclipses. Lewis (pp.36) states “Babylonian astronomers continued, with Persian encouragement, to advance their knowledge of the heavens, one result was their learning how to calculate and predict eclipses of the moon”. This gave rise to later advancement in astronomy, such as the discovery of the planets. Persians were also the first people to introduce the use of coins in trade. Prior to their rise, the other societies had depended on barter trade. Before its decline, the Assyrians empire boasted of having being the fiercest kingdom of the 9th century BC. Assyrians succeeded expanding their empire from Mesopotamia all the way to Egypt. On the contrary, Persians bragged of the peaceful ways in which they expanded their territory. Both the Assyrian and Persian empires boast of being the most centralized and successful empires of their time. Evidently, the Assyrian and Persian empires were different in many ways, but similar at the same time. While Persians were peaceful people, Assyrians were brutal and ruthless. The Assyrian king was an absolute king, whereas the Persian king was a divine king. Both armies had long standing armies, were divided into provinces and had governors to rule the provinces. Assyrians contributed to western civilization by introducing good roads and libraries, while the Persians introduced coinage and astronomy. In the end, both empires were of valuable contribution to western civilization. Gilgamesh and Ptahhotep Gilgamesh was one of the ancient kings of Mesopotamia. According to the epic, Gilgamesh was a supernatural human being with unrivalled beauty and strength. He had been created so by the gods to rule over Uruk. In Egypt, there was a government official named Ptahhotep who gave instructions to the people on how Ptah expected them to behave. In this discussion, we shall look at the differences between Gilgamesh and Ptahhotep and life in the two civilizations in general. One of the major differences between life in Mesopotamia and life in Egypt is that the people of Mesopotamia fear their king for his bad habits, while in Egypt; the Pharaoh is a good, revered man. Similarly, women in Egypt are respected, while in Mesopotamia they are objects of pleasure. Ptahhotep warns Egyptians against seducing women, while in Mesopotamia; a woman is sent to weaken Enkidu. Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk is a very powerful man, capable of destroying anyone who stands in his way. He rules over his people with fury and everyone is afraid of him. The people of Mesopotamia are so afraid of him that they ask for intervention form the gods. According to Reilly (pp.42) the people complained to the gods that Gilgamesh has left children fatherless, seduced all the virgins and even gone to bed with wives of nobles. In contrast, the leader of Egypt according to Ptahhotep’s instructions was a man of virtue. Reilly (pp.64) states that a leader should conduct himself with respect and make decisions based on sound judgment, so as not to soil his character. Whereas the leader of Mesopotamia is arrogant and selfish, Egypt’s leader is a virtuous man. The gods of Mesopotamia are ruthless and do not endure disobedience and punishes treacherous people severely. For example, at one time, the gods get angry and destroy all the disobedient people in a storm that lasts for six days. Nevertheless, the Mesopotamian god also cares for his people. The Mesopotamian god hears the cries of his people and sends Enkidu to neutralize the power of Gilgamesh. The god of Egypt is also capable of punishing people who oppress others, though not by death. Ptah warns people not to use fear to rule over others, as he will cause them to go hungry, become poor, and even lose their fertility (Reilly, pp.64). From the two readings, I gathered that life was easier in Egypt than in Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia, people were very poor and did not have access to suitable housing and hygiene. According to the Epic of Gilgamesh (pp.41) “there seems to be a slum area near the Temenos, but there are small houses for workers, tenant farmers, and the poor throughout the city.” On the contrary, life in Egypt was far much easier; citizens had good housing and were able to sustain themselves through farming. To quote The Instructions of Ptahhotep (pp.65) “if you are a farmer, gather the crops in the field which the great Ptah has given you, do not boast in the house of your neighbors; it is better to make oneself dreaded by one’s deeds”. Evidently, Egyptians had a smoother life, as compared to the citizens of Mesopotamia. Works cited Lewis, Gavin WCIV, Volume 1: To 1700: Boston. Cengage. 2012. Print. Reilly, Kevin. “The Instructions of Ptahhotep.” Worlds of history: A Comparative Reader. Vol 1, 2nd ed: 41-67. New York: Bed Ford. Print. Read More