Georgette Burrell
Ms. Krystal Taylor
World History
Unit 1 : Lesson 3 Apply

Hammurabi's Code

The Code of Hammurabi is a preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1754 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. This code is made of two hundred and eighty two laws and was written on a seven foot stone monument called a "stele", now kept in the world's largest museum , The Louvre .Even though laws have changed over time , there are laws from Hammurabi's Code that are the same as the laws now.
There are some similar laws in the Code of Hammurabi that are similar to today's . For instance ,
"If he has born false witness in a civil law case , he shall pay the damages in that suit" is similar to the law today : "If a person is convicted of perjury he shall be punished of a fine no more than
$1,000 , imprisonment , or both. " The similarity between these two laws is if a person has committed the crime of a false witness they will pay a fine . Another similarity between the laws are the law considering the divorce and marriage of a couple ; "If a man has taken a wife and has not executed a marriage contract, that woman is not a wife." is also very similar to the law today that : "A couple must have gone through the whole process of divorce in order to marry someone else. " These laws are stating that without a divorce or marriage contract the couple is nor married or divorced.
Even though there are similarities , there are some major differences in the Code of Hammurabi and today's modern laws. For instance, A number of the laws refer to jumping in the Euphrates
River as a method of demonstrating one's