Analyzing Hammurabi's Code: Primary vs

docx

School

CVR College of Engineering *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

102

Subject

History

Date

Nov 24, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by SunnyA1

Primary and Secondary Source Comparison Sukhjot Singh Hist101C, 10128790 Alexander College Iain O'Shea Submission Date

The Code of Hammurabi – Primary Source Analysis and Comparison with Secondary Source The Code of Hammurabi is the primary source that has been chosen in the process of reviewing primary and secondary sources. The Code of Hammurabi was authored by Hammurabi, who was the sixth king of Babylon, and it was translated by L. W. King. The first edition of this source was printed in 1754 B.C., and within it, we are able to examine the genuine copy of Hammurabi's code that was originally published. Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylonia, is credited with developing Hammurabi's code, which is regarded to be the earliest written system of rules. Hammurabi did this so that order and law might play a significant role in dictating what he considered to be proper or wrong. By today's standards, these laws are harsh and unjust, and they should no longer be in effect. As a result of Hammurabi's assertion that God did not play a part in evaluating whether someone's deeds were just in the land of the living, Hammurabi enacted many carved into stone to regulate the inhabitants of Babylon. "Hammurabi, the glorious prince, who feared God, to usher about the rule of justice in the country, to remove the sinful as well as the evildoers; so that the mighty should not oppress the weak- Hammurabi.” 1 The main sources that were used to generate the work had a significant influence on the legal system as it exists today. The old set of laws that were written ultimately became the cornerstone for what would eventually become the laws that would be ruled in the contemporary period, rendering The Code of Hammurabi the cornerstone, and exemplifying the historical progression of law in the process. The citizens of his rapidly expanding realm were subject to the law. At the time of Hammurabi's death, the territory under his rule extended from the Persian Gulf to the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including most of what is now the country of 1 Hammurabi, The Code of Hammurabi 18Th Century BCE , ed. L.W. King and Paul Brians, Docslib (1745; repr., https://docslib.org/the-code-of-hammurabi-18th-century-bce, 1915), https://docslib.org/the-code-of- hammurabi-18th-century-bce .

Iraq. Manslaughter, attack, divorce, debt, adoption, tradesman's fees, farming techniques, and even beer brewing conflicts are just some of the many areas covered by the over 300 statutes. 2 The article "Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws" from the website livescience.com was chosen as the secondary source. Live Science was launched in 2004 as a digital subscription and informational website to supplement Space.com, a science news website covering space and astronomy. Live Science is a news website owned by Future US Inc. that covers a wide range of scientific, historical, cultural, environmental, and health- related issues. This news website caters to viewers with inquisitive minds, students, and people with a thirst for academic depth. The code of Hammurabi is explained in broad strokes by the secondary source. The article's authors have a bias toward their chosen side because of how they see the brutal application of Hammurabi's legal code. “ Each statute includes a hypothetical scenario with an established ruling. It is possible that the verdicts will be really severe.” 3 This article is a derivative work, as the original Hammurabi's code was created approximately 3700 years before its 2013 CE publication date. The essay provides context about Hammurabi and his biography. This informative post provides a rudimentary overview of the assassination of Hammurabi and the king preceding him. I had not much knowledge about Hammurabi and his reign before reading this essay, but a lot of learning happened about this king and his brutal assassination since then. A stele carved from black diorite that measures over 2.25 meters in height and is now on display in the Louvre Museum in Paris is the primary source of information on the code. At the start of the twentieth century, a group of archaeologists led by Jacques de Morgan 2 Owen Jarus, “Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws,” Live Science , September 3, 2013, https://www.livescience.com/39393-code-of-hammurabi.html . 3 Owen Jarus, “Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws,” Live Science , September 3, 2013, https://www.livescience.com/39393-code-of-hammurabi.html .

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

found the stele at the site of Susa in what is now the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is thought that an Elamite ruler brought it to Susa throughout the 12th century B.C. and erased part of it so that he can etch his own inscription on it. This took place in the same century. The code of Hammurabi serves as a disturbing illustration of what law can be. People were handed a cruel and discriminatory set of laws without offering witnesses to those to whom this law applied. These laws are readily judged unjust and brutal, to say the least, and there was no testimony offered to those to whom this law applied. Both of these sources were dissected in order to provide a comprehensive overview of Hammurabi's law. The second source does not evaluate the legitimacy of the primary source, but instead, provides a comprehensive narrative of Hammurabi's life, including the events leading up to his death. It should not come as a surprise that the sixth king of Babylon was put to death considering that the people of the kingdom were given a harsh set of regulations to follow in order to regulate their daily lives. These laws would serve as a model for the legal system that the millennial generation will inherit, which will eventually develop into the legal system that we are familiar with today. In light of the fact that copies of Hammurabi's rules have been found written on tablets that date back to the 5th century B.C., which is well over a century after the Babylon King’s death, his legal code can be considered something of a historical classic. Hammurabi's "Code" is a recent invention, modeled after the "Code Napoleon" of the nineteenth century. 4 Scholars today question the meaning of the inscription currently housed in the Louvre and if the rules Hammurabi issued genuinely form a whole legal system. Even if these issues were answered differently, Hammurabi insists in the introduction to his rules that he had the divine right to make them. In the Primary source, information is presented in a manner that is true to its nature and may be relied upon as a reliable reference when seeking details on Hammurabi's code. 4 Owen Jarus, “Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws,” Live Science , September 3, 2013, https://www.livescience.com/39393-code-of-hammurabi.html .

Because the secondary source merely provides a concise overview of the laws that were developed through the prism of a perspective, the primary source cannot be compared to the other source in any way. Primary sources will always remain the most precise and reliable reference, but secondary sources are a fantastic alternative for gaining a basic grasp of the laws that were made. On the other hand, secondary sources are not the best option for gaining a genuine comprehension of the original text that was etched in stone.

Bibliography Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi 18Th Century BCE . Edited by L.W. King and Paul Brians. Docslib . 1745. Reprint, https://docslib.org/the-code-of-hammurabi-18th- century-bce, 1915. https://docslib.org/the-code-of-hammurabi-18th-century-bce. Jarus, Owen. “Code of Hammurabi: Ancient Babylonian Laws.” Live Science . September 3, 2013. https://www.livescience.com/39393-code-of-hammurabi.html.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Analyzing Hammurabi's Code: Primary vs

Related Documents