Hammurabis code
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Code of Hammurabi
Fair or Unfair
King Hammurabi ruled Mesopotamia for over 40 years. During his tenure, he drafted a set of laws that governed all of Babylon that preserved the justice of the land. Although Hammurabi's code is not the first set of laws to be documented in history, they are the best set of preserved legal documentation reflecting the regulation of social structure in society. However, historic and impressive this code is the fairness of these laws and codes are debatable. Many people question whether these laws justly deal out fair punishment to proven offenders or demonstrate Hammurabi's desire to play god.
In many instances, Hammurabi's code of laws seems to demonstrate a fair, but strict, reprimand for injustice. Many of Hammurabi's laws demand equal treatment be bestowed on the committer of an indecent act as was given to the receiver of the indecent act. This reflects the eye for an eye belief of fair and just treatment for injustices that are committed. For many of the extreme offenses I feel this treatment is very plausible and I can understand Hammurabi's reasoning for it. However, I do feel that it is in a sense playing god and that no one person has the right to decide another person's fate...