DEFINITION
Hammurabi's code was one of the ancient codes of law that existed in the Middle East. Moreover, an online source states, "The Code of Hammurabi is the longest surviving text from the Old Babylonian Period" (Kreis, "The Code of Hammurabi" ). The Code of Hammurabi consists of 282 laws and regulations, and they are "inscribed on stone, which suggests that the King accepted the laws from the sun god, Shamash" (Amalia Giokaris, "The Code of Hammurabi, 1750 B.C "). Hammurabi's code contains many legal matters that needed to be taken into question when he began to govern and preside over all of Mesopotamia. Some laws that were etched into the tablet were "civil, criminal, and commercial law" (Kreis, "The Code of Hammurabi").
PURPOSE FOR THE CODE OF HAMMURABI
The purpose of Hammurabi's code was to show that Hammurabi was Mesopotamia's leader, and one source states, "the code of laws encouraged people to accept authority of a king, who was trying to give common rules to govern the subjects' behavior" (Amalia Giokaris, "The Code of Hammurabi, 1750 B.C "). Another purpose of the Code of Hammurabi was to give, one of the more famous quotes, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth". What this meant was that a punishment will be given if a crime is committed. Hammurabi's encounter with this idea is what will change law evermore.