Code Of Hammurabi Dbq Essay

Political

Before the prominent Code of Hammurabi was established, rulers Ur-namma and Lipit-Ishtar also set lists of laws which consented their actions and often were political motivations.

The laws made by Ur-namma and Lipit-Ishtar consisted of a prologue and an epilogue and had a popular repeating theme -- the authority of gods.

The Code of Hammurabi remains one of the greatest early examples of juridical literature. It was a set of laws for the Babylonian people.

Interaction with Environment

The Tigris and Euphrates River were the prominent sources of wealth for those living in the region because it enriched the surrounding soil and allowed for the growth of crops.

Land along the Mediterranean Sea and across the Persian River was

Common diseases included fevers, headaches, and throat ailments. Each was believed to be brought by unique evil demons.

Religious

Communities in this region had tight beliefs regarding polytheistic religions. Each town had a different god watching over it, according to their beliefs.

There were 4 main gods who had omnipotent control over the Universe whom were An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag, god of the heavens, air, water and mother goddess of the Earth, respectively.

The main gods then created less powerful gods who ruled different aspects of the Earth like Utu and Nanna, gods of the sun and moon, respectively.

Not knowing much on how the world worked, religion filled in the blanks for people living in Mesopotamia. Their gods had divine ruling and conducted every natural action -- including forces of nature, life and death, good and evil etc.

Ziggurat, a local temple, was where everyone met to praise the gods. At the temple, people would sing hymns, make prayers and make sacrifices and offerings to the gods.

Art and

Basic weapons included axes, knives, arrowheads, swords and daggers.

Sumerians developed complex writing and number systems, which relied mainly on clay and symbols.

The first wheeled-vehicles were also an accomplishment of the Sumerians, a simple chariot.

The use of a single language in a community was evident north of Sumerian city-states by Akkadian peoples who spoke a Semitic language.

Economic

People living in Sumerian cities mainly depended on trade and farming.

Popular imports included copper, tin and timber and exports included dried fish, wool, wheat and metals.

Using their written language, traders in Mesopotamia often wrote down transactions in order to keep track of their sales, similar to a receipt.

Mesopotamians were also great early accountants, they recorded everything consumed in temples and kept the tablets in the temple.

In many cities, a form of currency was common. Most often, currency consisted of 5 differing clay tokens used for unique transactions.

Society

Sumerian cities implemented a strong hierarchal system which consisted of nobles, commoners, and slaves.

Sumerian nobles consisted of royal and religious