The code of Hammurabi was written when the great Babylonian empire was at its peak. It was recorded on a huge stone plate, and probably put in a prominent position in the capital city.

The 282 laws deal with a variety of subjects. There are too many to talk about in this paper, so I will take only a few to show how the Babylonians would benefit from this set of laws.

Hammurabi's Code protects the lives and property of individuals. One law says, "If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out." Another says, " If he break another man's bone, his bone shall be broken." Another, " If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out."

Those three laws provided a great incentive not to hurt another person. Perhaps America could take a few ideas from this. If the only punishment for hurting someone else is a little time in a comfy jail, more people are likely to go around hurting people. But when you have to pay it back item for item, it makes hurting someone a whole lot less appealing.

The Hammurabi code protects personal goods. One law says, " If a man rent his boat to a sailor, and the sailor is careless, and the boat is wrecked or goes aground, the sailor shall give the owner of the boat another boat as compensation." Another, " If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death." And another, "If any one hire oxen, and kill them by bad treatment or blows, he shall compensate the owner, oxen for oxen."

Basically, Hammurabi's code says what you do will be done to you. You can see how this would affect crime rates.

Hammurabi's code would increase trade by standardizing prices for common items. It also regulates how much a employer pays a hired man and ensures fair wages. One law states, "If any one hire a day laborer, he shall pay him from the New Year until the fifth month (April to August, when days are long and the work hard) six gerahs in money per day; from the sixth month to the end of the year he shall give him five gerahs per day." Another, " If any one hire a cart alone, he shall pay forty ka of corn per day." Another laws says, " If any one hire a ship of sixty gur, he shall pay one-sixth of a shekel in money as its hire per day."

The code includes specific words about cattle. "If a herdsman, to whom cattle or sheep have been entrusted for watching over, and who has received his wages as agreed upon, and is satisfied, diminish the number of the cattle or sheep, or make the increase by birth less, he shall make good the increase or profit which was lost in the terms of settlement." "If any one hire a herdsman for cattle or sheep, he shall pay him eight gur of corn per annum."

Another code requires the herdsman who is looking after cattle to be watchful. "If the herdsman overlook something, and an accident happen in the stable, then the herdsman is at fault for the accident which he has caused in the stable, and he must compensate the owner for the cattle or sheep."

The code would improve overall justice in the land. Many of the laws speak about fairness. One says, "If any one take money from a merchant, and give the merchant a field tillable for corn or sesame and order him to plant corn or sesame in the field, and to harvest the crop; if the cultivator plant corn or sesame in the field, at the harvest the corn or sesame that is in the field shall belong to the owner of the field and he shall pay corn as rent, for the money he received from the merchant, and the livelihood of the cultivator shall he give to the merchant."

There are also laws about robbery; as this one says, "If any one is committing a robbery and is caught, then he shall be put to death." This next law is actually the first one, and says, "If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he can not prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death."

By reading the excerpts from Hammurabi's code in this paper, you can see how such standardized law system would benefit the Babylonians.