e nose of another man with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of a mina of silver.” Another contains that “if a man proceeded by force, and deflowered the virgin slave-woman of another man, that man must pay five shekels of silver.” According to these laws, the crimes of assault and rape were reduced to payment for injury.Hammurabi’s Code was not nearly as forgiving. While The Laws of Ur-Nammu doled out fines as penalties, Hammurabi’s Code delivered death for many crimes. Hammurabi also has a much different view concerning the treatment of rape: “If a man violate the wife of another man...and sleep with her and be surprised, this man shall be put to death, but the wife is blameless.” Also, assault was no longer punishable by just a fine: “If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.” Death was a sentence for false accusations, theft and robbery, bad construction, kidnapping, as well as many other offenses. By the time of Hammurabi’s rule, Mesopotamia had formed its own identity. While it remained a land where most any person could be accepted, the time for regulating the territory had come. These laws were just one part of an effort to create an organized nation-state by Hammurabi. After conquering various city-states to secure his rule, he created a new power center in Babylon to keep the supporters of previous power centers at bay. Along with a new capital came a new lead divinity in Marduk, the sky god. He also fortified the cities, making an attack on his rule a much more dangerous task. Additionally, Mesopotamian science subscribed to the theory that listing things as explicitly as possible allowed for control. Hence, Hammurabi’s Code is very complete, giving exact punishments for exact crimes. It also created exact payments for services rendered. No doubt the severe nature of the Code was to keep the general public in fear o...
