Question

Read the excerpt from Hammurabi’s Code.

“If a man has knocked out the eye of a patrician [aristocrat], his eye shall be knocked out. . . If he has knocked out the eye of a plebeian [commoner] . . . he shall pay one mina of silver. If he has knocked out the eye of a patrician’s servant . . . he shall pay half his value.”

What does this quote illustrate about the nature of Hammurabi’s Code?

A.
The law's punishments did not encourage social order.

B.
The law did not treat all members of society equally.

C.
The law did not address any private matters.

D.
The law did not specify the crime

Answer 1

B.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

B.) The law did not treat all members of society equally.

Step-by-step explanation:

The punishments were less severe as offences were committed down the social scale. While attacking an aristocrat had a very severe punishment, if one were to attack a slave, the slave wasn't to be repaid or consolidated; rather, the aristocrat was to receive all reparations. Even attacking a middle-class freedman had consequences that paled in comparison to the same attack on an aristocrat. This showed how little Mesopotamian society cared about the people on the lower end of the social ladder.