Final answer:
Babylonian society was not equal because it was structured into social classes with laws and punishments differing for each.
Step-by-step explanation:
Equality wasn't considered fair in ancient Babylonia because the society was structured into three main social classes with distinct laws and punishments for each. Hammurabi's Code, a comprehensive set of laws from the Old Babylonian period, explicitly categorized people as nobles (awelum), commoners (mushkenum), and the enslaved (wardum), leading to different legal treatments based on one's social status. For example, if a commoner injured a noble, they could face harsher consequences than a noble who caused harm to a commoner. This hierarchical system was designed to preserve the social order where the elites maintained power and privilege, including exclusive rights to luxury items and less severe legal penalties.
The Code of Hammurabi imposed rules that treated people based on their class and gender, preserving a hierarchical order that favored the elite. This led to a society where equality was not fair as the legal system was inherently unequal.