Final answer:
The Code of Hammurabi, established around 1780 BCE by the Babylonian King Hammurabi, laid out an influential set of laws that delineated rights and duties and introduced principles like the presumption of innocence and punishment fitting the crime. It influenced subsequent legal systems and displayed Hammurabi's intent to foster societal welfare and order.
Step-by-step explanation:
Significance and Lasting Impact of Hammurabi's Code
The Code of Hammurabi is one of the most significant and enduring legacies from ancient Mesopotamia. Created by Babylonian King Hammurabi around 1780 BCE, it was a comprehensive set of laws inscribed on a stele that detailed rights, responsibilities, and social order across various classes of people, including free men, commoners, and slaves. The Code addressed issues of fairness, property rights, and governance, trying to protect citizens from unfair loan terms and establishing legal responsibilities for officials.
Remarkably progressive for its time, Hammurabi's Code suggested legal principles such as the presumption of innocence and the use of evidence in legal proceedings. These principles informed Mesopotamian justice for centuries and provided structural law that was referenced by subsequent legal codes. The application of this law embraced the principle of punishment fitting the crime, although the penalties were often dependent on the social status of the individuals involved.
Hammurabi's empire lasted until around 1595 BCE, but his legal edicts outlived his empire, serving to unify and administrate the newly conquered lands. Through these laws, Hammurabi portrayed himself as a just ruler interested in the welfare of his subjects. The stele itself symbolizes the measuring out of justice, indicating the codification of laws as a tool of rulership and societal stability.