Hammurabi's Success as a Ruler

The text says that even after Hammurabi conquered the areas of Babylon, Sippar, Larsa, and Ur each region was very independent from each other. Patriotism was reserved for home towns, and the people seemed to worship the god of their regions alone. Hammurabi had to deal with pulling together all of these regions so that they would be unified and would not revolt from his control. He was a successful ruler because he figured out how to unite all of the regions under one law code with unified heads over each region, but with separate gods and temples for each area (Van de Meiroop 80).
Due to the law code that Hammurabi put in place, there was a unified system of dealing with crime and punishment. The system depended on the status of the people involved in the crime, whether they were upper middle or lower class, and what type of crime was committed. If someone from a higher status committed a crime against someone of lower status, they were not punished harshly. Similarly, if someone of lower status committed a crime against someone of upper class their punishment was harsh. The systems of renting and loaning land were also consistent all over Hammurabi’s empire.
Hammurabi was successful at satisfying the people that he ruled over by pleasing them and not changing their situations significantly. He allowed and encouraged them to worship the gods of their region and to build temples to their gods. He also allowed renters and rentees to have their situations stay as they were before, and didn’t make them change it due to his rule. He wanted the people to be happy so that they wouldn’t revolt against him. His law code often fixed situations by having the palace pay people with grain and taking a hit themselves. Hammurabi was a good king, and really did what was best in the interest of his subjects. His punishments were often harsh and predictable, but that ensured more obedience and less crime.

Laney Homet

Van De Mieroop, Marc. King Hammurabi of Babylon. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 70-110. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.